Homemade Scoby & Kombucha

I am fairly new to kombucha, only a few months but was immediately hooked.  It took me a while to purchase my first one because I just could not bring myself to spend over $3 on a beverage, and it really just did not look appealing.  Marlene's had them on sale -- $1 less than normal price -- and so then started the kombucha bottle collection in my cupboards!

Well if it didn't look appealing at first bottled sight, then certainly it doesn't when making it!  My husband could not believe I fell in love with kombucha.  He spent some years as a server in Florida -- the "South" part of Florida in the Panhandle, where sweet tea is ordered before the water comes out.  He wondered why I didn't just make it myself if I loved it so much.  I then looked up scobies and saw how unappealing the process looked and how much a kit would cost me.  He said they would make scobies all the time, not intentionally, but just by being so busy and never washing out the urns.  So I began my experiment.

From what I read online, I am finding article after article no longer recommended the homemade scoby method that I used.  However, even if you bought a scoby, in reusing it past your first batch you are still practically doing the homemade scoby method by using some of the old tea to feed the scoby, because each batch will make new scoby -- like you are initially atttempting to do with the homemade scoby method.  It's the same process in the second go-round if you bought your scoby.  It just sounds fishy to me to say it is not a recommended method, and seems more like a way to keep making money off of people on something that often unintentionally gets made in the South.  Yeah, you know what road I took!

I started with these ingredients:

1 bottle of store bought original black bottle kombucha
Homemade sweetened black tea

I wanted a good start so I used the black bottle kombucha.  If you are using GT's, this is the kind that says it contains alchohol because it has a slightly longer fermentation process than the clear bottle stuff.  I have seen in those non-recommended articles that the clear bottle is often used, though the darker bottles have much more of that cloudy blob on the bottom and I wanted a good starter for a scoby.

I started by steeping tea and molasses in a mason jar and a jam jar, halfway full, and then let cool completely.  I decided on molasses because I wanted the extra minerals in my kombucha.  Note -- I have read that in choosing sugar types for kombucha, since molasses has extra minerals, it is harder on the scoby; however, my scoby formed just fine in 5 days' time.  It didn't seem to have a bad effect on my batch!  I will stick to natural, raw sugars like raw honey and raw agave, because of contained minerals and ohter properties.  I just love that I can add healthiness (if I can even say a sugar source could be healthy with offending some) to something already healthy.

After the tea fully cooled, I split the store bought kombucha into the 2 jars.  I let it fully cool as to not kill the cultures in the kombucha I added.  Then I simply set the lids on top, not tightened, and let it sit in my pantry.

Right before I put the lids on. 

Day 5 gave me a healthy scoby, though I waited until day 8 to do the second fermentation on this batch and do a second initial batch. 

The initial fermentation can go from 7-30 days.  I thought mine would have to be on the high end since I was using molasses.  Yet, this wasn't the case for me, and the smell of tartness was to my precise liking on day eight.  It might have been because of the good starter black bottle kombucha that I used, rather than the clear bottle.  Our secret.

On day 8 I took the contents from this batch, removing the scoby and reserving some from of the bottom for another new batch, and bottled it into 2 kombucha bottles.  I decided on a gingerade flavor, squeezing fresh lemon into each bottle and 2 drops of ginger essential oil.  I gave it a quick try, and the ginger was very strong.  Next time I do this flavor, I will use just one essential oil drop per bottle.  Then I tightened the lids and put back into my pantry for another 2 days.  This is to enhance the flavor and to allow carbonation to build from fermentation to gain a fizzy kombucha.  With the scoby and reserve, I started another batch of kombucha, repeating my initial batch with a scoby this time.  

Second fermentation process.  The scoby did grow from day five to eight.

Second batch, reusing scoby.

It was a very easy process.  It's like ghee -- I can't believe I've been buying this stuff!  This second batch I will add chia seeds to make my favorite type of kombucha.  What are some of your flavors you have experienced making?  You know, I never was into sweet tea.  I actually even took a bit of pride in knowing it didn't get a hold of me.  Ha, but with kombucha... I guess in a way, sweet tea got a hold of me too.

Simple Vegan Kimchi

Before yogurt companies were bringing awareness of probiotics as advertised in their products, I was tearing up some kimchi as a young girl...and embarrassed by it.  It used to be one of those things you'd have to excuse yourself:  "Excuse me, I ate kimchi; I smell a little garlicky."  In grade school there would be other little kids that would say to the Asians and Islanders, "That stuff stinks," or "Eww, you eat rotten cabbage?"  You know, all the while the best things to eat were pizza and fries.  Ha!  What a turn of the century.  Now rotten tea and rotten cabbage have properly taken (reclaimed) their place in the food industry, and the McDonald's of the 90's has taken theirs.

I actually took a break from eating kimchi after I turned vegan in 2006.  I'd eat it sparingly from the health food store, as a vegan option.  Then I added fish back into my diet and ate it from the Asian stores made fresh with fish sauce.  I later questioned if they knew all the ingredients in their fish sauce (because many already-jarred ones are NOT kosher, using shrimp on top of the fermented anchovies), and so I determined it was time to stop playing 20 questions (and language barrier at times) with the Asian stores, and make my own.

It is extremely easy to make.  Though I do question if 2-3 days is sufficient to ferment, as I've seen in most other recipes.  Perhaps it is to the 1st stage, but there are 3 stages of full fermentation.  The final is essential for preservation, but also very acidic (which is what preserves -- think of citric acid in jarring...).  Some may not prefer a vinegary kimchi.  Me?  I love vinegar.  So I made a double batch with the intentions of keeping half (hopefully) until the 3rd fermentation stage (3 weeks).

Another issue I am finding is in how to store while it ferments.  Some say keep the jar tightly sealed.  Some I see do not even have all the cabbage under brine.  Some drain the brine the cabbage soaked in while it was prepping and never add any back in (mainly those that do not have cabbage sitting under brine).  I guess that is where this 2 day fermentation comes in.  Maybe all that gas buildup is fermenting that cabbage quickly and you must eat it quickly then, or it will otherwise truly rot?  I don't know.  All I know is that my recipe I'm sharing with you is taking my experience with sauerkraut into consideration, which I did successfully ferment to the 3rd stage without any signs of mold.

Ingredients:  
Napa cabbage (at least)
Daikon (optional)
Green onions

Base (per one cabbage):
Himalayan or sea salt
Ginger essential oil (7 drops)
Turmeric essential oil (5 drops)
Korean red pepper flakes (3 T)
Paprika (2 T)
Sugar source (I use raw agave, but you can use regular sugar -- 2 T)

Brine soak:
water
Himalayan or sea salt (note -- I've read that table salt's added iodine will actually prohibit fermentation)

Step 1
Cut the cabbage in half, lengthwise.  Cut the halves in half, lengthwise.  Chop these sections widthwise in a few sections.

Step 2
Soak cut cabbage in brine soak all day or all night, making sure that there is enough liquid to submerge cabbage.  It will try to float, therefore you will have to stir it halfway through.  Every vegetable has a compound in the cellular walls that needs to be broken down to allow for fermentation.  With sauerkraut you literally break it down as you smash the cabbage using salt to draw the moisture out for a self-made brine.  Yet in kimchi, the cabbage is different and you can't exactly beat it down.  Since you aren't, you have to let it soak for a bit to break it down.

Step 3
Mix your base ingredients into a separate container.  The measurements I gave are very general.  Feel free to adjust according to your taste.

Step 4
Drain cabbage from brine, reserving the brine in case you need it.  Massage base ingredients into cabbage with your hands.  I used my bare hands, though I know some will use gloves due to the peppers.  You should accumulate some brine in your massage.  If you are not, then add more salt and keep massaging.

Step 5 
Jar the kimchi with the liquid attained through massage.  If it doesn't cover the kimchi then add the brine reserve (from your soak).  To ensure kimchi does not mold (which would be hard to do in just a 2- day ferment, but do this if you want a longer ferment), drizzle a layer of olive oil on the top of of your ferment and lay a single large piece of cabbage on the top.  The oil makes a barrier for the oxygen and the piece of cabbage keeps the ferment from floating above the brine.  Seal FINGER TIGHT.  The gas must release.  In order to not mess with it much as save yourself from burping the kimchi, keep the lid barely finger tight, this will allow enough pressure within the jar to keep oxygen out but not enough of a seal to prevent off gas.  This is the method I adopted from my sauerkraut.

Time?  If I were judging based upon what I know of sauerkraut, I'd say give it a week, or at least 5 days.  Then again, I see many recipes that say 2-3 days.  I mean, if you are going to have kimchi, have kimchi and take it nice and fermented!  That is my suggestion.  Again, half of my jars are going for 3 weeks or more.  

I made these 5 jars from 2 heads of Napa cabbage.  I figured with the ingredients I used, these 5 jars costs me $5 total -- that's $1 a jar.  I just came from the Asian store where these sizes sold around $5 (the smaller one) to $8 (my larger one listed) a jar.  Yep, totally worth it.

First Fermentation Project: Sauerkraut

I am on this fermenting kick.  It's been over a year now that I've been intending on getting into it.  I wanted to ferment goat milk in Costa Rica, and even hoped to ferment the bananas into vinegar.  For some reason I just thought it was extremely difficult, or too laborious, and instead used the milk for cereal, and bananas for things like pancakes and the Chamorro donuts.  I switched up ferment for fried.  I'm a different person now.  First of all, I'm not pregnant -- which saw me so nauseous a year ago that I was willing to eat anything I could stomach without the acid.  Yes, even eggs and cheese.

So there is a big controversy I am seeing online about the proper containers for fermenting.  You all know I am all about using what I already have, and when I went to the health food store and saw a starter fermenting kit for $26, it only further justified that I will keep using what I have.  Fermenting is a process used not just for making alcohol in the past and now, but for preserving food.  We are now seeing (like many other things done in the past we are discovering) it should be done for health purposes, primarily for the probiotics that come of it.  The less fortunate around the world still ferment, safely, for food preservation.  I'm sure these don't have the luxury of purchasing a $26 starter kit.  Just saying!

I remember witnessing kimchee being made as a child...in an extremely huge, open container.  So yes, even though typically speaking, oxidation makes things go sour and moldly which logically would tell anyone that you should use an airtight sealed container (or some other fermenting-specific container) to rid oxygen, we also know that the process of fermenting provides a preservation/protection for the thing being fermented, as the lactic acid forms when the produce's suface bacteria is coupled in a brine to ferment the produce's sugars.  From the fermenting guros Google-wide I've read that as it really does not matter about the container so much as the ferment is sitting under the brine.  If you can count on this good bacteria in the brine to fight off the bad inside of your body, then it can do it in a container outside of the body before it gets there.

I didn't even go as far as using a mason jar, because I didn't have one readily available.  I used what used to be a Costco strawberry jam jar, because it was a quart size and I knew a cabbage would yield a quart.  I would today recommend, for my future uses, to use a larger size, because of the gassy overflow.

There are several methods I've seen to ensure a good, safe ferment.  I am only going to share with you the 'layer of oil' method because it is the only one I've tried, and with success on the first batch.  Therefore, here are my ingredients for this method:

• Cabbage head
• Water
• Olive oil
• Himalayan salt (or other salt)

I made my own brine, and my instructions will share it.  I don't get all technical with percentages.  You know exact measurements are just a blueprint for me.  I worked with the cabbage in fourths, chopping to smaller strips, placing them in a mixing bowl, and to each fourth I gave my salt grinder 7 revolutions.  It was a number 7 thing to me, LOL.

Then I smashed that fourth with the backside of a ceramic cup (you know I'm all about using what I already have), just slightly.  Afterward I transfered each fourth into the designated jar and smashed even more with the backside of one of my cooking utensils.

I smashed until the cabbage pieces looked watery and green, rather than the lighter color with the crunch, as shown below.

I repeated this chop and salt, smash and jar, and more smash- method with the remaining quarters and did the final smash until the cabbage's liquid was approximately one inch above the cabbage.  In my recipe, the salt percentage was just fine.  Finally, I added a small layer of olive oil to the top of the ferment.  From what I read, this film allows for CO2 off gas, but is a barrier to oxygen intake (which will rot the ferment).  It worked for me, and I even did more movement of my ferment than most I've read.

I placed the lid on, finger tight.  This also will use positive pressure to prevent oxygen intake.  Enough carbon dioxide is building up within, to give enough pressure to push out of the finger-tight lid.  The pressure it builds is too strong for oxygen to roam inside.  Again, this is just an extra precaution, because the oil should suffice.  Each day I opened the lid and pushed the cabbage down (it will want to float).  CO2 bubbles will also form in the deppths of the jar, and cause air bubble separatioon in the ferment.  I helped those release by this daily push-down.  It seemed to help my ferment gas off quicker, as opposed to others I've read who experience gassy rise to overflow days after mine ended.  This also gives you an opprtunity to try your ferment, to determine when you are satisfied with the taste to move it to the fridge.

The ferment will get gassy the first few days and will rise to pour over.  At day 3 I actually took the lid off and put a ceramic mug in there to hold it all down.  It fight nicely enough to cover the jar's opening, but also allow the overflow under much pressure.  I put a plate underneath it all to catch the drippings.  You may also have to add water in there is too much overflow.  I added a couple tablespoons 2 days in a row, and that was it.  No more salt needed.  

My ferment made it to day 7, without mold or even white scum.  The bubbles became filmy on the top, but nothing I would exactly constitute as white scum.  At day seven's push-down, I decided it was the perfect vinegar taste for me, and I moved it to the fridge.     

The ferment goes through 3 stages, and in order to go through all 3 quickly, you will need to wait it out 3 weeks at room temperature.  The fermenting will continue in the fridge, but much, much slower.  As spoken through Wikipedia:

The fermentation process has three phases, collectively sometimes referred to as population dynamics. In the first phase, anaerobic bacteria such as Klebsiella and Enterobacter lead the fermentation, and begin producing an acidic environment that favours later bacteria. The second phase starts as the acid levels become too high for many bacteria, and Leuconostoc mesenteroides and other Leuconostoc spp. take dominance. In the third phase, various Lactobacillus species, including L. brevis and L. plantarum, ferment any remaining sugars, further lowering the pH. 

I am going to enjoy sauerkraut today!  Mine was made from an organic cabbage head for less than $2 for a quart, as opposed to Bubbies' that offers 1/3 less than my yield at $6 a jar.  Yes, I surely will enjoy it!