Chuckling Goat has created a Brown Rice Kefir in what it says is a ‘world first’, following customer demand for a vegan, gluten-free kefir option.
The drink is produced using organic brown rice milk sourced from Rude Health, which contains only rice, spring water, organic cold-pressed sunflower oil and sea salt. This is fermented with Chuckling Goat’s milk kefir grains for 36 hours before the grains are removed and the kefir is then hand bottled.
The Welsh manufacturer describes the kefir as crisp and slightly fizzy, naturally free from any sugar, additives or chemicals, and packed with trillions of beneficial live bacteria.
“Natural healing is a slow process, and takes time,” explains nutritional therapist and founder of Chuckling Goat, Shann Jones. “Similar to our goats’ milk kefir, it can take nine weeks or longer to see health benefits from the brown rice kefir. If you are very sensitive, it’s a good idea to start out with the brown rice kefir, and graduate up to the goats’ milk version. Vegans can stay on the brown rice kefir indefinitely. Ideally, for optimal gut health, everyone should be taking kefir each morning – not just for nine weeks, but for life.
“In terms of taste, this is very much a starter kefir – less powerful and more palatable than the goats milk kefir. It is light and refreshing – like a very mild cider.”
Shann adds: “Here at Chuckling Goat, we have the great advantage of being able to combine the best of old and new. We mix ancient tradition and sustainable farming with the latest technology, like our cutting-edge microbiome test. Our primary focus is gut health, and we search the globe to find the best and most effective remedies to help our clients.”
Chuckling Goat invested £10,000 in converting its old canteen into the brown rice kefir dairy and is also investing in a partnership with Aberystwyth University which is researching the brown rice kefir to determine further benefits.