Water kefir

Production of fermented and functional soft drinks, development of starter cultures and processes for the production of functional drinks based on water kefir.

Goal: Water kefir is a natural consortium of microorganisms. In contrast to the well-known milk kefir, drinks made from it have been freshly prepared on a kitchen scale for a long time and are highly valued for their sensory properties. Large-scale production is not yet possible. Due to the expected positive physiological properties, which are especially given by the contained, presumably probiotic acting lactobacilli, as well as the production of prebiotic extracellular polysaccharides (EPS), water kefir represents an interesting product innovation. While water kefir cultures are certainly used in the domestic sector, their scientific investigation is still insufficient. Only limited comparisons can be made with the related milk kefir. The overall goal of the project is to create the conditions for the industrial production of new functional beverages based on water kefir. For this purpose, the microorganisms involved in the microbial consortium and their contribution to its formation and stability will be characterised. Their metabolic performances, in particular the formation of EPS and oligosaccharides and their effect on the beverage and the granules are to be investigated. Here, the stable manageability of the water kefir consortium as a whole can be tested and contrasted with the equally pursued traceability to relevant key organisms, which will probably be significantly easier to use in beverage production. Through the targeted use of starter cultures and raw materials, the parameterisation of the fermentation process and the use of beverage processing methods, it should be possible to produce different products in terms of residual sugar, alcohol and sensory and functional properties. Furthermore, processes for kefir processing are to be developed with which sensory attractive, durable kefirs can be produced.

Contact: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jan Schneider, Marco Steffens

Cooperation partner: Prof. Dr. Rudi Vogel, Chair of Technical Microbiology (TU Munich)

Funding programme: AiF IGF

Funding code: 16454 N

Duration: 01.10.2011 - 31.03.2013