The swing top bottles in the picture above are batch #2 (orange flavoured). The Fido jar is batch #3. Batch #1 was... interesting. I think it turned out okay, it tasted okay, just... I wasn't sure about the alcohol content as, well, life happens and the first ferment went for a bit longer than I'd anticipated. So the kids won't be getting a taste until I'm certain it's okay.
Batch #2 I ended up doing half white sugar and half jaggery with a slice of unpeeled lemon added to the first ferment. I made sure the first ferment went no longer than 24 hours. I bottled it with some fresh orange juice and it's currently chilling in the fridge. Will do a taste test tomorrow.
Batch #3 is currently brewing, same ingredients as batch #2. The real surprise though has been the kefir grains themselves. I'd read that they can multiply quite quickly but wow... they really do breed like rabbits ;) I think I have close to 3 cups of them already (think about it - I started out with two tablespoons eight days ago...). I know I can find good homes for some of them but considering you really only need a couple of tablespoons to get started, it means a lot of left over grains.
Apparently you can eat the grains and, from what I've read, they're quite a potent source of probiotics, so regardless of whether or not we give the kids the kefir water, we can include the grains in their diet. I am in the middle of making a batch of jelly with a few of the extra kefir grains mixed in. :) I almost feel a bit odd eating them... I've grown quite fond of them, like little pets.
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