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How to Grow Water Kefir Grains

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Easy tutorial on how to effortlessly grow water kefir grains. I was curious about how to make water kefir but first I had to tackle how to grow water kefir grains. Did you know you can ferment water? It’s mind blowing, I know! My fermenting adventures have taken me from raw sauerkraut to kombucha and now to water kefir.  To make water kefir you need grains. Gasp, not those grains silly… water kefir grains not to be confused with kefir grains that are white in appearance and used with dairy kefir experiments.
Water Kefir Grains
Water Kefir Grains

Where Do I Get Water Kefir Grains?

I used Google to find my supplier. Many people have too many grains and would be happy to give them to you for free. Find free water kefir grains on sites like Kijiji and fermenting groups on Facebook.

You can purchase water kefir grains on Amazon; here is a supplier: water kefir grain supplier.  I found a local supplier in Toronto who charges $10 for their grains and that price includes shipping and directions.

My grains arrived in an envelope sealed in a Ziploc bag. I needed at least ½ cup of grains before I could attempt to make anything. My first task was growing these babies.

Water Kefir Grains
Water Kefir Grains

How to Grow Water Kefir Grains

The process is rather simple.  Much simpler and faster than growing a scoby (which took me 6 weeks! – grrr Canadian weather).

You take the grains which look like clear stones with the texture of a gummy bear (fyi – they don’t taste like gummy bears….I was curious….don’t judge me), put the water kefir grains in a glass jar (never ferment in plastic) that is large enough to hold 2 cups of liquid, wider is better than taller.

Pour 2 cups of room temperature water in the jar and add 2 tablespoons of organic cane sugar (get organic cane sugar here).

You can try other sugars too but NEVER use raw honey. The amazing proprieties of raw honey will kill your precious water kefir grains.

Add minerals to the mixture by adding a pinch of baking soda and my instructions also recommend adding a part of an egg shell for an extra boost in minerals – it wasn’t necessary.

Stir the mixture, add a breathable cover (think cloth, paper towel etc.) to keep out the bugs and dust.  Wait…

Wait 4 days, stirring the mixture each day. My grains grew from 3 tablespoons to ½ cup in one week.

I tried making a full batch of water kefir and it didn’t ferment. I figured I needed more grains.  I’m working on growing more and then attempting again.

Water Kefir Grains
Water Kefir Grains

How Do I Know My Water Kefir Grains are Fermenting?

If you have any experience fermenting stuff you know to check for air bubbles.

I also notice “that fermenting smell“.

As you are growing your grains look for bubbles after a day of fermenting.

Do you see those bubbles at the top of the jar?  Sorry my picture is out of focus – I was still trying to learn how to use my new camera.

There are lots of books that can help a beginner with fermenting like these books.

How Do You Continue to Grow Water Kefir Grains?

After 4 days, repeat the process.

You can dump all of the kefir water or reserve some (like a cup of liquid) and add the liquid to your new batch.

So 1 cup of the previous batch’s liquid + 1 cup of water + 2 tablespoons of sugar + pinch of baking soda+all your grains in the same jar (don’t wash the jar).

Keep repeating the 4 day process until you have enough grains to make a batch of water kefir to drink – which uses a different recipe.

My water kefir supplier recommended having 1/2 – 1.5 cups of grains before attempting to make a batch.

Yield: 1/2 cup

How to Grow Water Kefir Grains

Water Kefir Grains

An easy tutorial on how to grow water kefir grains.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Additional Time 4 days
Total Time 4 days 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • Kefir grains, whatever amount you have to start with
  • 2 cups of room temperature water
  • 2 tablespoons of organic cane sugar
  • Pinch of baking soda
  • part of an egg shell (optional)

Instructions

    1. Place water kefir grains in a glass jar that is large enough to hold 2 cups of liquid.
    2. Pour 2 cups of room temperature water in the jar and add 2 tablespoons of organic cane sugar .
    3. Add a pinch of baking soda and a part of an egg shell for an extra boost in minerals.
    4. Stir the mixture, add a breathable cover (think cloth, paper towel etc.) to keep out the bugs and dust. Wait…
    5. Wait 4 days, stirring the mixture each day. My grains grew from 3 tablespoons to ½ cup in one week.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

Things to Keep in Mind

  • Do not use a sugar substitute instead of sugar.  The grains feed on the sugar. Use a sugar that is minimally processed like organic cane sugar.
  • If your water is not “pure” aka there is bleach and other chemicals in your water. Boil your water with the lid off and then add the cooled to room temperature water to the water kefir grains.
  • When you figure out how to do things you can experiment with different flavours and second ferments to get the fizziness in your drink. I’ll post more on that as I experiment with water kefir.

Other fermentation recipes to try

Resources

I found this book very helpful for learning how to ferment various foods.

Real Food Fermentation (found here on Amazon) focuses on a beginners guide to fermenting vegetables, fruits, drinks, and meat.

Good luck!

DISCLOSURE: Not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice. Use of recommendations is at the choice and risk of the reader. Ditch the Wheat is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. I only endorse products that I believe in.

Gluten Free Resources

Do you need help with gluten free meals?
I recommend this meal-planning app. It makes cooking gluten free dinners extremely easy and family-friendly.
What gluten free snacks can I eat?
Lots! I have a ton of practical gluten free snack recipes in my cookbook.
How can I eat dessert on a gluten free diet?
You can 100% eat dessert while eating gluten free. Try my dessert cookbook for easy gluten free dessert recipes.
How do I know what is gluten free and what isn’t?
I have a whole section is it gluten free?
How do I make substitutions?
If you need substitution advice I created a ton of resources here.

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9 Comments

  1. Have you tried brown sugar and molasses? My water kefir grains live that stuff, and it tastes good, too!

  2. Thanks! I’m on batch 5 of kombucha and I’m still working on growing my kefir grains.

    1. I’m going to let you research that. Stick to glass.

      1. Um, ok. I ended up abandoning the idea of doing it in my Rubbermaid pitcher made of Tritan and found a good deal on some Bormioli Rocco Fido glass jars at Christmas Tree Shops, and Bormioli swing top bottles at TJ Maxx.

  3. Many actually say to never use honey but I just talked to a kombucha brewer here in Berlin and he uses honey once in a while. So while I think you are right it doesn’t hurt to experiment a little bit 🙂

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