with sugar and a culture and allowed to ferment (Leal, 2018). The culture or “mother” is known as the "SCOBY" or Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast (Leal, 2018). But not all kombucha are the same, and that really depends on the culture's origin, weather, geographical location and medium used for the fermentation process (Leal, 2018). The flavor of some can taste more subtle while others may have a very strong vinegar taste. WHAT'S THE SCOBY?Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast or SCOBY is a living entity or a mat of cells that needs food to survive. By feeding it sugar the SCOBY will create B vitamins, antioxidants, carbon dioxide, ethanol, and beneficial bacteria and yeast (Malbasa, 2011). In combination with the tea and sugar, the SCOBY is able to produce this amazing fizzy tea. The SCOBY isn’t the most attractive looking thing but it is edible if you happen to accidentally ingest it (George, 2019). If you decide to make your own kombucha there are four different types of SCOBY to look for:
USES FOR SCOBY. IS THE SCOBY SAFE TO EAT?As scary as it might look the SCOBY is completely safe to ingest. The same friendly yeast and bacteria that kombucha is known for is also found in the SCOBY, and posses antibacterial activity and prevents contamination of the drink by pathogenic bacteria (Leal, 2018). There are actually a few home brewers that don't have the courage to discard their baby SCOBY and have created some delicious ways to use it, like apple pie SCOBY candy (Crosby, 2015) and other ways to cook with it (Klein, 2019). But that isn't the only thing you can do with the SCOBY. Suzanne Lee, a New York fashion designer, has found a way to take this probiotic rich SCOBY and turn it into wearable clothing. Simply by dehydrating the SCOBY, it becomes a leather-like textile that can be molded onto forms to create seamless clothing (Grushkin, 2015). KOMBUCHA HISTORY
HEALTH BENEFITS
MAKING KOMBUCHAInterested in making your own, but don't know where to start? There are plenty of places that you can go to learn more. One of the many options is Kombucha to the People run by Lila Volkas. Lila is a Certified Nutrition Consultant from Berkeley, California. She has been teaching kombucha brewing workshops since 2012 and has shared her culture (SCOBY) with hundreds of people over the world (Kombucha to the People, 2019). In the class you learn about what kombucha and a SCOBY is, the reported history of where and how kombucha came about, health benefits, preparation and care of kombucha and your SCOBY, and the many things you can make with the excess products you get from the fermenting process (i.e. fruit leather, salad dressing, art projects, and more).
BREWING YOUR OWNOnce you have sourced your own baby SCOBY you can start brewing kombucha. Keep in mind the kind of tea that you originally get with your SCOBY. That will determine how long or how fast your kombucha will take to brew. The one that we received was brewed with black tea, so it was already used to a black tea fermentation. However, we wanted to see if we like the taste of green tea kombucha versus black tea kombucha. After a week of brewing, the black tea kombucha was ready for its second fermentation. But the green tea batch was still too sweet. We left to ferment for three extra days to reach the ideal flavor. Once you have your first kombucha liquid, you can combine it with various ingredients to add more flavor to it. Our first black tea batch was mixed with blueberries, and the green tea was mixed with grated ginger and lemon juice. Our bottle was closed and allowed to ferment for another three days to allow the kombucha to ferment a second time. This second fermentation allows for more carbon dioxide production, which gives kombucha the fix that you normally expect Photo credit from Pro Home Cook Youtube Channel If your kombucha liquid is too sour or vinegary. Don't fret you can use it to make a vinaigrette. See recipe below. Blood Orange Kombucha Vinaigrette (Recipe courtesy of Kombucha to the People (Lila Volkas N.C.)) REFERENCESCrosby, H. (2015, September 11). Kombucha SCOBY Candy. Retrieved from https://yumuniverse.com/sugar-mama-kombucha-scoby-candy/
Grushkin, D. (2019, March 18). Meet The Woman Who Wants To Grow Clothing In A Lab. Retrieved from https://www.popsci.com/meet-woman-who-wants-growing-clothing-lab/ Kapp, J. M., & Sumner, W. (2019). Kombucha: A systematic review of the empirical evidence of human health benefit. Annals of Epidemiology, 30, 66-70. doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2018.11.001 Klein, D., Clark, Frankie. (2017, August 30). Can You Eat the Kombucha SCOBY? Retrieved from http://kombuchahome.com/can-eat-kombucha-scoby/#:~:text=Yes you can eat SCOBYs,not cause you any harm.&text=Let's start off by taking,what is in a SCOBY. Kombucha Culture. (2016, August 14). Retrieved from https://gastropod.com/kombucha-culture/ Firelands Regional Health Center (2019) Kombucha: The Cure For All Diseases? Retrieved from https://www.firelands.com/blog/kombucha-the-cure-for-all-diseases Kombucha to the People. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.eventbrite.com/o/kombucha-to-the-people-19653939226 Leal, J. M., Suárez, L. V., Jayabalan, R., Oros, J. H., & Escalante-Aburto, A. (2018). A review on health benefits of kombucha nutritional compounds and metabolites. CyTA - Journal of Food, 16(1), 390-399. doi:10.1080/19476337.2017.1410499
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AuthorI'm Jamie - a food enthusiast, chef, and blogger. My love for all things food and food science has led me on this journey to becoming a Registered Dietician Nutritionist (RDN). To me, nutrition education means showing and communicating creative and delicious ways to make food healthy. I hope to share these recipes and break the stereotype that healthy food shouldn't taste amazing. ArchivesCategories
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