Water Kefir- A Guide to Brewing, Recipes, and Datos Interesantes
Just got our kefir crystals today, there are some raisins in the jar for them to have sugar to consume
Despite a lack of much written historical evidence, Kefir has long traditions of use the world over. The earliest scientific record being from 1899, noted by French biologist M. L. Lutz and observed on Opuntia cacti in Mexico. There known as “Tibi” or “Tibicos,” kefir d’agua is used to make Tepache by feeding the grains with a ‘brown’ sugar (not like northern fake brown sugar tho it can suffice) and pineapple skins, which within a sealed vessel ferment, produces a slight but not insignifcant alcolhol content (ehtanol) and also a nice fizzy level of carbonation.
In 1800s british soldiers returning from the Crimean war supposedly brought them home and popularized one inoculum called “Ginger Beer Plant” or otherwise “Ale Nuts.” Then again that is said to have been debunked...Then again these types of cultures have many supposed histories originating in many different cultures. We'll call all of these (SCOBY, as they are refereed to who produce Kombucha, standing for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) symbionts by the name Kefir.
They also go by...
“Graines Vivantes” in France
“kefir d’uva” in Italy...making a wine-like drink by feeding them pure grape juice
“African Bees”
“Australian Bees” or “Vinegar Bees,” as they can also eventually produce vinegars
“Búlgaros” in some other Latin American countries
“Japanese Water Crystals”
In Tibet water kefir, milk kefir and kombucha SCOBYs are all called “Tibetan Mushrooms”
In Germany they are “Piltz” and
...In Uruguay the milk kefir grains are known as “gusanos de yoka,” gusanos meaning worms and “yoka” the resulting yogur(t).
Having made Kombucha for years, the switch to water kefir proved not only to be simpler and less expensive, but I also prefer the taste as well as the effects that it has in my body. To me it feels more hydrating than Kombucha (because of the caffeine in the latter perhaps). I add a small amount of pink salt to the finished product for a good electrolyte balance and the high vitamin C content of citrus which I almost always include even if other fruits are involved is helpful in collagen formation support. Myself I need that to balance, literally, against hEDS.
Sometimes called “Crystals”, the inoculum are living, semi-transparent blobs composed of:
Structurally – a matrix of exopolysaccharides kefiran and proteins housing…
...lactic acid bacteria (like yogurt have) and yeasts living in a symbiotic microbiota (microscopic community, such as the specific communities occupying and guarding, our intestines, our skin, our vaginas, our sinuses, etc. The common inhabitants of these microbiota are why such beverages confer health benefits to the human organism.)
^^That's a mushroom-mushroom ^^
Their prevalent community members include:
Lactobaccilus casei/paracasei, nagelii and hilgardii; Leuconostoc; and Lactococcus bacteria along with their yeast neighbors...
...mainly Zygotorulaspora florentina, Saccharomyces cervisiae, and Lachancea fermentati, Handseniaspora valbyensis
Then there are some Bifidobacteria, like Bifidobacterium aquikefirii, and acetic acid bacteria such as Acetobacter fabarum and even many other unknown microorganisms who…
ALL live together, proliferating by sharing and growing mutualistically from their different bioproducts.
One of the most intriguing behaviors of symbiotic cultures such as Kefir and Kombucha, is the way in which they adjust to their environment. From country to country, even household to household, according to the climate, the sugar content and pH of the nourishment they are provided per batch, proportion of inoculum to liquid to food, duration of fermentation, etcetera, they are constantly responding and adjusting themselves.
However the homeodynamic blend, certain predominant Lactobacillus species are constant.
Some of the known benefits of kefir include:
anti-carcinogenic and anti-tumor effects
lower levels of bad cholesterol - hypocholesterolemic
antimicrobial
balancing and fortifying the immune system overall - immunomodulatory
antidiabetic
potentially hepatoprotective (of the liver) studies are underway
antihypertension – regulating blood pressure
can improve the digestion of lactose…
Tomorrow we will prepare either Pineapple Tepache or a Ginger Brew. I'll share with you the recipe, techniques and a few more nugs of information.
And it’s not just the probiotics that are beneficial, but the incidental (or intentional? I haven't rried..but I hear you can...) ingestion of minute crystals themselves and thus bits of the cellulose and protein matrix in which the little critters live. These days the studies abound, so research it if you are curious.
A few years back I began sharing water kefir with my chicken-friends. It was really a gut instinct that told me it would support their immune systems as well as it does ours and it noticeably improved their resistance to a persistent histomonas meleagridis issue,
And just look at these study links:
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-effects-of-kefir-on-production-and-egg-quality-parameters-of-hens_tbl5_261009961
Basics of Kefir Preparation:
First procure some Kefir culture.
-many people love to simply give away some of the culture that they care for.
-it is constantly reproducing itself and so why not share?
If there are gaps of time when you are not keeping them actively producing a new batch of beverage, you will have to feed them while keeping them at rest in a refrigerator.
In that case you can keep them in a jar of 2 cups water, feeding them a tablespoon of sugar once per week.
You should change their water entirely every two or three weeks.
If you want to make kefir consistently and frequently or you do not have a refrigerator, they can live in a jar on the counter, being fed approximately every other day.
The cooler the weather, the slower their metabolism and vice versa.
You can tell whether or not they are hungry by tasting the water: if it is still sweet then they are fine until tomorrow and if it is tangy, then you should feed them.
Strain out the crystals and rinse them thoroughly with cool clean water at least once per week, twice in very hot climates.
So.....
Mix together 1 Liter NON-chlorinated NON-flouridated water at room temp and
50 g cane sugar, stirring until dissolved
Add a minimum of 20 g water kefir crystals (up to 40 g)
plus 1/2 tsp blackstrap molasses or 4-6 unsulfured raisins or 1/2 unsulfured dried fig
Allow the mixture to rest in a warm spot out direct sunlight for up to 48 hours depending on your climate. **not longer than 48 hours
Prepare a second jar of sugar water to transfer the crystals into once the first jar is ready.
Give the crystals a rinse before transferring.
The juice from the first jar is now ready to be turned into "soda," if you like.
Or you simply drink it as is.
I wish you good health, joy and peace.