Raw Food Recipe: Making Kefir & Growing Water Kefir Grains

[BackyardDiscoveryCo]

Looks amazing..

[Geronimo1501st]

Dont use a metal strainer, use a nylon strainer.

[therawchef]

@Geronimo1501st Using a metal strainer is OK if it's stainless steel, which most strainers are.

[LRico86]

how do you know when your grains are contaminated or when they aren't good to drink??

[therawchef]

@LRico86 I'm not sure what you mean by 'contaminated grains'. And you don't drink the grains, you drink the resulting liquid. Your previous question about the grains was, "can you eat the kefir grains", which you can do if you want, but I would say it's better to make kefir (the liquid drink) out of them and drink that, keeping the grains for more kefir making.

[LRico86]

can you eat the kefir grains??

[therawchef]

@LRico86 I believe you can, but I think there's more benefit from the resulting kefir than eating the grains.

[deltadawn128]

to 1easyflow and all other newbies: Please don't kill off your SCOBY kefir grains by using honey! Honey is a natural antibacterial and antibiotic, and it will cause die-off of the grains! Stick with raw maple syrup or sugars of any kind. Also, do not use pasteurized or irradiated produce, fruits, or vegetable products as they are DEAD foods that have no life left in them! Think raw, organic, fresh, and your body will thank you for it.

[intensethoughtforus]

Do you need to wake the kefir grains up before you ferment coconut water? And what temperature does the coconut water need to be to do this? I've been using those BED starter packets and so far none have worked.

[therawchef]

@intensethoughtforus I'm not familiar with that brand of kefir grains. I use water kefir grains that are ready to go, so do not need to be woken up.

[intensethoughtforus]

@therawchef Is there a way to tell if your water kefir grains have been contaminated?

I'm suspecting that I may have contaminated the grains. THey produce a white foam on the surface and some mold like substance on the surface.

[therawchef]

@intensethoughtforus sounds like they are fine but that you are leaving them to ferment for too long. 48 hours is all that is needed.

[bestofyoutoday]

Visit the Best of You Today's website to view Russell James's interview with us!

[bjfausz]

Can I use coconut palm sugar to activate my water kefir grains?

[therawchef]

@bjfausz yes

[80mthomas]

I live in the UK young green coconuts are proving very hard to find!?

[therawchef]

@80mthomas you can get them from Asian markets or you can mailorder cartons of the water.

[ltcartwright1976]

@therawchef - I have some milk bred kefir grains. Is it safe for the grains if I place them in coconut water, or is there a process to "convert" them from milk to water? Any help is appreciated.

[therawchef]

@ltcartwright1976 no, they are different grains unfortunately.

[ygermino]

hi. i noticed you did a couple of things that most kefir aficionados will dislike... you used stainless spoon and strainer and you covered the jars tightly.... seems that this sort of debunks the common belief..... although i am afraid as i might damage mine.... but thanks for the video.. i enjoyed the many flavors you prepared!

[wendypape]

@ygermino if you read Dom's Kefir Site he dispells the myth of the metal...or should I say clarifies it. Stainless is fine, not tin, cast iron, copper etc. I've been using metal strainers and spoons for months and my grains are growing like crazy ;-)

[therawchef]

@ygermino as long as the metal is stainless steel you'll be fine.

[Malysha]

He is using metal spoons. Is that ok?

[therawchef]

@Malysha as log as it's a non-reactive metal it's OK. Stainless steel is the only one that can be used.

[mety33]

hi russell, you showed how to grow your own by adding water and maple syrup to the water kefir. what happens after the 48 hours? what do you do with the kefir grains?

[therawchef]

@mety33 Sounds like you may not have watched the whole thing. That's the growing phase, after that in the video I show how to make the actual kefir drink itself.

[mety33]

@therawchef :) i did watch it. first bit is showing how to grow your own which is fab thanks. and you said you can drink the liquid or not if you don't like the taste. but i wasn't sure what you do if you haven't drunk the liquid? just drain the grown kefir grains and store in the fridge?

[therawchef]

@mety33 I see :) The liquid can be poured away or added a little bit by little into smoothies so you don't notice the taste of that one. Kefir grains can then be either stored in the fridge in a glass container or used to make actual kefir.

[mety33]

@therawchef awesome! you rock :)

[wendypape]

@mety33 I agree YOU DO ROCK! Your video is awesome,best water kefir video I've found yet! your presentation is flawless, your speech clear and your information informative...the only other thing I would have enjoyed hearing about is what you do with them 'after', where you store them, in what kind of solution etc. Thanks for the recipes!

[mety33]

hi russell. you mentioned about how to grow your own with the spring water and maple - did i miss something? what happens after the 48 hours? have they multiplied? if so, what do you do with them then?

[Felina1971]

You mentioned that this is good to get rid of CANDIDA.... but! candida feeds of SUGAR.... doesn't it kill the purpose of drinking Kefir then???

[perukasr]

@Felina1971 I heard/read that water grains eat sugar and at the end there is little sugar left in the water. Thanks

[rawbayarea]

Hi Russell. To clarify when you say "48 hours" you mean "48 hours out of the fridge." and then you store everything in the fridge.

[therawchef]

@rawbayarea correct

[adamatova]

It's not clear whether you can re-use the crystals or not. Can you? If so, how?

[therawchef]

@adamatova You can reuse the grains as they are.

[VeganExcellence]

Thank you for very informative video. Can i use water kefir grains to make nut milk, coconut milk (blend coconut meat and water) kefir?

Thank you.

[therawchef]

@VeganExcellence are you asking about making kefir with nut milk and coconut milk? Not sure, haven't tried that.

[4007fairview]

Thank you Russell ~ I just ordered some kefir grains and look forward to trying this. Thank you so much for sharing this information!

Debbie *Ü*

[namedecided]

how long can i used kefir grains for?

do the good bacteria eventually die off?

[therawchef]

@namedecided they can be reused as many times as you like. I keep mine in a glass container in the fridge (on their own) between uses.

[deltadawn128]

@namedecided You could also share them with friends when they grow too big for you to handle, or get too numerous in quantity. They can also be dehydrated on a dehydrator or frozen in smaller quantities that you can then share with others to get started with. It's fun to pass the SCOBY grains on to someone else as it's like starting a new generation or family of kefir for someone else's health to benefit by them. It's similar to keeping the SCOBY for making Kombucha teas also. Have fun with it!

[ThePetalbluelite]

Two things to take note of. When the kefir grains are in the jar with the mixture, the jar should be covered with a breathable cover, eg kitchen cloth or paper towel for the kefir grains to breathe, they are living creatures afterall. Once sieved out however, the kefir-ed mixture can be sealed airtight for extra fermentation and fizz.

Also honey is an antibacterial substance, it should generally not be used with kefir grains or else they might die. Use only after kefir grains are taken out.

[1easyflow]

I just recently got into waterkefir grains. They say that one should never use any metal only plastic or you will kill them. I see that this is not true. Wow..great!

Will they grow in raw honey as well?

Thank you for all of your great information.

You rock!

[therawchef]

@1easyflow it's OK to use stainless steel as that's not a reactive metal.

They should grow in honey but I haven't tested it.

[1easyflow]

Great video!

[therawchef]

@rawmonalisa correct