Great video!! For a good source of minerals, try throwing in 5-10 raisins (remove them after 3 days) or 1 date (remove or change after 5 days). I get amazing carbonation when I use either (I heard figs work really well).
Loved this video, and I'd love more videos on water kefir/fermented drinks. There is a serious lack of content and resources in regard to this lovely magic beverage IMO.
@@wanderlust4215 you can increase your total quantities to simply make more kefir. You can also store them in the fridge (just make a standard ratio of sugar water and kefir grains and put them in the fridge). Or you can simply dispose of them!
I have started water kefir in the past. I've made milk kefir for years. My issue is once again looking at my latest bottles of water kefir and opening the top🙄😂 Really. Have you ever used the plastic tops on bottles vs the rubber cork?
Campden tab can get the chlorine out of the water without harming the natural yeast and bacteria. You can get them from online or brewing supplies stores. Which is inexpensive compared to using mineral or bottled
what I plan to do is allow the first firmentation a shorter amount of time (let it go 1.5 to 2 days). Then, allow for a longer second ferm. This way, I can skew towards a higher carbonation. I think that is a tweak I am going to do. There are two things I find important: 1. Very very low alcohol content (I am very sensitive to alchol); 2. High carbonation.
I'm new to fermenting. I wonder- what is the difference between water kefir and ginger bug? Also- is there a problem in mixing microbiology" by placing jars of different ferments next to each other? Thanks
The main difference will be in the variety/amount of bacterias, yeasts & enzymes. For the best of both, why not just make drinks using both! And no, it should be fine to store them next to each other
Excellent video thank you. Does the sugar get broken down completely? Asking from a glucose intolerant or insulin perspective. Basically, is water kefir safe for those folk with insulin resistance or diabetes to drink?
It is very low sugar, particularly if you let it ferment 48hr+ although it would be hard to say for sure that it is entirely free of sugar as it will vary!
Its great to see fitness coaches talking about probiotics. I have been brewing my own Kombucha and Kefir for years. Have you ever or do you make rejuvelac?
@@harrythorncoaching Rejuvelac is made from sprouted grains, most commonly wheat berries. It contains a diverse probiotic profile and is extremely healthy. I make Kefir, Kombucha, and Rejuvelac and drink them daily to have the most varied and well rounded probiotics. I also use them when fermenting vegetables and other things to speed up the process and add their benefits. I recommend Rejuvelac to people very highly :-)
@@harrythorncoaching Oh, I'm sorry if I sounded unkind, I really didn't mean to. Adding dried fruit and lemon slices is the German method. Maybe European, I don't even know. Even our wikipedias contain different recipes. If you try it, just make sure that the fruit is unsulphured and contains no other ingredients. You can add fresh fruit, too. In Germany, we only put the kefir grains in sugar and water without fruit if we want to pause the fermentation. We usually don't do a second fermentation because the one with fruit is so powerful.
Have you ever experienced mushy/applesauce-y texture in your grains when dehydrating them? Also, I added grape juice into my second fermentation, and it started tasting like alcohol, as if it had over fermented, but it wasn't bubbly yet. Any tips? Thanks for the video!
Yes that can happen, it shouldn't be a problem though! Just make sure not to overfeed them! And yes potentially some weird fermentation might have occured with the grape one, although no bubbles would suggest no fermentation... Maybe just bad flavor? It happens
I had a period of making this several years ago and went off the boil as it over-took my kitchen. I'm about to embark on it again and appreciate the straight forward explanation of how to use it as I had forgotten. I would love to hear more about the Korean Chung 🙂🙏
Good video! Water kefir really helped my gut health once I started making it myself. I filter about a half gallon of tap water that sits for the three days between batches and presumably declorinates in that time. The grains are very healthy and growing. The recommendation that came with the grains was to add 1/8 tsp baking soda to every second or third batch, but the grains didn't do well and diminished over time. I now use about 1/2 a tsp with every batch and get more grains every time. Probably varies with the local water quality, so if you're not getting more grains every time, try varying the amount of sodium bicarbonate used in the batch.
In a quart jar 1/4 cup kefir grains, 1/4 cup water kefir, separately mix 1/4 cup white sugar, 1 tablespoon molasses, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, enough water to dissolve the sugar and molasses - I use a two cup measuring cup with about 1 3/4 cup declorinated water. Once the sugar and molasses are dissolved pour into quart jar and fill up with water. Let it sit in the dark at room temperature for about three days. If you go shorter the kefir is sweeter, longer and it becomes drier and a little sour.
What exactly is the purpose of using baking soda? I have been making water kefir for about a month and trying different flavorings every time. I notice that some are more carbonated than others. I was only doing the first ferment for 24 hrs and 2nd for 24 hrs. My new batch 1st ferment has been sitting for almost 48hrs and I will do 2nd for 48 hrs as well…I’m hoping to get more fizz and less sweet. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I use 3 tbsp white cane sugar and 3 tbsp dark turbinado cane sugar and spring water for the first ferment. Thanks!
@@cindyrobinson2618 The literature that I got from Florida Sun Kefir when I purchased the original grains, was that the baking soda 'feeds' the grains. BTW Great company to provide both the means and knowledge to make water kefir: Florida Sun Kefir.
