Lemon, fig & ginger kefir

Our friends Kate & Imogen from the wonderful Le Jardin Champetre brought us some kefir grains a few months ago. Since then we’ve been brewing kefir for our breakfast instead of squeezing oranges.

I use:

About 4 tablespoons water kefir grains

A chunk of fresh ginger

2 slices fresh unwaxed lemon

2 dried figs

60g organic cane sugar

A jug of tapwater (ours is lovely and comes from a source. If yours is vile use the bottled stuff)

Method:

I put the kefir grains in a glass jug and almost fill the jug with water.

Chuck in the sugar and whizz it with a wooden spoon to dissolve the sugar

Add the ginger, chopped into slices, the lemon and the figs

Cover with some muslin and leave for two or three days

Once it has fermented I then strain it into pop bottles through a plastic sieve and plastic funnel. Metal kills the grains. I then add a small amount of sugar for any tiny grains that have slipped through the sieve to feast on. They’ll produce gas that will give the kefir a fizz. That goes into the fridge for a day or so. I make it on a rolling programme so there’s always some brewing and some in the fridge for breakfast. For extra fizz I leave it out of the fridge for the first 18 hours.

Recipe from the lovely boys at The Happy Pear