We’re into fermenting. Right now, we do kombucha, water kefir, and milk kefir (and lacto-fermented sauerkraut). There’s also a really chunky Jun scoby languishing up in the cupboard, but that’s a story for another day.
Basically, you take milk kefir grains (which look like large cottage cheese curds), put them in milk, stir them, and over time, they turn the milk into a delightful beverage that’s like slightly runny yogurt. It’s also full of probiotics. Some people like to add fruit or blend it into a smoothie. If you use heavy cream as your base, you get a thick kefir that’s like a cross between whipped cream and sour cream. It works well on tacos or atop an egg custard. Strained through cheesecloth, milk kefir makes a very nice farmer’s cheese. Continue reading “Making Milk Kefir”
Today, it was time to cycle out a batch of kombucha tea. Every two weeks, a new batch is ready for bottling. This batch was from 12/20, composed of the following tea(bags): 2 darjeeling, 2 green, 1 white, and 1 oolong.
Per the standard procedure, new sweet tea was made, inoculated with some of the previous batch, the jar was filled with reverse osmosis filtered water, and the SCOBY was added to the fresh mix. It will sit, covered with a breathable cover, for two weeks. If it ferments for longer than that, it will become much more vinegary…in fact, there are designated jars with batches that have been left for a month or longer, specifically to turn into