Lemon and ginger water kefir

If you have just started with water kefir, this is the recipe to begin with. Lemon and ginger are in most kitchens already, they work in every season, and the result is reliably good: a clear, faintly cloudy drink with a warm bite at the back of the throat, a fresh citrus note and a strong fizz. It is also the best way to learn how the second fermentation behaves, because after one day you can already taste what is going on in the bottle.

The base for this bottle

You start with an ordinary batch: 30 g water kefir grains, 4 tablespoons sugar (about 60 g), 1 litre water, 1 dried fig and 1 slice of lemon, 24 hours at 20 to 25°C. If you have 60 g of grains, make 2 litres the same way. The complete step by step is in How to make water kefir.

Grains that have only just arrived sometimes give flat or rather sweet batches for the first few days. That is normal: they need to settle into your water, your sugar and the temperature of your kitchen, which in a British house in October can be on the cool side (a shelf in the airing cupboard helps). After a few days they run at full strength. How to handle that first week is explained in water kefir: the first days. This lemon and ginger bottle is a good choice during that time, because ginger and a spoon of sugar give even young kefir enough fizz.

How much bite do you want?

With 15 g of sliced ginger you get a gentle warmth. For more bite, grate the ginger finely instead of slicing it. Grated ginger gives off much more flavour and makes the drink cloudier, so leave the bottle the full 48 hours and expect something closer to a proper ginger beer. If you prefer it mild, use 10 g in thick slices and put the bottle in the fridge after 24 hours.

Lemon juice makes the drink fresher, but also sharper. That is why a teaspoon of sugar goes into the bottle. It is not there for sweetness but for fizz: the yeasts and bacteria in the kefir turn it into carbon dioxide inside the closed bottle. Without it the drink often stays rather still.

Variations

• Lime and ginger: a whole lime instead of the lemon. A little more fragrant and a little sharper.
• Lemon, ginger and honey: a teaspoon of honey instead of sugar gives a rounder, softer flavour.
• Ginger and orange: a few strips of orange zest and the juice of half an orange. Lovely in winter, and very good next to a slice of sticky ginger cake on a cold evening.
• Lemon and thyme: leave out the ginger and add two sprigs of thyme. Herby and summery.
• With turmeric: a few slices of fresh turmeric root give a deep yellow colour and an earthy note.

If you love a real ginger drink, the ginger beer plant is the logical next step. The difference between the two is explained in ginger beer or water kefir. This lemon and ginger kefir also makes a good base for an alcohol-free Moscow mule.

Frequently asked questions

If something is not going the way you expected, have a look at water kefir problems. More recipes and every guide are on the water kefir page, and you can order your water kefir grains in the shop.