Given the high summer temperatures, even in Brussels, I am sharing one of the recipes which are mostly loved during my cooking classes and that is kefir drinks. These are super tasty drinks and they are also very healthy as they contain probiotics which are very helpful to keep our immune system strong. Don't worry about the sugar content, that is the food for the probiotics and what keeps them alive! if you prefer you can replace the sugar with another natural sweetener, however it is possible that your kefir grains will become weaker.

 

INGREDIENTS FOR 1 LITER DRINK:

3 TS water kefir grains

3 TS organic sugar

1 L water

Half organic Lemon

1 organic dried fruit (fig, apricot or some raisins)

 

PREPARATION:

To make your kefir you will need some kefir grains. You can get them from someone (if you are in Brussels feel free to contact me) or if you buy them in a shop you will need to reactivate them before use – see instructions on the pack.

Once the grains are reactivated proceed as follows:

1. Either boil 1 litre water with 3 tablespoons sugar (don’t worry about the type of sugar, it will be eaten by the bacteria anyway) and let it cool down or use bottled water and dissolve the sugar completely.

2. Put 3 tablespoons of kefir grains in a glass container and pour the sugared water over it.

3. You can add a dry fruit (fig or apricot or some raisins etc.) and some lemon slices to add flavour.

4. Cover with a cloth and firm it with an elastic band.

5. Let the kefir ferment for 24-48 hours or even longer at room temperature.

6. Filter the kefir grains, fruit and lemon out of the kefir water: pour the fermented water in a bottle, discard the dried fruit and lemon and keep the kefir grains for your next batch of water kefir.

7. You can add flavours/spices/fruit pieces into the bottle with kefir water and let it stand for another 1-2 days for a second fermentation.

 

SOME IDEAS FOR FLAVOURED KEFIR:

- 750 ml water kefir + 250 ml fruit juice e.g apple, cranberry, pineapple or any other fruit or vegetable juice.

- Ferment directly with pieces of fruit.

- Ferment directly in fruit juice instead of using sugared water.

- Ferment directly in coconut water (without adding sugar).