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How to Make Rejuvelac for Culturing Vegan Cheese

This is the simplest Rejuvelac recipe! Rejuvelac is a vegan fermented liquid made from sprouted grains. It’s been touted as a drink for digestive health, but it’s also perfect as a starter for making real cultured vegan cheese. 

Why make Rejuvelac?

Rejuvelac contains lactobacillus bacteria which produce lactic acid. That’s what helps cultured vegan cheese develop complex sharp, tangy and funky cheese flavours. This takes anywhere from 5 to 7 days so start your rejuvelac as soon as possible! You’re going to need this stuff for many of the cultured cheeses that I will be posting for Vegan MoFo this month, so get on it!

Video Tutorial for Making Rejuvelac

Ingredients to Make Rejuvelac

To make rejuvelac, you’ll need raw, intact, whole grains. For example, for the two jars in the video, I used quinoa and wheat berries. However, you can use many different kinds of whole grains, including rye, buckwheat and barley. Just make sure they are not cooked, cut or crushed.

sprouted wheat berries for rejuvelac

Different Flavors of Rejuvelac

Each kind produces rejuvelac with a slightly different flavour. I found that the quinoa rejuvelac was brighter and more lemony while the wheat rejuvelac was more musky.

For Gluten-Free Rejuvelac be sure to use gluten-free grains such as quinoa.

Click here to skip the ramble and go to the printable recipe.

Equipment needed

Being super low-tech, you’ll only need a few things for making Rejuvelac:

  • a container  – even a bowl will do. But I like to use wide mouth, pint-sized mason jars because they are easy to clean and sterilize, the wide mouth makes the rinsing stage easy, and I always have them around. But you can also use a large bowl or an old glass food jar.
  • cheesecloth – cut a little square of cheesecloth to cover the top or your mason jar. This will keep dust out while your rejuvelac is fermenting. 
  • mason jar ring – if you’re using mason jars, this is a convenient way of securing the cheesecloth. If you’re using other containers, you might use rubber bands instead. 

How to Store Rejuvelac

Store your homemade Rejuvelac in the fridge to keep it fresh for up to a week. You’ll want to check before using by tasting. Good rejuvelac has a nice pleasant, fresh and somewhat tangy taste. The smell should also be fresh, though it may have a bit of muskiness or savoriness to it; reminiscent of being in a cheese shop.

quinoa rejuvelac and wheat rejuvelac

How to Make Rejuvelac

The process of making rejuvelac is simple but there are a few things to keep in mind for success. Start with a half cup of grains and fresh water.  Plus, make sure your jars and utensils are clean and sterile.

  1. Sprout the grains. To do this, first soak them in water for 6 to 8 hours in a large quart sized glass jar. Then drain and rinse them. Drain them one more time, cover the top with cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band or ring lid. This lets the grains breathe while keeping any potential contaminants out.
    Let the grains sit at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, until they have sprouted. You’ll want to keep them moist during this time so rinse and drain them a few times during the day. You’ll notice that they will “grow” little tails after a while; those are the sprouts!
  2. Once the grains have sprouted, rinse them once or twice with fresh water.
  3. Add fresh water to the jar, up to the top. Then place a clean piece of cheesecloth over the top, secure, and let that sit at room temperature for 2 or 3 days. This will become your rejuvelac. The water will turn cloudy and bubbles will start to form. Depending on your room temperature, this may take a bit shorter or longer.
  4. Smell the rejuvelac. It should smell fresh with a hint of muskiness or savoriness to it. Taste it too! Don’t be scared! It will taste pleasant; fresh, a hint of lemon, and a bit grassy even. Depending on the grains, it may have different characteristics. If it smells foul, there may have been some contamination so it’s best to be safe and start again.
  5. Strain the rejuvelac into another clean jar. You can reuse the grains once more by adding fresh water. This will be more rejuvelac in only a day. Now you’re ready to use your rejuvelac in your own vegan cultured cheese!

straining rejuvelac from the grains

What to Make with Your Homemade Rejuvelac

You can drink homemade rejuvelac as a probiotic source. But I love to use it for making vegan cheese! Start with a creamy cultured cheese base like my Easy Cultured Cashew Cream Cheese or Cultured Almond Cream Cheese. Then you can use them as is, or go on to mix them with more ingredients and choose your own adventure!

grated vegan mozzarella

Printable Recipe for Rejuvelac

Yield: 1 quart

Make Your Own Rejuvelac for Culturing Cheese

quinoa rejuvelac and wheat rejuvelac

Use this simple method to make rejuvelac from untreated grains. It takes a few days so start now!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsprouted whole grains (like wheat berries, quinoa, amaranth, rye, barley or others)
  • Water

Instructions

    1. To a large glass container (1 quart/liter size mason jars work well), soak the grains in enough water to fully cover. Let this sit at room temperature away from direct sunlight for 6 to 8 hours.
    2. After soaking, drain the water. Rinse the grains a couple times.
    3. Drain the water again, cover the top of the jar with a cheesecloth and secure it with a rubber band or the ring of the jar lid.
    4. Let the grains sit at room temperature until sprouts form, about 1 to 2 days. Keep the grains from drying out by rinsing and draining them 2 to 4 times a day.
    5. When the grains have begun to sprout, rinse them one more time and drain.
    6. Fill the jar with fresh water. Let this ferment for 2 to 3 days.
    7. As the mixture ferments, gas bubbles will form and the water will become cloudy. There may be some white film on top; this is normal. Taste it to see that it's ready. The taste will be tangy with a hint of lemon. It should be fresh and pleasant tasting.
    8. Strain the liquid into a clean jar and it's ready to use in your own vegan cultured cheese.
    9. You can add more water to the grains to make a second batch of rejuvelac. It will only take a day.

    Notes

    • To store, cover the jar and place in the fridge. It should stay fresh for a week or two.

    Did you make this recipe?

    Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

    Showing 49 comments
    • Caeli @ Little Vegan Bear
      Reply

      I am so keen to start playing around with cultured cheeses…maybe after MoFo. I’m going to bookmark this post to come back to when I’m ready. Thanks!

      • Mary
        Reply

        I hope you get to try them! Let me know how it goes! <3 Thanks for the comment, dear.

    • Helen
      Reply

      It’s so refreshing to find your website! I am just beginning to try to become vegan. I have been overwhelmed by all of the complicated vegan dishes out there. Your website is such a fresh breath of fresh air. Thank you so much!

      • Mary
        Reply

        Good for you for moving towards a vegan lifestyle! Every step you make helps the animals and the environment. Thank you so much for the lovely compliment. You’ve really made my day, so thank YOU! Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions about transitioning to a vegan lifestyle, questions about certain recipes, or if you have any suggestions. <3

    • bexy
      Reply

      Can you make rejuvelac with alfalfa sprouts, you think?

      • Mary
        Reply

        I wouldn’t recommend it. Alfalfa is notorious for harbouring pathogens.

    • Sonja
      Reply

      Hi Mary, just discovered rejuvelac today and I am so glad I have found your website as well. You make it simple, and you motive me to learn more. In the past I had sprouted grain to grow my own Wheatgrass for juice and lentils for salads, but never heard anything about rejuvelac. Thank you so much for sharing. I will definitely start making your recipes. Sonja

      • Mary
        Reply

        Thank you~!

    • Maya Gal
      Reply

      Hi,
      Can i freeze the liquid Rejuvelac when it is ready?

      • Mary
        Reply

        I am not sure if that will affect the strength of the rejuvelac; especially if you’re going to be using it for cheese-making afterwards. However, some other blogs say it is fine. I haven’t tried myself.

    • Cici Chenliu
      Reply

      What do you do with the grains after? Can you cook it? I used quinoa and it seems a waste to throw it out

      • Mary
        Reply

        I’ve tried cooking it and I didn’t find it very good so I just throw it in the compost. It’s not very much you’re using.

        • Kelly Jensen
          Reply

          Could the sprouted grains be use to grow a tray of wheatgrass?

    • Annabelle esguerra
      Reply

      The one I’ve made with quinoa had bubbles and such a strong, foul and funky smell..I think I have to toss it out and start all over again with sterilized bottles

    • Davilyn Eversz
      Reply

      I make my own vegan yogurt. I found that using probiotics was not only really expensive but they don’t always work and even when they do they often create a slushy kind of yogurt, not a firm yogurt. Plus, I have an inherent distrust of anything commercially made. I use the Rejuvelac to make vegan cheese from nuts and I thought “Well, why not”.

      I put a couple of TBS of rye Rejuvelac in a jelly jar and filled it up with Westsoy Original (Did not sterilize anything). Put it on the seed mat overnight and had yogurt in the morning so that tells me of its potency that it yogurtized – LOL, at 70 degrees.

      This makes me so happy. I always have Rejuvelac left over when I make cheese and now I can use it to make yogurt – and actually I could make a single serving yogurt each night really easily. This first try left me with a soft yogurt more like kefir but now I know it does work so I’ll work on the ratio.

      • Mary
        Reply

        Yay! Thanks so much for sharing your experience 🙂 Maybe just straining the soft yogurt will make it thicker. Good luck!
        -Mary

        • Wendy
          Reply

          Really cool. I want to try that now

      • Eliana Posada
        Reply

        I am also doing vegan cheese using wheat Rejuvelac but lately I am getting a bitter taste. ¿Has it happened to you? Thank you for any comment!

        • Mary
          Reply

          Yes that’s happened to me before. Just keep letting it age and it should change.
          Unless the nuts/seeds you are using are rancid. I used sunflower seeds that were a bit past their prime and it did not work out at all.

    • Colin
      Reply

      Just made the rejuvelac as outlined here. Would be nice to have links to your recipes that use the rejuvelac at the bottom!

    • Queen
      Reply

      Can I drink the “water” instead of tossing it? I’m wondering if it has any benefits

      • Mary
        Reply

        You can drink the finished rejuvelac. I would not drink the water you used to soak the grains in the first stage.

      • Wendy
        Reply

        I’m following your recipe, my grains are producing cloudy cheesy smelling water after day 2, I do not see tails yet. Is this what is supposed to happen? How much water do you put in to “keep them moist” I put a few table spoons, maybe and shake it.

        • Pam
          Reply

          Hi, love this post but I have a doubt: after doing my rejuvelac, can I eat the sprouted grains in a salad or something similar? Thanks

          • Mary
            Reply

            Hi Pam,
            I haven’t done that but I’m sure you can. However, you should cook the grains before eating.
            Cheers,
            Mary

    • Laura Weiss
      Reply

      I’ve had amaranth in 2 jars for 3 day’s now. I changed the water a few times daily & drained the water. Still no sprouts!

      • Mary
        Reply

        Hi Laura,
        I suggest continuing for another day or two. Sometimes grains take longer to sprout, especially if the temperature is cool. If they don’t show signs of sprouting after a couple more days, you might have to throw those out and start again. Reasons for grains not sprouting may include the grains themselves having gone rancid, the temperature is too cold, or the grains have been cooked/heat treated. Hope that helps. Good luck!
        -Mary

    • Gloria
      Reply

      By using the grains that were suggested, does that mean the rejuvelac is gluten free?

      • Mary
        Reply

        Hi Gloria,
        For gluten-free rejuvelac, stick to gluten-free grains like quinoa. So wheat berries are out.
        Hope that helps!
        -Mary

    • Susan
      Reply

      Unfortunately, filtering doesn’t remove the chlorine compound that is used by municipal facilities.

      • mary
        Reply

        I don’t know too much about filters. However, a trick I learned from a city water expert is that chlorine will dissipate if you just leave a container of tap water alone (thank you grade 7 water science project!). I always have a container in the fridge that I refill. It takes about a day for the chlorine to dissipate completely. I’m sure it might take longer or shorter time depending on how much chlorine they use. Hope that helps, Susan 🙂

        • Nan
          Reply

          Only the chlorine ODOR is removed by letting the water set for hours. The chemical is STILL IN THE WATER.

          • Chris
            Reply

            Pure ascorbic acid (vitamin C) removes the chlorine and the chloramine – I use it for hydroponics at 1/2 tsp per 5 gallons of tap water – found that on a USDA website

        • Scott
          Reply

          Don’t forget about the chloramine. That has to be boiled to get out if it’s in your municipal water…..also some has Floride. There are many things that can be in municipal water…..I always buy 18L bottles of spring water for 4$ at the store 🙂

    • THRISHUL
      Reply

      can we prepere rejuvilac out of sprouted beans?

      • Mary
        Reply

        I’m not sure but sprouting beans aren’t pleasant in my opinion. They are very strong smelling and I don’t feel that would be suitable. I would stick to grains.

        Hope that helps!
        Cheers,
        Mary

    • Susan Feiler
      Reply

      Can rejuvelac get too old to be effective? My cheese recipe used to work out very well but the last two batches have never firmed up enough and the rejuvelac was probably almost 2 months old. I am making feta so after putting it in a brine – it dissolves. Could that be the problem? At frist I thought it was the agar so got new but got the same result – with the same rejuvelac.

      • Mary
        Reply

        Hi Susan,
        Perhaps that is the case. I have not tried using old rejuvelac; I normally use mine within a day or two. Sorry I could not fully answer your question.
        Stay well and safe,
        Mary

    • elizabeth shipley
      Reply

      I have tried using rye berries with no success although I thought they were fresh when purchased. After doing everything correctly and under my faithful watch for 3 days, they had not sprouted! I purchased them at the local health food store who assured me that they were fresh. I used rye berries many years ago when making Miyoko’s cheddar cheese and they sprouted within one day. Today I am trying another grain and will let you know what happens. I live alone and really don’t want to buy a 1 pound bag of “berries” since I don’t make vegan cheese all that often since my husband Gunter Pfaff passed away 5 years ago.

    • Eliana Posada
      Reply

      Hello!!!
      I am trying to make vegan cheese using cashews and rejuvelac. After 24 hours of fermentation the cheese is acid but also a little bit bitter, which spoils the taste. ¿Do you know why this could be happening? Thank you very much for the answer!

    • Nan
      Reply

      Thank you for this great info!! I browsed online for more info and found that Ann Wigmore called for soft wheat berries when making rejuvelac. Right now, all I have are hard wheat berries. I am not sure if they will work to make rejuvelac. Can you guide me on which wheat is best: soft or hard? Thank you again for a wonderful page full of very good info!

    • Kelly Jensen
      Reply

      Hi Mary. I’ve made rejuvelac in the past and I appreciate your simple method. I grow a lot of wheatgrass so I always have wheat berries on hand. After making a batch of rejuvelac, are the sprouted wheat berries viable to plant for wheatgrass?

    • Vijay
      Reply

      Can I mix both wheat and millet for rejuvelac .

      • Mary
        Reply

        Perhaps? I have not tried using Millet

    • Andriana
      Reply

      What can I do with leftovers- the spouts? Can they be used or I have to throw them away?

      • Mary
        Reply

        In the past, I’ve dried them and incorporated them into bread and crackers. They kind of have a sort of slightly cheesy funk to them.

    • Maria Ewall
      Reply

      Can I use hard red wheat berries ?

      • Mary
        Reply

        Yes!

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