Last year, over the course of the year, I did some Better Choices posts, trying to educate on things you could do to make changes regarding certain food groups. I focused on grains, dairy, dyes, GMOs, sweeteners and chocolate, additives / preservatives and oils. There were a couple additional ones I wanted to do but haven’t yet. Today’s post is one of those and is on fermented foods and drinks. I will be honest, I don’t do a ton of fermented foods, also known as cultured foods. We have however, been a fan of fermented drinks for awhile. We first started drinking fermented drinks a few years ago. You might remember me talking about kombucha, which is a fermented tea like beverage. Before I go much further into what we do, let’s talk about fermented foods and drinks for a minute.
The number one reason in my opinion and from my research to make these things part of your diet is digestive health. Fermented foods and drinks are high in probiotics, which are imperative for getting rid of and balancing out the bad bacteria in your gut.
More specifically, bacteria (lactobacilli) convert sugars and starches from fruits and vegetables into lactic acid. Lactic acid is a natural preservative that inhibits bacteria growth. This process is known as lacto-fermentation and is used as a natural preservation method. In addition to preservation, this method also increases vitamin levels, enhances digestibility and produces natural flora throughout the intestine. This process is what makes foods and drinks known as ‘fermented.’ Examples of fermented foods and drinks include yogurt, kefir, miso, kombucha, and vegetable preparations such as kimchi, sauerkraut, and lacto-fermented pickles.
So back to what we do. We haven’t got into the lacto-fermented foods yet, but my husband would love if we did. He would eat sauerkraut by the spoonful. Which on a side note, I randomly saw Mila Kunis do on a recent episode of the Ellen Degeneres show. She is pregnant though - ha! Anyway, we did drink kombucha for a long time and would buy a growler from Whole Foods, in a different flavor each week. Many make their own, but I had no desire to get into this. Fast forward a couple years and we had taken a break from kombucha because the vendor changed and we didn’t like them as well. Then somewhat recently my co-workers had been talking about kefir and wanting me to do some investigation on it. It wasn’t really on my radar because the kefir I had heard of was a milk / yogurt kefir. I already made our own yogurt and really just don’t do a lot of milk / yogurt besides in our smoothies. Fast forward a few months later and I heard them talking about water kefir. I started paying a bit more attention and even had some samples at work. It tasted like a variety of lemonade. I spent time asking questions and listening and trying to learn. A few of them bought kefir grains and started making their own. They said you had to do something every couple days and that didn’t sound like fun to me. After continuing to hear them talk about it though, I realized while yes you have to do something every couple days - it really wouldn’t take hardly any time and was way cheaper than buying a $11 kombucha growler from Whole Foods every week, or a probiotic supplement.
Because I was so confused at the beginning, asking lots of questions and honestly just scared I would mess it up, I felt this deserved a blog post - so here we are. By no means am I an expert - this is 101 on kefir. There are lots of sites and even Facebook groups about kefir, if you want to know more.
Step 2: Follow grain instructions to prepare. The recipe that came with our grains was 1 T sugar (we use organic white cane sugar) dissolved in 1 cup water per 1 T grains. It is important to use spring water (which I buy in a huge jug). If you use tap water, let it sit out overnight to release the chlorine or boil for at least 1 minute and let it sit. Dissolve sugar in water and then add grains. Warm water can help the sugar dissolve, but is optional (I don’t do it).
To note: grains don’t like metal anything (spoon, measuring utensils, etc).
Step 3: Cover your jar (ideally glass) filled with sugar water and kefir grains with a coffee filter (or cheesecloth) and either rubberband or add the wire rim if using a mason jar. Let the mixture sit out for 2 days on the counter, ideally in spot without sunlight (I put mine in my pantry).
To note: make sure you have at least an inch or two of space for the mixture to breath.
Step 4: After two days, drain the grains and repeat steps above for new batch.
To note: remember no metal.
Step 5: Technically kefir water (after the grains have been removed) is ready for drinking after the two days on the counter. If you would like to flavor, add juice or fruit. Leave on counter for another 12-24 hours, or your desired length to obtain flavor you want. At this point, after 12-24 hours, I put ours in the fridge because I like it cold before enjoying
Flavor away. Here is a site I have been sent by a friend for lots of different ideas. Right now, I have just been doing different fruits, mostly frozen. Here are some I have done so far:
Blueberry and Lemon
Raspberry
Strawberry
Orange
Peach
Cherry and Lime
Strawberry, Lime and Mint
Lemon
I also just did mango, but didn't get a picture of that.
Additional things to note
- This is not an exact science and there really is flexibility. I was super worried about messing it up at first. Until I got used to it and made sure I was doing what I needed to do each day, I made little tags that said ‘D 1 / D 2’ and ‘F1 / F2’ - standing for day 1 / day 2 / ferment 1 / ferment 2. I would just flip the tag each day so I remembered what I needed to be doing and where I was in the process. See picture above. It becomes second nature very quickly.
- There is a small amount of alcohol that develops from the fermentation, anywhere from 0.5-3%. The longer it sits the more alcohol content the drinks contain. I have read if you use a loose lid, there will be a lower alcohol content.
- Start slow. As with any of these fermented foods or drinks, you want your body to adjust. My husband and I have had no problems with kombucha or water kefir, but just something to keep in mind.
- If you want a break, there are recommended methods to freeze your grains. Additionally, if you just want a break for a few days or a week or two, place the grains in a jar of sugar water in the fridge. Ideally, replace the sugar water every couple days.
- Your grains will likely multiple. Ours actually haven’t yet and it is dependent on many variables, but I got mine from a coworker’s who had multiplied. You will need to adjust your recipe as the amount of grains grow, so make sure to re-measure each time.
- There are lots of other add ins you can do to help contribute to 'happier' grains or to get your grains to multiple.
- I plan to have our son drink this. We have debated starting a probiotic on him, really all of us, but will do this instead. I actually have a doctor at the hospital I work at that recommends it to a lot of her pediatric patients. As always, with anything you read on this blog though - do your own research and consult your doctor if you feel necessary. Everything I post is based on my opinion and research.
This might sound overwhelming, but has been very manageable for me. I have timed it a few times and it takes me about 4-5 minutes, every other day. Worse case, I decide to stop and toss the grains. I spent the same amount of money on the grains that reproduce more kefir water every two days as I was spending on a growler a week of the kombucha. Win, win!
Happy health!
~Ashley
