Well… as I mentioned in an earlier post, my water kefir grains arrived a few days ago.
I must say that even with my packaged water kefir grains the process to get a batch of natural soda up and running was much quicker than my kombucha! To be fair, I had to grow a SCOBY, but if I ignore that part, it still was much quicker to get a natural soda with water kefir grains than with a Kombucha SCOBY ferment.
Once my water kefir grains arrived I rinsed them off thoroughly with some of water from my Big Berkey. I then added the grains to a one quart mason jar. In that mason jar I added raw organic sugar, blackstrap molasses and about one quart of water. I skimmed a bit of water off the top so it would the mason jar would not be filled to the brim.
Location for Water Kefir
I placed my newly housed water kefir grains in the cabinet over my refrigerator. I saw a few bubbles. When I checked on them the next day, I saw some fizz. I poured out the kefir water into a jar and poured it down the sink. It was still too sweet for me.
Purchased Water Kefir: Setting up a routine
From my readings, when you acquire water kefir grains from someone else it’s a great idea to rinse them daily until they become active. After rinsing, I repeated the above process but this time I added part of a boiled eggshell. From my research water kefir grains love this, because of the minerals found in eggshells. I also added a few raisins… perhaps five? Again for the added minerals. The next day, I saw that the water kefir water was very fizzy. Still a bit too sweet for my taste, but it was starting to get a bit of tang that I loved.
New location – Magic Happens
I repeated the process with my new grains and decided to place them in a new location. Right near the woodstove. Water kefir grains seems to do well around the 70F range. Later that day, I took a peek and Whoa!!!! There was an explosion of bubbles and fizz inside the jar. The above video isn’t mine, but it gives you an idea about all the bubbling I was seeing. Tiny water kefir grains had risen to the top of the jar and if you listened closely you could actually here the fizzing. I can’t wait to put this water kefir in a second ferment, let it sit for 24 hours, and try my first home made water kefir soda. 😉
This is another topic I will be watching your blog closely to learn about 🙂 I learn soooo much from you! Thank you!!!
Jennifer recently posted..A Little Jicama Diddy…
@Jennifer, I had my first full bottle yesterday. It was really nice and fizzy just like a carbonated soda. I had a sample the day before and that one tasted like cream soda. Yum!
Aynaria recently posted..Fermenting Adventures: Water Kefir
@Opal,
WOW! That’s cool! Glad you enjoyed it!!!! Looking forward to reading more 🙂
Jennifer recently posted..My Sister (Nearly) Veganized Her Party…
@Jennifer, I had more today. I think of water kefir and kombucha as a natural probiotic, but much more powerful than a capsule or yougurt.
Aynaria recently posted..Fermenting Adventures: Honey Garlic & Kombucha Tea
[…] grains, I’m thrilled to say that I’m definitely seeing growth! I’m thinking that changing the location of my water kefir grains made all the difference! This is an advanced post. It was written yesterday, 10/27/14. Of course, I […]