When we host holiday parties and get-togethers, I always like to make something special to drink: mulled wine and traditional wassail are favorites. Cranberry Mors is nice, and so is Cinnamon Spice Kombucha.
We also like this homemade Cranberry Orange Water Kefir Soda, which is at once tart and slightly sweet with a delicate fizz.
What’s Water Kefir?
Water kefir is a cultured drink that is rich in good-for-your-gut beneficial bacteria, and one that is naturally fizzy like a homemade soda. It begins first by culturing the grains in sugar water (don’t worry, the sugar’s not for you; rather it’s food for all those beneficial bacteria), and then mixing the resulting water kefir with fruit juice for flavoring.
In the end, you have a drink that’s pleasantly sweet and sour with a natural fizz. Even better? It’s also loaded with gut-friendly bacteria just like yogurt or sauerkraut.
A Nifty Tool for Making Kefir
I’ve been using the Kefirko, a nifty little tool that makes measuring, culturing and straining kefir easier. We keep one for milk kefir and a second for water kefir.
The Kefirko includes a built-in measurement system to make sure you always have the right ratio of kefir grains to milk (or sugar water), and a built-in plastic strainer allows you to easily strain the grains from the kefir when you’re finished. We also use the Kefirko as a citrus juicer.
You can buy the Kefirko directly here, and use coupon code nourished3 to save 30%.
Cranberry Orange Water Kefir Soda
Ingredients
For the Water Kefir
- 3 cups water
- 2 tablespoons unrefined cane sugar
- 10 drops mineral drops available here, optional
- 3 tablespoons water kefir grains find them here
For the Cranberry Soda
- Juice of 1 orange about ¼ cup
- 1 cup unsweetened cranberry juice
Special Equipment
- 1 Kefirko available here at 30% off with coupon code nourished3
- 2 16-oz swing-top bottles (available here)
Instructions
- Warm the water over medium heat in a saucepan. Stir in the sugar and mineral drops, and continue stirring them into the hot water until the sugar dissolves completely. Remove the sugar water from the heat, and allow it to cool to room temperature.
- Measure the water kefir grains into the Kefirko (you'll need about 3 tablespoons or 1 lid's worth of grains, for easy measurement), pour the sugar water over them. Set the Kefirko's strainer on top of its jar, and top with a loose-fitting lid to allow for limited airflow. Allow the water kefir to culture for 24 hours, then remove the lid and strain the water kefir into a pitcher.
- Whisk the orange and cranberry juices into the water kefir, then pour evenly into swing-top bottles. Seal the bottles, and allow the kefir to culture for 2-3 days at room temperature, keeping in mind that the cooler your kitchen is, the longer it will take to culture and the warmer your kitchen is the shorter it will take to culture.
- Serve right away or transfer to the fridge. Take care when opening the bottles as the fermentation process creates carbon dioxide which may cause the water kefir to fizz and foam.
Save 30% on the Kefirko
We’ve teamed up with Kefirko who’s offering Nourished Kitchen readers 30% off. Just click here to order and enter the coupon code nourished3 at checkout.
Keep in mind that the Kefirko will ship from Europe, so order early if you’re planning a Christmas gift.
Susan Parker says
Jenny – by “cane sugar,, do you mean “raw sugar”? What difference in the product would there be if I used my raw sugar? Thank you.
Jenny says
Hi Susan,
I just mean any cane sugar. “Raw sugar” and “Sugar in the raw” are more marketing terms. But any cane sugar, more or less processed, works here. Beet sugar also works, but I think cane is better.