We make kombucha tea in gallon barrel jars, with a batch being “harvested” every Sunday. Once bottled, the ‘booch sits in airtight bottles for a few days for a second ferment. It’s during this second ferment that additional flavorings may be added. The two week initial fermentation period is what seems to work best to achieve the flavor profile we like: slightly tart, but not vinegary. Some people let it go longer, but it can get pucker-you-up tart with time. Once it becomes too sour, there’s no going back. Continue reading “Oops…Forgotten Kombucha”
Tag: Probiotics
Hatching Wraps Up – Day 2
This morning, there were 12 fluffy chicks in the incubator. Since it was getting crowded with empty shells and chicks, we moved the fluffballs into the temporary brooder (half a large cardboard box lined with paper towels) and put out food and water. We add a splash of kombucha tea vinegar to their first week of water so they get probiotics, too.
Making Milk Kefir
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”
Adventures In Zymurgy: Pineapple Scrap Vinegar
Two batches of pineapple scrap vinegar are sitting on the counter, fermenting. It’s a good way to use the parts of a pineapple you’d throw out (or maybe compost), and you end up with a useful product.
Pineapple scrap vinegar starts with the skin, core, and any non-edible bits of the fruit you wouldn’t care to eat. Note: not spoiled parts – just bruised or “woody” parts. Basically, you cut it up, add ugar water, stir, cover with a rubber-banded paper towel, and let it do its thing. You stir it daily, and if all goes well, you end up with probiotic-filled vinegar that you can use in dishes or add to your chickens’ water for a healthy boost. Continue reading “Adventures In Zymurgy: Pineapple Scrap Vinegar”
That’s No Alien – It’s A SCOBY
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 kombucha vinegar. Continue reading “That’s No Alien – It’s A SCOBY”