What Is Rejuvelac And How Do You Make It?

Thanks to websites like Pinterest, I often find cool foods and beverages that I’ve never heard of. Because I am a curious little foodie, I want to try everything. My most recent experiment has been trying Rejuvelac.

What is Rejuvelac?

Rejuvelac is a fermented liquid that is packed with natural probiotics, lactic acid, vitamins and minerals. The liquid is made from sprouted grains. Most commonly people use wheat berries, but for people like me who need gluten-free alternatives, you can also make this liquid out of quinoa.

It was first made very popular in the 1960’s by Dr. Ann Wigmore, the founder of Hippocrates Health Institute. Wigmore praised this beverage as the most healthy way to get a wide range of natural probiotics and boost your digestive system to help your stomach break down food.

How Do You Make It?

The process seems pretty simple, but does require some time and attention. The most challenging part is sprouting. I’ve never sprouted anything before so I really didn’t realize how long it takes. Plus, you really have to keep your eye on it.

1. First, you soak your grain of choice for a day or two.
2. When the little white hairs start coming out of the grain, that means it’s started to sprout.
3. Drain the grains, and fermented the grains in fresh water for a day or two, in an open container, covered with a cloth.

After attempting this myself, using quinoa, I was unsuccessful. It took more than two days for my grains to sprout. After it seemed like they had, I drained them and added new water for fermentation. The water got very cloudy very fast, more cloudy than the photos I had seen. This made me nervous and I tossed it.

So I went to my local Whole Foods to see what they carry. They only carry one line of Rejuvelac, which was made with wheat berries, and is not Gluten-Free.

I brought it home just to taste it. It wasn’t terrible. It tastes like a really sour lemon water. It’s not something I see myself craving like I do with Kombucha or Kefir soda, but I would drink it again. I have read that Rejuvelac is really “helpful” in cleaning out the colon, and that if you aren’t used to drinking probiotic beverages on the regular, you may receive some “extra help,” so drink with caution.

While I did enjoy experimenting, I think I’ll stick to kombucha.