The options for different flavours to use to make Kefir is endless. I am still experimenting but I hope to bring you many more flavours as I come up with them.

(You can watch my video with a demonstration of how easy it is to play with many flavours)

I’ve set myself a Christmas challenge to come up with the best Chrissy flavour using all the yummy ingredients that remind us of my favourite day.

As I’ve said in my previous post ‘How to get the life you want..’, I don’t profess to be the expert in everything fermented. But I am a massive advocate for introducing fermented drinks or food into your everyday life because of the gigantism (yes that big) health benefits and disease preventing properties (see ‘First steps to happiness..’ which lists over 78) which help us navigate the increasing exposure to pollutants as well as the ever growing need to bring happiness into our lives.

Of course drinking it straight is delicious but if you want to increase the nutrients, flavour, bubbles and good bacteria (probiotics) then you want to do a second ferment.

The list is exhaustive ranging from herbs to fruit to vegetables to plants and even sugars, although don’t use raw honey or grapefruit as they are antibacterial which may work against you if you are after the good bacteria (and most of us are, or should be!).

So if you’re like me and what a little bit of a leg up to get started with the different flavours to use to make Kefir, check out my list of fav’s as well as others I trawled the net to find.

As a little side note; the more sugar, the more bubbles which means fruits full of sugar will give you a yummy fizzy soda flavour replacing the OH SO bad for you bottled variety. Then there’s the added bonus of it leaving you feeling like you’re indulging in something naughty, whereas instead of putting on pounds, you will actually LOSE weight, keep it off or stave off that bloat!

Considering kicking the coffee habit?!

Do it!!

In just three short weeks, my little blend of kefir and kombucha on my morning drive to drop the kids began rewarding me with a buzz coffee could never compete with!!

So here are my top fav’s different flavours to use to make Kefir – I haven’t added measurements in all of them because I’m a trial by taster J Simply add a little then taste. You’ll get the idea for how much you like soon enough.

FRESH FRUIT JUICE

This is simply sublime. Just juice any of your favourites (I mix whatever’s in the fruit bowl) for a deliciously fizzy soda pop drink that kicks butt on the nasty commercial soda’s. In fact, mine fizz up straight away. There’s not much I haven’t tried; apple, pear, grapes, watermelon, lemon, pineapple. I read someone say that pineapple wasn’t nice as a second ferment as it goes stringy but I didn’t find that.

WARNING: Be careful to open your bottles every now and then to let out some gas, especially when it’s warm. I’ve never “burped” my bottles and it’s not happened to me but others report a kefir explosion!!

MY LAZY NO EFFORT GLASS OF YUM!

If you don’t fancy the effort of squeezing or cleaning a juicer or stuck for time. Chuck a whole piece of cinnamon, vanilla extract, small piece of ginger, lemon with a bit of honey – yummm!

Although at this stage I didn’t know not to use raw honey. I have to wonder if normal honey would be ok then. It’s on my list to find out but for now if you want to keep the sweetness try maple syrup or some good quality sugar.

LEMONADE

Just a few pieces of lemon in with your drink or squeeze in the juice. I see others use the zest of an organic lemon. If you are going to put the whole lemon in then either use organic or detox the skin (soak in boiling water), or peel it off altogether. Add sugar for a sweeter flavour.

STRAIGHT FRUIT

Simple. Cut up any fruit you feel like, about ½ cup per 500ml (strawberries, mango, cherries, blueberries, watermelon), and pop it into the jar to ferment for 1-7 days. The longer you leave it, the more intense the flavour, but there will come a time when the sugars get absorbed and it starts to get more tart or tasteless so let your taste buds guide you and when you reach your desired flavour pop it in the fridge.

That’s all that I’ve personally tried. To be honest I am so in love with the fresh juice that I’ve not bothered with much else until I ran out of time one day and didn’t have fruit so I started experimenting with lemon, cinnamon, ginger, basil and mint.

Below are some wicked recipes I’ve found on other websites. Let us know if you have any others you want to share.

These recipes I’ve selected are for second fermentation only. There are many where you can add ingredients to the first ferment, but that’s another whole post!!

I’ve saved the best for last, check out this delicious concoction of other people’s recipes courtesy of Edible Alchemy

I’ve only plucked out the ones I loved the look of, there’s actually 34!!

  • Peach and lavender Kefir
  • Cheery Vanilla Kefir
  • Lavender blueberry Kefir
  • Coconut Kefir
  • Chocolate coconut Kefir smoothie
  • Cinnamon coconut water Kefir
  • Mint, blueberry and pomegranate Kefir
  • Sparkling cider Kefir
  • Ginger, blueberry water Kefir (Probiotic punch)
  • Water kefir ice cream float with summer peaches
  • Strawberry chai
  • Ginger beer
  • Cherry mango smoothie Kefir
  • Herbal water soda Kefir
  • Elderberry Kefir

More at: https://ediblealchemy.co/water-kefir-recipes/

If you want more I have done posts with videos on how to do a first and second fermentation and will also do a troubleshooting blog.

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