Growing your own; probiotics, that is

Remember Amish friendship bread from the 1970s - the bread that never stopped giving? Its sour starter kept as long as I fed it. After 10 days, I would pass a delicious sample and cup of starter to friends and neighbors. I was either loved or cursed, depending on the recipient.

Enter water kefir, different animal but similar process. After attending a water-kefir workshop at Mabry's Market about a month ago, I began making the effervescent drink. I took the class not only to learn about a nourishing alternative to my seltzer habit, but I was hoping in the long run it might save me some money.

"Water kefir contains over 40 strains of beneficial bacteria called probiotics - and yeast," said Rebecca Conroy, our instructor and a former chemistry teacher. Marketers are adding the probiotic jewels to yogurts, supplements and even pizza these days. If you Google it, you'll find more ways to use it than you want.

The process is incredibly easy, and the result truly tastes good. Kefir grains are needed for making or growing kefir. Generally, they are handed down from person to person, but there are companies that grow and reproduce them for sale. There are plenty of places online to buy them.

Most of the sugar in the recipe is "eaten" during the fermentation process by the kefir grains. The longer you leave it, the less sweet and stronger the kefir is, resulting in more beneficial bacteria and vitamins, Conroy said.

You can have fun experimenting with different fresh fruit juice, pureed fruit or pieces of fresh fruit, including mango, raspberries or blueberries, which can be added after the fermentation process to add flavor. The possibilities are limitless. I recently tried fresh cranberries.

A few things to remember about making kefir: Do not fill your bottles more than 3/4 full. This is important because the carbon dioxide produced during fermentation will produce pressure, which has the potential to force the lid off the jar or worse, explode.

Conroy also said kefir grains should not come in contact with any type of metal, so avoid using metal containers, spoons or metal strainers, as these could damage or interfere with the microflora of the grains. I found that the most time-consuming part of making kefir wasn't combining the ingredients; it was finding bail-top glass bottles - you know, the bottles with the wired, flip tops.

If you have access to a beer-making supply store, you could purchase a handheld bottle capper and caps, and use recycled glass beer bottles. Grolsch beer bottles work perfectly. My neighbor Jeff graciously drank the beer I purchased and returned the empty bottles for me to use. What a martyr.

BASIC WATER-KEFIR

1/4 cup organic sugar (replace 1 tablespoon of this with rapadura, a type of raw sugar, to encourage faster grain growth)
1/2 inch ginger root, peel and thinly slice
1 tablespoon lemon juice or 2 slices of organic lemon (if not organic, remove peel)
1/8 teaspoon baking soda4 tablespoons water kefir grains
Spring water

Mix one cup spring water, ginger root, lemon and baking soda into a glass quart jar and gently stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar is dissolved. Add water kefir grains and spring water; do not fill jar more than 3/4 full. Loosely cap and let ferment at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours.

Using your hand or a plastic strainer, strain the kefir into bail-top glass bottles, which can be sealed and are strong enough to withstand pressure. (Do not use plastic; kefir can leach harmful chemicals out of plastic.) Discard the ginger and lemon.

The strained kefir grains can be used in a new ferment batch. Store airtight sealed bottles at room temperature for 1 to 3 days, and then refrigerate. Serve chilled. Open carefully over the sink, in case there is a lot of fizz. Makes 1 quart.

Adapted from Rebecca Conroy