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| What the heck is water kefir?? |
water kefir is very like dairy kefir, only adapted to a non-dairy environment. it is a symbiotic collection of bacteria and fungi that make themselves a kefir matrix to live in. they are therefore very hardy, particularly at room temperature, and can easily out-compete any other microorganisms that may find your matrix (eg sugar water) hospitable. it is for this reason that they are valuable fermenting agents.
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| Why does it need sugar? Isn't sugar "bad"? |
it needs sugar to eat. fermentation is basically consumption of sugar. it doesn't necessarily need sugar per se: any carbohydrate will do. for this reason juice works as well as sugar water, and the kefir can be used as a kind of sourdough starter.
how "bad" sugar is depends on your belief system. you will be hard-pressed to avoid it entirely. if you consume any fruit in any form you will be consuming sucrose (among other carbohydrates); also many vegetables contain it. should you have a sugar-water concoction? well, that's up to you. the kefir does consume some of it as part of the fermentation, but it's not going to get rid of all of it; and the more it
does consume, the more alcohol will remain as a byproduct, which your body also metabolizes non-ideally. so it's up to you and your conscience how much is acceptable, and of what variety, and to what extent the kefir's probiotic effect counterbalances all that.
my batches (of fermented diluted juice) have tasted kind of sour (vinegary), and a little sweet, and slightly alcoholic, and fizzy. they were fermented rather longer than i intended, though -- shorter ferments will probably be a little sweeter, and less sour, and less alcoholic. (i'm a bit of a novice myself, you see.)
you get some kefir grains from someone. you make a solution of sugar water or juice, with pieces of ginger or dried fruit if you feel like it, and dump in the grains. leave them at room temperature for 24-48 hours. strain out the grains. put the grains in a new solution and drink the rest.
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| Do you think my 2 yr old who hates to drink anything will like it? |
who can say? my son doesn't like anything effervescent. i drink soda water sometimes, or soda water with a little juice, and he can't stand the fizz, so i haven't tried kefir on him. your child is different, though.
