Jenni Gilbert Probiotic drinks are to 2017 what green smoothies were to 2014.
Get better gut health by drinking a daily glass of kombucha, water kefir, or other fermented drinks.
They might seem a little time and labour-intensive at first but once you get the hang of it you’ll start loving the process as well as the health benefits – plus it won’t cost you the relative fortune it does to buy fermented drinks at retail.
Pretty Vanilla, Rosewater and Chia Water Kefir is from the new handbook-sized guide Probiotic Drinks at Home, by Felicity Evans, that mystifies fermented drinks and shows you how to create your own gut-friendly elixirs.
Author and alchemist Felicity Evans started her journey with fermentation and probiotic drinks after a string of diseases left her lethargic and bedridden.
After much trial and error, and positive personal health results, Felicity was invited to stock her water kefirs in a local health food store and so her company, which now stocks in over 200 stores, was born.
Through fermentation, you create a happy home for your gut microbes, the foundation for good health and wellness.
The marriage of the delicate scent of rosewater with warming, creamy vanilla in Pretty Vanilla, Rosewater and Chia Water Kefir is very sensual and exotic.
Chia is the Mayan word for strength and chia seeds are prized for their endurance and energy-giving properties. They are powerhouses of goodness, providing omega-3, fibre, antioxidants and protein.
Ingredients
1 x basic water kefir ingredients (see recipe below)
3 tablespoons rosewater
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 vanilla bean or ½ teaspoon natural vanilla extract
1 teaspoon edible dried rose petals (optional)
Primary fermentation
Follow the instructions for basic water kefir (below).
Bottling
Scoop out and discard the dried fruit from the liquid.
Put a funnel in the opening of a 1 litre (35 fl oz/4 cup) glass bottle with a tight-fitting lid and put a strainer on top of the funnel.
Pour the water kefir liquid into the bottle through the strainer. Set aside the water kefir grains in the strainer to re-use or rest.
Add the rosewater, chia seeds, vanilla bean or vanilla extract and rose petals, if using, to the bottle.
Secondary fermentation
Tightly seal the bottle lid and leave the bottle in a warm place to build carbonation. This could take anywhere from 12–72 hours, depending on the temperature.
Give the bottle a shake every now and then to help disperse the chia seeds. “Burp” the water kefir daily to release some pressure by opening the lid slightly and then tightening it again.
Drink up
When the water kefir is as fizzy as you like (this could range from a small spritz to a ferocious fizz), store it in the fridge to slow the fermentation process, and enjoy cold.
RECIPE: BASIC KEFIR WATER
Although this is called “basic water kefir”, in my mind there is nothing basic about it. Think about the complex arrangement and symbiosis between the water kefir grains, transforming a plain sugar-water mixture into a bubbling, living probiotic drink.
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Fermentation time: 1½–5 days
Difficulty: Medium
Shelf life: Refrigerate for up to 4 months
Makes: About 1 litre (35 fl oz/4 cups)
Ingredients
3 tablespoons raw sugar
3 tablespoons hot water
1 litre (35 fl oz/4 cups) filtered water or springwater
pinch of sea salt
1 dried fig
1 dried date
10 sultanas (golden raisins)
¼ teaspoon molasses
3 tablespoons water kefir grains
Primary fermentation
Put the sugar in a 1.5 litre (52 fl oz/6 cup) wide-mouth glass jar. Add the hot water and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the filtered water, sea salt, dried fruit and molasses and stir well
to combine.
Add the water kefir grains to the jar. Cover the jar with a piece of muslin (cheesecloth) and secure with an elastic band.
Place the jar out of direct sunlight at room temperature and leave the liquid to ferment for 1–3 days, depending on the temperature.
Bottling
Scoop out and discard the dried fruit from the liquid.
Put a funnel in the opening of a 1 litre (35 fl oz/4 cup) glass bottle with a tight-fitting lid and put a strainer on
top of the funnel. Pour the water kefir liquid into the bottle through the strainer. Set aside the water kefir grains in the strainer to re-use or rest (see page 40).
Secondary fermentation
Tightly seal the bottle lid and leave the bottle in a warm place to build carbonation. This could take anywhere from 12–72 hours, depending on the temperature. “Burp” the water kefir daily to release some pressure by opening the lid slightly and then tightening it again.
Drink Up
When the water kefir is as fizzy as you like (this could range from a small spritz to a ferocious fizz), store it in the fridge
to slow the fermentation process, and enjoy cold.
Resting the culture
If you want to take a break from making water kefir or have an excess of culture, you need to
rest the water kefir grains that are not needed
in a sugar-water solution in the fridge to slow down fermentation.
Sugar-water solution
220 g (7¾ oz/1 cup) raw sugar
250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) hot water
750 ml (26 fl oz/3 cups) filtered water
or springwater, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon molasses
2 dried figs
2 dried dates
Put the sugar in a 1.5 litre (52 fl oz/6 cup) glass or food-grade plastic container. Add the hot water and stir to dissolve the sugar.
Pour the cool filtered water into the container. Add the salt, molasses, figs and dates.
Add the water kefir grains to the sugar-water solution and cover the container with a piece of muslin (cheesecloth), a plate or a very loose-fitting lid. Store in the fridge for up to 6 weeks.
- Image and recipes from Probiotic Drinks at Home by Felicity Evans, Murdoch Books, RRP $27.99. Photography by Rob Palmer.
