Probiotic Soda! Strawberry Water Kefir Project

During the holidays my youngest got hooked on "bubble juice" (Sparkling Grape juice that we got to celebrate birthdays and the new year).  And I thought "Hey!  I know how to make this healthier... and how to give us a late winter project to keep us busy!"...

I sent away for some water kefir grains on Amazon and they arrived... a little underwhelming.  They were dehydrated and took a good 3 weeks to get going well enough to make "bubble juice".  BUT we did it and it came out great!  Think fruity, lightly sweet seltzer water.


When the grains arrived, we immediately put them in a quart jar with water, 1/4 cup of cane sugar (nothing fancy, just the table variety), a couple drops of molasses for mineral content, and a small handful of raisins.

Quinny helped.  

We repeated this process every 48 hours for a COUPLE WEEKS until the grains had doubled in size and started to cause the liquid in the jar to be slightly bubbly and tangy.

If you receive regular Water Kefir grains (that aren't dehydrated) in the mail to start off with, this initial step should only take about 48 hours and shouldn't need to be repeated.

WOOHOO!  Finally bubbly and ready to go!

We put the entire contents of the jar (including the raisins and kefir grains) into a swingtop bottle and also added a handful of crushed strawberries for flavor.

 

Let it sit on the shelf at room temperature for 48 hours.  Then chill, strain, and enjoy!!