Error message

  • Notice: Undefined variable: errno in drupal_http_request() (line 909 of /data/sites/web/kitchenrootseu/www/includes/common.inc).
  • Notice: Undefined variable: errstr in drupal_http_request() (line 910 of /data/sites/web/kitchenrootseu/www/includes/common.inc).
  • Notice: Undefined variable: errno in drupal_http_request() (line 909 of /data/sites/web/kitchenrootseu/www/includes/common.inc).
  • Notice: Undefined variable: errstr in drupal_http_request() (line 910 of /data/sites/web/kitchenrootseu/www/includes/common.inc).

Refreshing lemonade made from water kefir

Create your own natural lemonade and sweeten it up to your taste, a creative aperitif that will impress your guests

Ingredients

  • 700 ml of fresh water
  • 100 grams of water kefir, also known as tibicos
  • 50 grams of concentrated apple juice
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 blood orange
  • 3 dried apricots (optionally you could choose for dried figs instead)

Preparation

Start with 100 grams of water kefir at the bottom of a sealable jar, I use a Weckpot, but you can also use a Mason jar or anything similar. Pick one with a volume of about a liter.
Cut the lemon and the blood orange in smaller parts, the smaller you cut them, the easier the sugars will dissolve in the water and the faster the transformation process will take place. Probably anything from 12 to 20 pieces is fine. As we don’t peel the skin, make sure to use unsprayed fruit.
You can add the dried apricots as they are, or cut them in half, as you prefer.
Poor the concentrated apple juice over the kefir and the fruit.
Fill the jar to the top with water and give the mixture a gentle stir with a spoon.
Leave it to ferment for a couple of days in the fridge and open it once every day to release the carbon dioxide. The taste will evolve, so give it a try to discover how you enjoy it the most…
Another option is to keep it outside of the fridge for 2 days, the fermentation process goes faster, which will give a different result.

Once fermented, you can pass it through a strainer. Separate the fruits from the kefir flowers and rinse them well. You can preserve it in water in a sealed container in the fridge, they should keep active up to two weeks or so.
Carefully, it’s best to use only plastic or glass containers and cooking equipment, as reactive metals such as aluminium, copper and zinc might damage the culture.

You could drink it as such, but I prefer adding some more concentrated apple juice to make a refreshing lemonade. It serves perfectly as an aperitif if you top it off with some sparkling water, Here again it’s a matter of taste, even though I would recommend something as 2 or 3 parts of kefir lemonade for 1 or 2 parts of sparkling water.

TIP: don’t discard the parts of lemon and blood orange; fill a water jug and add it to it, you’ll be surprised how much flavour it still contains…