Flower Petal Kefir
The buzz word is “good gut bacteria”. But how do you get them in pleasant ways? Enter my water kefir Flower Petal Fizz recipe for your festive Easter table and any other occasion! Bursting with all those good gut bacteria, it rivals the finest champagne and is a delight to the senses for both adults and children.
Servings: 4 glasses
Ingredients
- 2 handfuls primrose flowers
- 4-5 dandelion flowers,
- 3-4 flower clusters of lady's smock
- 1 litre water kefir liquid from first fermentation (see basic water kefir recipe further below)
- 3-5 tsp raw cane sugar
- The juice of half a lemon
- 1/2 a lemon cut into thick slices
- 50 ml hot water to dissolve the sugar in**
- 1.5 litre sturdy fermentation jar (such as a Kilner clip-top jar)
- 1 tbsp unsulphured, washed raisins (optional)
- 1 teacup
- 1 wooden or plastic spoon
- A little patience!
Instructions
- In a teacup, dissolve the sugar in 50ml hot water and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.
- Pick flowers away from busy roads or footpaths; take only what you need; be mindful of over-harvesting: flowers are vital to bees.
- Gently rinse flowers in filtered water. Pinch calyxes off and save the petals; especially important for dandelions because the green parts are bitter.
- Transfer the petals to your fermentation jar where you will have already decanted water kefir liquid from a first fermentation.
- Add the dissolved sugary liquid, lemon juice, lemon slices and raisins, if using. Stir gently for ingredients to combine.
- Cap the jar tightly and leave overnight to ferment. Watch out for gas build-up in the jar; it can be potent enough to blow the lid off, so “burp” the jar every so often. Depending on room temperature, your water kefir could be ready within 24-48hrs (ferments faster in higher temperatures). Taste and leave a little longer if too sweet. Refrigerate.
- Strain, pour into tall glasses, add ice and a lime slice, a squeeze of lemon or lime juice and a mint sprig before serving - pure bliss!
- Add or swap for other edible flower petals such as violet, borage, nasturtium, elderflowers or rose; pinch off the white part of rose petals as it’s bitter.
Notes
By Elle Fox, CNM Naturopath
Basic Water Kefir
Servings: 4 glasses
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup fresh water kefir grains (tibicos)*
- 1/4 cup raw cane sugar Honey and other sweeteners are not suitable
- 2 x 1.5 litre sturdy fermentation jars
- 1 litre filtered room-temperature water**
- 1 tbsp unsulphured, washed raisins (optional)
- 50 ml hot water
- 1 teacup
- A wooden or plastic spoon
- A plastic, fine-mesh sieve
Instructions
- In a teacup, dissolve the sugar in 50ml hot water; allow to cool to room temperature.
- In one 1.5lt glass jar, add the cooled sugary water, the rest of the water, raisins if using and water kefir grains; make sure the water is room temperature before you add the grains.
- Cap the jar tightly and leave overnight to ferment. Watch out for gas build-up in the jar; it can be potent enough to blow the lid off, so “burp” the jar every so often. Depending on room temperature, your water kefir could be ready within 24-48hrs (ferments faster in higher temperatures). After 48hrs, strain the water kefir grains through the sieve pouring the liquid into another 1.5lt jar.
- Restart the process by dissolving more sugar in water, adding cool water, and adding the same kefir grains (to make another batch of “first fermentation” water kefir).
- To make the water kefir fizzy (or fizzier), you can do a “second fermentation” by adding 60ml of fruit juice such as grape, pomegranate, apple, or cherry into the water kefir you just strained – or you can make the Flower Petal Fizz recipe above.
Notes
Once you've added the juice, cover the jar tightly and leave on the counter for another 1-3 days before drinking or refrigerating.***
Notes:
(*) Water kefir grains are also called tibicos. They look like fat, blond sugar crystals: very different to milk kefir grains. You can purchase these online or look for local groups which share fermentation cultures.
(**) Kefir grains perish in chlorinated water. Make sure your water is filtered or cooled down, boiled water so the chlorine has been removed.
(***) The longer you let your kefir ferment, the tarter it gets. So if you're limiting sugars, ferment for the full 48 hours. Any longer and the grains will starve (they need sugar to live!).
CNM recommends the use of organic ingredients.
