Learn how to make cranberry water kefir, a festive and delicious drink!
This natural soft drink filled with probiotics is easy to prepare at home in less than 48 hours. When it comes to fermentation, it’s almost instant!
Water kefir is made from water kefir grains and sugar water (not to be confused with milk kefir). The microorganisms in water kefir eat the sugar and nutrients in their environment to create a fizzy, slightly tangy drink.
Although plain water kefir is delicious, we love to prepare it as a cocktail with cranberry juice. Ruby red, fizzy, tangy, just sweet enough… Perfect for a festive evening!
Cranberry juice is added during the second fermentation, directly to the bottle, so be careful to make sure you remove your kefir grains before adding the cranberry juice, otherwise you will get little coloured kefir crystals!
Want to go even further? Throw in some chai spices (cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper…) with the cranberry juice, and let it infuse overnight in a cool place. Success guaranteed!
To learn more about the different flavouring techniques, see How to flavour your water kefir.
Cranberry Water Kefir Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp water kefir grains
- 4 tbsp cane sugar
- 4 cups water
- 2 dried figs
- 1 lemon slice
- ½ cup unsweetened cranberry juice
Steps
Water kefir Fermentation
- Pour water into the glass jar. Add the sugar and stir well to dissolve.
- Add the water kefir grains, the fig, and the lemon slice.
- Cover the jar with a cotton cloth and secure it with a rubber band.
- Let it ferment for 24 to 48 hours at room temperature, or until the fig has risen to the surface.
- Strain the contents of the jar. Keep the grains for your next recipe, collect the fizzy liquid (kefir) and compost the fruit.
Flavouring and second fermentation
- Add the cranberry juice to your water kefir. Mix well.
- Pour the cranberry kefir into a pressure resistant bottle.
- If desired, let the bottle ferment at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours to generate bubbles.
- After 24 hours, test the pressure in the bottles by opening the lid. If the level of fizz is satisfactory, place it in the fridge. If not, ferment a little longer.
