After my usual rant about the evils of soda (I know, I was an addict!) one of my friends exclaimed, "Then what am I supposed to drink?"
It is a common concern as fruit juices cause a sugar spike, milk is difficult for many people to digest, soy has hormonal consequences and water simply gets boring to many people. To my friend I have to reply....
Water Kefir!
It is a wonderful drinking option.
Water kefir is a wonderful way to add 'good' bacteria to your gut. There seems to be a wave of research and marketing going on right now in Western culture about the benefits of probiotics, thankfully. Here's one about mental ability and behavior and one about arthritis from today's feed. We know that many ancient cultures made great use of fermented, probiotic-creating preservation methods, and apparently not just to preserve their food resources.
Probiotic foods, like raw probiotics, make nutrition from your food intake more easily absorbed and bioavailable. Making your own Kombucha or Water Kefir is a cheap way to build these beneficial but tiny friends into your daily life.
Making water kefir is simple and quick and is well explained here and a great video here. These well-known bloggers did such a great job, I think I'll just pass you over...
You might notice that there are some discrepancies between these two blogger's descriptions of how to make water kefir. Does the water have to be boiled with the sugar? Or can you just swish it around in pre-boiled water?? Can you add fruit in the first ferment or not??
It sounds confusing, but in my experience, so far, I have found that it really doesn't make a big difference. Whatever your preference, it will be OK! As one writer said, "it isn't rocket science" and she is right. This has been done for centuries and there has to be a huge range of details that have been employed... all good!
One thing that absolutely does matter is the quality and mineral content of your water. City water can have additives that will kill the good bacteria and yeast--like Chlorine for instance. Super filtered water is wonderful for you and your kefir grains, but may be lacking in the trace minerals that we both need for growth. A simple squirt of trace minerals in your water is recommended by Cultures for Health, find theirs here. I find that my grains won't ferment as well without this addition.
But what about the care an maintenance of the kefir grains and the water kefir that is produced?
First, kefir grains are alive and so need to continually be fed. They feed on sugar and turn it into a balance of good yeast and bacteria, so keep them active!
Secondly, they respond to temperature. The warmer the environment, the more the grains will grow and consume. So, if you go on vacation or get an overload of kefir on hand, make sure you feed them and slow their little metabolisms way down by putting them in the fridge.
Leaving them without an additional feeding for a long period of time can lead to an over/undergrowth and the balance of yeast and bacteria can get out of whack. One blogger reports that if growth slows down, then she adds a little honey to the second fermentation to get the good yeast back on track. I gather that it is more common for the bacteria to overgrow the yeast than vice versa, but you will get to know your own grains and your own colony with a little experimentation.
Don't be afraid to try new things! Here are a few rules that I've gleaned from a myriad of bloggers and retailers...
1. Don't use honey in the first fermentation. It is naturally anti-bacterial and will get things out of balance.
2. General agreement is that adding fruit juices or dried fruit in the first fermentation may damage your grains, so better to add them the second fermentation.
3. Counter time is generally 48 hours. Don't stress over this number and understand that there is flexibility. Life happens! Putting your kefir in the fridge slows the fermentation way down and holds it until you are ready to drink it...within reason.
4. Mold is a bad thing! It shows an absolute conquest of the good yeast by the bacteria or the invasion of "bad" bacteria. If you see it, throw out your kefir. Rinse your grains well if they were involved and then try another batch with extra care for cleanliness...if the second batch is bad, get new grains.
6. Mold can happen from too much cooking/cleaning/dust in your fermenting area. Generally the kitchen area is pretty clean, so this is usually safe, but be aware of the fermenting environment and take notice if something impacts the taste and health of your kefir.
7. REAL FOOD ROTS, which is a good thing that makes it digestible and absorb-able, but it also makes it so it can't sit on the shelf or in the fridge indefinitely. If your kefir gets strange floaties that taste, smell or looks suspect, throw it out.
It will cost you a quarter cup of sugar to start again! Not bad!
So...keeping those seven points in mind, try adding fruits, juices, and fun to your second ferment. The fizziness and the variety of flavors will keep you feeding your gut flora, and if you stumble on something wonderful, please share it!
Eating foods "in the season thereof" is such an important thing for gut health. Kefir is a great place to add seasonal favorites, so mix it up and have some fun!
No comments:
Post a Comment