Base Recipe
Makes 6 servings.
- 8c water, boiled
- 5oz palm sugar
- 3 whole dried figs
- 1/4c water kefir grains
- 1 whole Meyer lemon, quartered and seeded
- 1 1/2c pure cranberry juice – or 1 1/4c water (boiled and cooled??) and 1/4c blueberry extract
- (6T chia seeds)
- Large (8-cup) glass pitcher; 4-cup glass measuring cup; 6 clean, sturdy, glass bottles (such as the GT Chia Kombucha bottles)
Day 0 – First Ferment
- Stir palm sugar into boiled water in a large glass pitcher.
- Cool to room temperature.
- Pour in water kefir grains, add figs, and top with lemon.
- Cover with cheese cloth.
- Ferment at room temperature for 2 to 3 days (2 days in warm weather).
Day 2 or 3 – Second Ferment
- Pour 1/2 cup cranberry or blueberry juice into a 4-cup glass measuring cup.
- Remove spent fruit from the pitcher. (Lemons may be reusable.)
- Strain in 3 cups from the pitcher, reserving the water kefir grains (gelatinous tidbits).
- (Optional: put 1T of chia seeds into each of the six bottles.)
- Pour mixture into two bottles and cap tightly.
- Repeat previous Second Ferment steps twice to fill the other four bottles.
- With filtered water wash the reserved water kefir grains into pitcher for immediately fermenting another batch or into a lidded glass jar that may be kept for a week (or more) in the refrigerator.
- Ferment at room temperature 18 – 24 hours.
Day 3 or 4 – Refrigerate
- Refrigerate for three days.
Day 6 or 7 – Consume
Recipe based on Jenny McGruther’s water kefir tutorial posted to the Nourished Kitchen blog.