Home Made Sugar Kefir
Probiotic Drinks in Cardiff

Kefir is a fermented drink that usually uses milk and tastes very similar to Buttermilk. You can still MAKE KEFIR WITHOUT USING MILK! Sugar Kefir has all the nutrients and all the amazing variety of great gut bacteria (over 50 strains!) without needing to use milk.

Please note that Water Kefir is a special strain of Kefir grain. This page uses converted MILK KEFIR grains to adapt to making sugar / water based Kefir.

Making your own kefir drink at home is extremely easy. It will probably take you about 2 minutes to prepare your fizzy sugar kefir, an extra 20 seconds per day of maintanance and perhaps another 2 minutes to bottle the sugar kefir. Unlike making regular yoghurt, Fizzy Kefir DOES NOT need a steady or constant temperature. Once bottled, the Fizzy Sugar Kefir will last for weeks in the fridge ...

NUTRIENTS AND HEALTH BENEFITS

Bacteria
Acetic acid bacteria
Acetobacter aceti
Acetobacter pasteurianus
Bacillus subtilis
Enterococci
Enterococcus durans
Enterococcus faecium
Escherichia coli
Lactobacillus acidophilus
Lactobacillus brevis
Lactobacillus bulgaricus
Lactobacillus casei
Lactobacillus paracasei
Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus
Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. delbrueckii
Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis
Lactobacillus fructivoans
Lactobacillus fermentum
Lactobacillus hilgardii
Lactobacillus gasseri
Lactobacillus helveticus
Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens subsp. kefiranofaciens
Lactobacillus kefiri
Lactobacillus kefirgranum
Lactobacillus parakefir
Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. Paracasei
Lactobacillus paraplantarum
Lactobacillus plantarum
Lactobacillus rhamnosus
Lactobacillus sake
Lactobacillus viridescens
Lactococci
Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris
Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis
Lactococcus lactis
Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris
Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. dextranicum
Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. Mesenteroides
Micrococcus spa.
Pseudomonas
Pseudomonas fluorescens
Pseudomonas putida
Streptococci
Streptococcus thermophilus

Yeasts
Candida humilis
Kazachstania unispora
Kazachstania exigua
Kluyveromyces siamensis
Kluyveromyces lactis
Kluyveromyces marxianus
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Saccharomyces martiniae
Saccharomyces unisporus


By contrast, the microbes generally found in yogurt are:
Bifidobacterium lactis
Lactobacillus acidophilus
Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus
Streptococcus thermophilus

MAKING SUGAR KEFIR AT HOME

You first need to convert regular milk kefir grains to accept sugar instead of milk!

First, take 3 or 4 clumps of good / healthy milk kefir grains - about 2 table spoons.
Rinse them gently with mineral water - not tap water (as the chlorine will kill them)!!

If you dont want to use bottled mineral water, use pre-boiled water that was allowed to cool to room temprature.

Sieve the grains gently using a plastic sieve and after the 3rd or 4th time you bathe / wash them, they should appear almost transparent and without any trace of milk.

These are now ready to the conversion process:

Take a large MASON or KILNER type jar (that has a rubber seal and pressure lock) and pour in 1 full litre of MINERAL WATER. Here, the mineral water is actually essential, as the nutrients and mineral element will aid and feed the kefir grains.

Add 1/4 cup (50gr) of organic brown sugar (or 1/4 cup of organic evaporated cane juice sugar.

Add a small amount of organic dried fruit - 10 raisins; or 10 cranberries, or 3 apricots, or 3 figs.

It is absolutely essential to use only ORGANIC fruit, as sulphur or pesticides will kill your grains.
If you use dried fruit, you are best to first hydrate them in a glass of mineral water over-night prior to inserting them into the fermenting jar (or simply allow an extra few hours to the fermentation process).

Shake this blend well - until the sugar has totally dissolved.

Only then, you should place the bathed milk-free kefir grains into the conversion jar.

Allow 24 hours and then 'burp' the jar. You are not likely to get a 'burp'. If no 'burp' them swirl the mix gently and seal for another 24 hours.

If after 48 hours there is no 'burp' then, sieve out the kefir grains and throw away the liquid.

Repeat the same blend again of mineral water + sugar + a little fruit and re introduce the kefir grains in a clean jar.

Allow another 24 hours, then try to 'burp'. You are now likely to get a 'burp'. Either way, swirl gently and re-seal the jar for another 24 hours.

Again, for the THIRD TIME, sieve out the kefir grains very gently and keep. Throw away the liquid and rinse the jar with some nineral water.

If you have already got a 'burp' in round 2 - your third blend will be ready for bottling after 48 hours. If still no 'burp', just be patient - IT CAN TAKE UP TO A WEEK FOR THE CONVERSION TO SUCCEED.

TO SUMMARISE

If you want a fast fermentation, then at 22c to 24c it will take about 24 hours. You need to do this at least twice and perhaps even three times. When the bottle 'burps' for the first time (probably after 2 or 3 days) it means that the grains are fermenting the sugar and are getting used to their new environment.

At 15c-17c or so, the sugar kefir will take about 48 hours and if you have plenty of ready made bottled fizzy kefir already in the fridge, you can continue the fermentation process in a cellar at 10c which will take around 4 days. The drained kefir will last for weeks in the fridge in special Grolsch type bottles (that allow them to breethe).

REMEMBER TO 'BURP' THE KEFIR JAR TWICE A DAY!

The kefir cultures are live bacteria, so be gentle with them! Temperatures higher than 50c will kill them, washing up detergent will kill them and using aluminium or rusting sieves will kill them. Try to keep the kefir cultures growing on the same type of sugar and fruit, and they will certainly thrive

HOW TO BOTTLE THE SUGAR KEFIR

After you have converted your kefir grain to accepting sugar, allow 48 hour fermentation process (with twice daily 'burping' the jar).

Use a Grolsch type bottle - usually come in 450ml size and Ikea sells clear bottles of 1 litre for £1.50. This is essential, as the bottle still needs to 'breathe'.

First, bottle the clear liquid in your Grolsch bottle (about 75%-80% full only!!). Then, place the Grolsch bottle clear blend in the cupboard for a further 24 hours (Summer) to 48 hours (Winter) to ferment further and only then, place in the fridge!

REMEMBER TO ALLOW 20%-25% of FREE SPACE IN THE GROLSCH BOTTLE!

Also, note that the Grolsch bottling stage DOES NOT NEED BURPING!

To summarise:

The initial fermentation (big Kilner / Mason jar) - 48 hours at room temp.

Secondary fermentation of clear drained liquid in Grolsch bottles - 24 to 48 hours at room temp.

Place in fridge and enjoy - be sure to open the Grolsch bottle IN THE SINK before consumption - as it might be very pressurasied!

Finally, you are welcome to experiment with different types of organic fruit and even perhaps using ginger or lemon in the fermentation process, after your kefir grains are already accustomed to sugar.

Although some writers have advised using (organic) grape juice, blueberry juice or blackcurrant juice in the fermentation process, many have advised only doing this at the secondary fermentation process - in the Grolsch bottle, as it can be much too acidic for the kefir grains.

 

THERE IS LOADS MORE INFORMATION ABOUT KEFIR, WITH A GREAT Q&A SECTION
ON DOM'S WEBSITE.

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