Category: Beverages -

Kefir Soda     

Ingredients:

Preparation:
When you first get your grains, they’ll be dehydrated for transport. Follow the directions that come with them, and don’t expect any bubbling action for 3-5 batches. Basically, the first few weeks will just be used to get the grains back to a plump stage.

Add ½ cup of hot water to a 1-quart canning jar. Add ¼ cup of sugar, and stir to combine. Fill the jar with the coldest water you can muster. Everyone has a different type of sugar they use in making kefir soda. I use evaporated cane juice, while others prefer sucanat, white sugar, or rapadura. My vote is to use something you already have and are comfortable working with. Sadly, honey is not safe for the grains as it can render them sterile.

Put a plastic mesh strainer over a plastic bowl, and dump the grains and kefir water through the strainer. I know plastic isn’t the greatest for cooking, but anything metal is not safe for the grains, as it can “burn” them.

Once the water has cooled in your jar, carefully add the grains in, and cap with a lid.

Add 1 cup of 100% juice to a flip-top bottle (I’ve found them at thrift stores, and a local brewing supply store), and pour the kefir water from the bowl in to the flip-top bottle. Tighten the lid, and store in a place on the counter that doesn’t get a lot of drafts.

Let the flip-top bottle and canning jar (containing the grains) sit for 24 to 48 hours, and pretty soon you’ll have a lovely and carbonated drink to share with your whole family. Every 1 to 2 days, you’ll repeat the whole process again (use Steps 1-4).

Tips:
Our family has decided that our favorite “sodas” have all been flavored with a purple-based juice like 100% grape, blackberry, etc. We’ve tried other flavors here and there, but in the end, we always come back to something “purple”.

For a change of pace, consider putting three chunks of fresh ginger in the bottle. It tastes like a really spicy and delicious ginger ale.

2 cups of limeade with a bunch of fresh mint makes a fantastic mojito soda.

Try not to let the grains sit in the water for more than 48 hours without making a new batch of soda. If you’re not up for it, or need to put the grains on “vacation mode,” add a bit more sugar, and stick the jar in the fridge. It will likely take a few batches after that to get them back up to bubbly mode, but it is better than having your grains go bad.

When the weather is warmer, the soda can get bubblier faster. In my own ignorance, I’ve let bottles sit at room temperature for too long, and I’ve had two bottles burst on me. Call it user-error, but it has happened. When opening the bottles for consumption, place your palm on the lid, and open the flip top slowly and carefully.

Date added: 2014-07-19
Number of visits: 2551