the raw chef | Water Kefir
Chef Homestudy
Kefir
Water kef ir grains cannot be grown f rom scratch; they have to come f rom a donor. The good news is that
you only need a very small amount to start growing them f rom that f irst batch. Here are the instructions f or
growing kef ir grains. We use maple syrup because it has a high amount of sugar f or the grains to f eed on.
Growing kefir grains
2 3 tablespoons water kef ir grains
1 quart pure water
ź cup maple syrup and/or coconut sugar
1. Place all ingredients in a glass jar and seal.
2. Allow to stand at room temperature f or up to 48 hours.
3. Strain the liquid and reserve the grains.
4. The resulting water can be drunk as is or added to smoothies f or an extra boost of probiotics.
5. You should notice a small increase in the volume of the kef ir grains that came out.
6. Repeat this process until you have enough grains to keep this process going and also make coconut
kef ir.
Young coconut water doesn't have enough sugar to actually make the kef ir grains grow, but it does have
enough sugar to make the coconut water f erment into kef ir. When you team up the previous process of
growing the grains with the next instructions on how to make the actual kef ir, you should be able to provide
your daily kef ir requirements on an ongoing basis.
Coconut kefir
Enough for 30 sample portions
½ cup kef ir grains
2 quarts young coconut water
1. Combine the water kef ir grains and the coconut water in a jar.
2. Allow to stand f or up to 48 hours at room temperature. You can check every 12 hours to make sure
the f ermentation isn t going too f ar. You'll know if it's strong enough by taste testing. Af ter you've
made a f ew batches, you'll get a f eel f or how you pref er it. The more grains you have in the water,
the less time it will need to develop.
3. Strain the coconut kef ir f rom the kef ir grains, reserving the grains f or another batch or to grow more.
Set the coconut water kef ir aside f or a second stage f ermentation.
Second stage fermentation (optional)
Coconut kef ir
2 cups juice of your choice
1. Combine the coconut kef ir and juice in a jar.
2. Leave to stand at room temperature f or 48 hours. This will cause a second stage f ermentation
where the kef ir will break down the sugars in the juice.
3. With or without the second stage f ermentation, I've kept the kef ir f or 6 weeks in the f ridge, and it
was still good.