KOMBUCHA & KEFIR RESEARCH

POST #942
I have the kombucha scoby and the water kefir grains in the refrigerator. The Russell James Chef Homestudy course I’m going through now has, just this week, given me a very good grounding in what I need to do for kombucha and kefir brewing. I just like to read up on as much background as I can.

KOMBUCHA
I’m finding out that I may have destroyed my kombucha scoby – who knew that you shouldn’t put it in the refrigerator. Well, it’s been in there almost a week, and I probably won’t try to do anything with it until at least tomorrow. (the scoby picture is from getkombucha.com)

Meanwhile, I have found two downloadable kombucha brewing guides on-line:

The Cultures for Health ebook  is very extensive – it covers in pretty much detail just about anything you want to know. This site also has quite a few informative videos on kombucha

Kombucha Kamp’s kombucha guide is concise and informative. I like it as a checklist for after I have read through the entire Cultures for Health book.

Yemoos Nourishing Cultures’ kombucha FAQ  has some useful information, as well.

More details at GetKombucha.com What is Kombucha

Drying kombucha – I kept trying to find out how to dehydrate kombucha, but never came up with anything much about using a dehydrator. Most of the info was about how to air dry it. I saw one mention of dehydrating at 105 degrees, but when I tried to follow that google link, I didn’t find anything further. It seems you are supposed to dry it to jerky consistency, but, on kombuchanana , which has some interesting ideas for what to do with dried scoby, I saw this picture where it looks pretty dry.

KEFIR
Cultures for Health has videos on water kefir . Their ebook deals only with milk kefir, but it is free and has interesting information (the picture is from Wikipedia)

Yemoos Nourishing Cultures has an extensive online water kefir “book”  which covers just about anything you could want to know.

Wellness Mama’s recipe promises Kefir soda  .

Lea’s Cooking’s kefir article  gives her recipes , as well as recipes she has found in her web research

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WHAT DOES REJUVELAC TASTE LIKE?

Sometimes people make rejuvelac according to a recipe (or my recipe) and then wonder what it is supposed to taste like.

That is a very interesting question.  When I first made rejuvelac, I just did it  according to the recipe in an Ann Wigmore book, and I drank it because it seemed like the thing to do.  I did not really think about what it tasted like.

Some people say that rejuvelac tastes like a tangy lemonade. Okay. I can go there.  I think it tastes like what it tastes like and I just drink it, because the taste is non-offensive to me.

I would recommend following the recipe to the letter (whatever one you follow — I have one in my recipes: just key in rejuvelac in the search box). I have had the experience of doing it from a book recipe, and, also, of doing it in a training — it has always turned out the same for me (I use a very clean recipient, and I  follow the instructions to the letter)

Some people add fresh or dried fruit to the mix, after the wheat berries have been sprouted, ground, and added to water, and they ferment the rejuvelac thusly — this gives a different flavor — I have tasted “mango rejuvelac”.  I often make “rejuvelac wine”, adding raisins or dates (depending on the recipe), or “mulled wine” (adding mulling spices) to the the basic mix as I begin to ferment the rejuvelac.  On occasion, I have made “champagne rejuvelac”.  (The recipes for these variations can be found right here by keying in “rejuvelac” in the Search box)

I will tell you this:  My recipe is for 1 gallon, and, for the longest time (as in always)  I have made it in a 1/2 gallon jar.  I have suddenly become aware of my boo-boo (duh! after 30 years?????  !!! and in-person training????)  The good thing is, my rejuvelac recipe has always worked (and I passed my test in my training when I took my rejuvelac  in for inspection by the teacher). I have just scored a gallon glass jar, and I am going to make some rejuvelac this week in it — I expect it will be pretty much like what I have made before)