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Water Kefir: Oxygen or No Oxygen?




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October 21, 2013 by Andrea Fabry 33 Comments

Should you make water kefir with an airlock or just cover it with a cloth? Is the process more like kombucha or sauerkraut?

Water Kefir - Oxygen or no oxygen

I have been making water kefir for several years now and so far have not used an airlock. I cap the jar tightly during the second ferment to increase carbonation. (An airlock during the second fermentation is a good idea, as I have experienced an explosion due to the build up of gasses.)

Recently my sons and I performed an experiment to test the hypothesis that oxygen is beneficial during the first fermentation period, and therefore a cloth cover is preferable to an airlock. The cloth cover allows oxygen to nourish the growing culture. The airlock keeps oxygen away, but allows carbon dioxide to escape. This is vital for vegetable ferments such as sauerkraut or kimchi, but not healthy for ferments that need oxygen such as kombucha or wine.

What are water kefir grains?  They are similar in nature to a kombucha SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast.)

The scientific name given to water kefir grains is tibicos, which according to wikipedia, “are a culture of bacteria and yeasts held together in a polysaccharide biofilm matrix created by the bacteria.”

Fundamentally, yeasts require oxygen in order to grow. If your grains multiply during the initial fermentation, it is a sign the culture is successful.

We started with  two half gallon jars, filling each with the same amount of grains (3 ounces), sugar, and water. We added the same amount of  molasses to each. (Molasses offers a nice boost for the grains since they thrive on minerals as well as sugar.) We covered the first with a cloth, the second with an airlock.

After 48 hours, we strained both and weighed the grains.

As you can see, the grains preferred the oxygen.  The grains grew slightly in the airlock but grew by 7 ounces in the cloth covered jar.

Colin performed his own experiment with similar results. Read his account here.

While our experiment tells me that either method is acceptable, I think I’ll keep letting my kefir breathe during the first ferment.

Would you like to perform your own experiment, or make your own water kefir? View the recipe here.

 

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Filed Under: Foodie, Microbes & Mold, Uncategorized Tagged With: bacteria, fermentation, fermented drink, grains, kefir, kombucha, molasses, sauerkraut, water kefir

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Comments

  1. kathie says

    August 25, 2014 at 10:16 pm

    Thank you so much for this water kefir experiment. I have 2 air-lock lids, but didn’t know if I could use them on my kefir (rather than vegetables). This gave me all the information I need to know that both methods will work, but a cloth works better (especially if I want my grains to grow).

    Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      August 26, 2014 at 6:13 am

      I’m so glad it helped, Kathie! Thanks for the feedback.

      Reply
      • Brittni says

        February 19, 2018 at 3:40 pm

        Hi i have a question. My grains look like they are broke down. Very small. What am I doing from. This is the first time in the water after dehydration

        Reply
        • Andrea Fabry says

          February 20, 2018 at 9:10 am

          I would keep trying to grow them. It may take awhile for them to come back to life.

          Reply
  2. marco polo says

    March 5, 2015 at 4:58 pm

    Cool experiment! I’ve been getting into fermentation lately and was wondering about this exact topic. This was a great, concise explanation, thanks!

    Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      March 6, 2015 at 10:44 am

      Oh I’m so glad to hear! Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
  3. Gerhard says

    March 6, 2015 at 12:15 pm

    Hi

    Please help. I have recently acquired these great plants and know little about them. Your experience above seems as if you can possibly help.

    I make water kefir with Rooibos tea(South African) and Treacle. Previously I did not close the container but on the last occasion I accidentally closed it tight. Now it looks like there is some other fungus(whitish) floating on the mixture and it smells more alcoholic like than before.

    Is it possible that these poor guys may have died?

    Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      March 6, 2015 at 2:25 pm

      The white fungus could be Kahm yeast which is actually harmless. The fact that is smells alcoholic tells me that your grains became yeast heavy. I don’t think they are dead. In order to balance them again I might rinse them in filtered water and let them be in the fridge in some sugar water for a week or two. It’s a good way to allow them to re-balance. I honestly don’t think all is lost. The loss of balance could have occurred when you closed it tightly. If you use all treacle and no regular sugar then it become yeast heavy from what I understand. I would use 1/3 part treacle to 2/3 parts regular sugar. I hope this helps. Please do keep me posted!

      Reply
  4. SG says

    June 29, 2015 at 4:13 pm

    Hi there,

    I’ve recently noticed that my fresh water kefir (no additives: made with tap water and white sugar) had started to initially develop pink stains and recently some of the grains had black stains on them almost like a mold…I was wondering if you knew what this meant and if the grains were still safe to use?

    Thanks,
    SG

    Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      June 29, 2015 at 5:13 pm

      You can try to rehabilitate them by rinsing them with filtered water and leaving them in the fridge in some sugar water. Sometimes this “cleans” them. The discoloration is not a sign of healthy grains. I might discard them and start fresh.

      Reply
  5. Tom says

    May 8, 2016 at 8:28 am

    Grains prefer oxygen, that’s correct. But most bacterias will not strive in the oxygen environment.

    Reply
    • Pam says

      May 18, 2016 at 1:54 am

      I was wondering about this, as I have read somewhere that if it is not airtight bad bacteria will get in and destroy all the good. Any ideas on this?

      Reply
      • Andrea Fabry says

        May 18, 2016 at 8:56 am

        That’s true with sauerkraut, but when there is a combination of bacteria and yeast (such as kombucha) then oxygen is good. They balance themselves out. Sauerkraut is strictly bacterial as I understand it.

        Reply
  6. Stephen Reed says

    October 8, 2016 at 3:13 am

    Thanks for the advice Andrea. I’ve been making milk kefir and other exciting ferments for ages, just started on water kefir and this is what I needed to know. Perfect timing.

    Reply
  7. Leonard says

    March 23, 2017 at 9:03 am

    Oxygen changes the taste of the outcome. In the case of kefir it means too much (lactic) acids. Oxygen is the fast and cheap way to make vinegar.

    Reply
  8. Jacky says

    March 24, 2017 at 12:55 am

    Hi I’ve started fermenting my water kefir with closed fido jars Although not completely airtight I find that the smell of the water kefir after first ferment is less yeasty smelling than with just a cloth cover. So I prefer this method now.

    Reply
  9. Virginia Linnell says

    April 28, 2017 at 10:37 am

    Great post. Was just wondering which way to ferment the water kefir whether to seal or to allow oxygen. There many differences in opinion. For now, based on your findings, will continue first ferment aerobically. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      May 4, 2017 at 7:43 am

      Thanks for taking the time to share, Virginia.

      Reply
      • Guillaume says

        October 13, 2017 at 5:40 am

        Hi What is the longest one can store a bottle of Kefir after the second fermentation ? I do a 2 nd fermentation for 2 days with loads of healthy spice ext .. i only do one burp after the 1st day and then thraight to the fridge after the 2nd with loads of fizz.i suppose the fermentation does cary on although refrigerated ? Meaning it wil explode if left for to long ?

        Reply
        • Andrea Fabry says

          October 13, 2017 at 7:15 am

          It shouldn’t explode in the fridge, but it will slowly increase in fermentation. I’m not sure it will go “bad”, but might not taste as good.

          Reply
  10. can demir says

    January 30, 2018 at 3:48 pm

    When i use aerobic it turns vinergar easly. Is there a way making it non vinegary but still aerobic?

    Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      January 31, 2018 at 9:01 am

      It always leads to vinegar the longer it ferments. The only suggestion I have is to stop the process sooner so it doesn’t become that acidic.

      Reply
  11. Lisa says

    February 23, 2018 at 7:08 am

    Great experiment, but testing the kefir water also is important,cause knowing if the kefir water which is what we consume has more or less bacteria , taste , flavour , colour, etc, after aerobic and anaerobic fermenting is an imortant part of you observation checklist.

    Reply
    • Cubo says

      May 25, 2018 at 1:56 pm

      Lisa, how could one test to see if the water kefir has more or less bacteria? I am new to this but loving some of my second ferments over others.

      Reply
  12. Wynonah says

    September 20, 2018 at 7:26 pm

    What do I do if my water kefir gets kahm yeast?!

    Thx!

    Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      September 22, 2018 at 8:45 am

      Kahm yeast is perfectly safe. You can strain it out if you would like.

      Reply
  13. Hendri says

    September 25, 2018 at 5:36 pm

    How much sugar and water u use for half gallon jar.
    Can I growth the kefir grain without use mollases?

    Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      September 28, 2018 at 8:20 am

      http://it-takes-time.com/2014/03/10/how-to-make-water-kefir/ This post has the recipe. You don’t have to have molasses.

      Reply
  14. Pati says

    December 19, 2018 at 6:45 am

    Hello, I left my water kefir grains in an airlock jar with very little sugary water for a couple of days as I did not have sugar at home to start a new fermentation.

    when I put the grains again in sugary water, they didn’t seem to do anything. The water tastes of sugary water and no fermentation seems to have taken place. Is it possible that I have killed my kefir grains because of lack of oxygen?

    Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      December 23, 2018 at 7:27 pm

      Maybe some time and repeated attempts will bring them back to life! I’m not sure on this.

      Reply
  15. Shawn says

    June 28, 2019 at 1:41 pm

    Any data on whether the grains produce more alcohol in an aerobic or anaerobic environment?

    Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      June 29, 2019 at 9:03 am

      Hmmm…excellent question! If I get an answer I will let you know.

      Reply
  16. Eva says

    May 9, 2020 at 11:05 am

    I found this research paper, “Oxygen and diverse nutrients influence the water kefir fermentation process”, that I want to share with you. You will get different kinds of culture depending on the amount of oxygen. With oxygen you will get more acidic acid (vinegar) in your water kefir, like some of you have already noticed.

    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0740002017311498

    Reply

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MEET ANDREA

I am a certified Building Biology Advocate, a former journalist, mother of nine, and avid CrossFitter who likes to think outside the box. After our family's health crisis in 2008, I learned to ask questions about what's in our food, our water, and our air. I hope to empower you as you seek to live safely in a complex world. Thankfully, small steps lead to big changes. Let's travel this road together, one step at a time.

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