Water kefir
Milk kefir
Kombucha
Ginger beer
Kefir duo
Kefir and kombucha
Starter kit
RennetGuides to fermenting at home
Step by step, day-to-day care, the usual hiccups and a few kitchen tricks: everything you need for your kefir, your kombucha, your ginger beer or your cheese to come out right the first time.
Water kefir
Everything about water kefir on one page, from the first jar to the fizzy bottle.
Read Complete guideMilk kefir
Everything about milk kefir on one page, including how to swap it for buttermilk in scones.
Read Complete guideKombucha
Everything about kombucha on one page, starting with the tea you already drink.
Read Complete guideGinger beer
Real homemade ginger beer with the ginger beer plant, from the first jar to the pop of the bottle.
Read Complete guideCheese making
Fresh cheese, a farmhouse-style hard cheese and ricotta, made with rennet.
Read Ferment finderWhich ferment suits me?
Water kefir, milk kefir, kombucha or ginger beer: taste, time and effort side by side, with a 20-second quiz.
ReadWater kefir guides
Complete guideHow to make water kefir
The everyday recipe: 30 g of grains, 1 litre of sugar water and 24 hours of patience.
Read the guideGuideWater kefir: the first days
Day one to week three: what you will see in the jar, and why a flat first batch is nothing to worry about.
Read the guideGuideThe second fermentation
A closed bottle, a little fruit and 24 to 48 hours: the step that turns water kefir into a properly sparkling drink.
Read the guideGuideWater and sugar for water kefir
Tap water, private supplies, mineral water, granulated or golden caster sugar: the two ingredients that make the biggest difference.
Read the guideGuideCaring for water kefir grains
Feeding, rinsing, pausing in the fridge and restarting: how to keep your grains lively for years.
Read the guideGuideWater kefir problems
Flat, sour, yeasty or stringy: the usual water kefir problems, their causes and the fix for each.
Read the guideGuideWhat are water kefir grains?
A living culture of yeasts and bacteria that turns sugar water into a sparkling drink, known by half a dozen names.
Read the guideGuideBuying water kefir grains
Why the supermarket does not have them, 30 g or 60 g, delivery to your door and what to do on day one.
Read the guideMilk kefir guides
Complete guideHow to make milk kefir
Your first jar of homemade kefir in 24 hours, with 20 g of grains and a litre of whole milk.
Read the guideGuideWhich milk for kefir?
From blue top to gold top and goat's milk: what each milk does to your kefir.
Read the guideGuideCaring for kefir grains
Daily care, breaks, holidays and growth: how to keep your grains in top form.
Read the guideGuideMilk kefir problems
Not setting, splitting, too sour or yeasty: the cause and the fix for each problem.
Read the guideGuideToo thin or too thick?
From pourable to spoonable: how to steer the thickness of your kefir.
Read the guideGuideGoat's milk kefir
Lighter, whiter and sharper: how to move your grains onto goat's milk in a week.
Read the guideGuideWhat are kefir grains?
Small white florets that turn milk into kefir: what they are, how they work and how they grow.
Read the guideKombucha guides
Complete guideHow to make kombucha
Your first litre of kombucha, from the kettle to the swing-top bottle, with every quantity.
Read the guideGuideKombucha second fermentation
How to turn a lightly sparkling kombucha into a properly fizzy, fruity drink in 2 to 5 days.
Read the guideGuideThe best tea for kombucha
Breakfast tea, green tea or a mix: what each one does to your kombucha, and what stays out of the jar.
Read the guideGuideThe SCOBY hotel
One big jar for your spare SCOBYs: your backup, your strong starter and your pause button.
Read the guideGuideKombucha: mould or normal?
Brown strings, pale patches, bubbles and holes are normal. Dry, fuzzy, coloured spots are not. How to tell.
Read the guideGuideWhat is a kombucha SCOBY?
The pale, rubbery disc that turns sweet tea into kombucha: what it is, what it is called and how it grows.
Read the guideGuideKombucha too sour?
Why kombucha turns to vinegar, how to rescue a sharp batch and how to catch the right moment next time.
Read the guideGinger beer guides
Complete guideHow to make ginger beer
The basic method with a ginger beer plant, from the first jar to a swing-top bottle that hisses when you open it.
Read the guideGuideWhat is a ginger beer plant?
Neither a plant nor a beer: the grain culture that real ginger beer is brewed with.
Read the guideGuideGinger beer or water kefir?
Two grain cultures, two very different drinks: hot and dry against fruity and mild.
Read the guideCheese making guides
Complete guideHow to make fresh cheese
Your first homemade cheese in an afternoon: 2 litres of milk, a few drops of rennet and a cheese mould.
Read the guideGuideHow much rennet per litre?
The right dose in millilitres and drops, matched to your milk and the cheese you are making.
Read the guideGuideHow to make hard cheese
A cheese of about a kilo from 10 litres of milk: mild after two months, properly mature if you can wait.
Read the guideGuideRicotta from whey
What is left after your cheese becomes light, fresh ricotta in half an hour.
Read the guideRecipes
All recipesBanana kefir smoothie
Milk kefir, ripe bananas and a spoon of oats: thick, cold and ready in five minutes.
See the recipeRecipeFresh goat's cheese
Three litres of goat's milk, a few drops of rennet and an afternoon.
See the recipeRecipeGinger and lemon kombucha
Fresh ginger and lemon in the bottle: a spicy, fizzy kombucha for every season.
See the recipeRecipeLemon ginger ale
A ginger beer plant, a little ginger and plenty of lemon: a light, clear ginger ale.
See the recipeRecipeStrawberry water kefir
A handful of ripe strawberries in the bottle and you have a pink, fizzy drink.
See the recipeRecipeAlcohol-free Moscow mule
Homemade ginger beer, lime and mint: a sharp, spicy drink without the vodka.
See the recipeRecipeBerry kombucha
Blackberries or raspberries in the bottle turn kombucha deep red and fizzy.
See the recipeRecipeKefir overnight oats
Porridge oats soaked overnight in milk kefir with apple and cinnamon.
See the recipeRecipeLemon and ginger water kefir
Fresh ginger and half a lemon: the classic first flavour for water kefir.
See the recipeRecipeApple and cinnamon kombucha
Cloudy apple juice and a cinnamon stick: a golden, fizzy kombucha for autumn.
See the recipeRecipeElderflower water kefir
A few creamy elderflower heads from the hedgerow turn water kefir into a fragrant, sparkling drink.
See the recipeRecipeStrained kefir cheese
Milk kefir drained overnight in a tea towel: a thick, tangy soft cheese.
See the recipeRecipeKefir cucumber dip
Strained milk kefir, grated cucumber, garlic and dill: a thick, fresh dip.
See the recipeRecipeKombucha vinaigrette
Kombucha left too long turns into a mild vinegar: perfect for a dressing.
See the recipeRecipeRhubarb water kefir
A quick rhubarb syrup in the bottle gives a pink, tart and fizzy drink.
See the recipeRecipeKefir ice cream
Milk kefir and whipped cream: an ice cream with the tang of frozen yoghurt.
See the recipeRecipeWater kefir ice lollies
Fruit purée and water kefir in a lolly mould: tangy, fruity and easy.
See the recipeRecipeKefir apple cake
Bramley apples and milk kefir instead of buttermilk: a soft, moist apple cake for the tea table.
See the recipe