How to Rest your Water Kefir Grains

Water Kefir

Reasons you may need to rest your grains

  • you want/need to take a break from making water kefir
  • your water kefir is smelling like sulfur
  • your water kefir is turning thick and slimy
  • your grains have started becoming smaller and sand-like

Necessary tools and ingredients

  • water kefir grains
  • sugar
  • water
  • egg shell, sucanat/rapadura/molasses — optional

Resting your grains

Ingredients

  • 1 cup water kefir grains
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 8 cups water
  • half egg shell, 1 teaspoon sucanat/rapadura/molasses — optional

Instructions

  1. First, rinse your grains in clean, non Chlorinated water 1-2 times.
  2. Next, place your grains, sugar, water and optional minerals in a large container. If you water kefir is showing signs of having too many minerals (water kefir or grains will be thick and possibly slimy) do not add the extra minerals.
  3. Put a lid on the jar and place it inside your refrigerator where it won’t be disturbed for at least one week.
  4. After one week, strain the water kefir grains and begin using them normally again.

Notes

The water from the resting process can be tossed or used as sugar water. While the grains were resting they will not have removed much, if any, sugar, so the water will be very sugary.

This recipe for resting can be used in conjunction with any amount of grains. Just adjust the amount of resting sugar as needed. There should be a 1:1 ratio of grains to sugar.