Monday, August 27, 2012
Some like it hot(ter)
I did some more reading about Kombucha cultures, and I have discovered I'm a dope. I try my damnedest to keep my fermenting closet between 65-75, since higher is bad for yeast. APPARENTLY, Kombucha cultures like it hot by comparison. 80*F is a happy culture medium. 74-85 is the optimum range. That would explain why, when the dryer was running all day and I had the fan on the lower levels, the Kombucha went nuts and grew very obviously overnight. We're kind of stuck this morning since I moved it to a cooler area. Lesson LEARNED. Some just like it hotter.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Demented Fermenting
I got it in my head to document my fermenting ride. Partly cause I type faster than I can write, and half the time my writing is illegible, but also because some other person might find it useful.
I should explain: I'm a "beaten path? What the hell for? Lets BLAZE BABY!" kind of person. I live out in the middle of nowhere, it takes forever to get to a shop, and even longer to remember what I went for.
So one day, I buy some kombucha. Yeah, I can hear it. "what the hell is that?" Essentially, it's a drink made from a symbiosis of bacteria and yeast. Probiotics galore. Vaguely reminiscent of bottled carbonated drinks. However, I gagged at the price tag. A whopping $4.99 at the local. Holy cost batman! Being the kind of "I wonder if I could do that?" kinda girl I am, I look it up. Making my own at home should be easy tea-sy. Har-har. I'm also a kind of tea junkie so when I found out you make it with tea and sugar and a simple culture, I was a little confused where the tag came from, but I also looked at the directions and said "WHICH KIND?!" There are so many! No word of a lie, I have easily 40 different tea types in my brewing station.
Clever clogs here got a SCOBY (that's what the starter culture is called) and took to making my first batch, which I started on Wednesday, using fanciest formosa oolong (just on the off chance you cared!) some sugar in the raw, apple cider vinegar and a bottle of expensive and plain kombucha from the store. I can happily say that, sitting in my fermenting closet, I've started to see my Kombucha Mother forming a baby, so my tea should be ready in the next day or so. Yeah baby!
I also got it into my head that if I'm going to be sucking down healthy fermentations, that I should try OTHER easy fermentations. I have some water and milk kefir grains on their way to my home, should be here by Wednesday. I've been drinking kefir drinks for a while without realizing how amazingly good they are for me. When I had to fight the short one for some, I knew I needed to make some of that, too.
Since one usually thinks "alcoholic" when one thinks "that's fermented" I should explain that I also have some beautiful strawberry mint mead brewing in the bottom part of my fermenting closet. I drink mead. I'm not a big fan of other alcohols, but damn if I don't love me some fermented honey. I'm just a little sick of having to special order the stuff out here.
So, here's to my fermented journey. May it be fruitful, fizzy, explosion free, and always tasty. If you are keen to follow along, I spill recipes as I make them, pictures as and when appropriate, and I might prattle on for a while about ALL my ferments. Like my sauerkraut. Oh, and PICKLES this week.
I should explain: I'm a "beaten path? What the hell for? Lets BLAZE BABY!" kind of person. I live out in the middle of nowhere, it takes forever to get to a shop, and even longer to remember what I went for.
So one day, I buy some kombucha. Yeah, I can hear it. "what the hell is that?" Essentially, it's a drink made from a symbiosis of bacteria and yeast. Probiotics galore. Vaguely reminiscent of bottled carbonated drinks. However, I gagged at the price tag. A whopping $4.99 at the local. Holy cost batman! Being the kind of "I wonder if I could do that?" kinda girl I am, I look it up. Making my own at home should be easy tea-sy. Har-har. I'm also a kind of tea junkie so when I found out you make it with tea and sugar and a simple culture, I was a little confused where the tag came from, but I also looked at the directions and said "WHICH KIND?!" There are so many! No word of a lie, I have easily 40 different tea types in my brewing station.
Clever clogs here got a SCOBY (that's what the starter culture is called) and took to making my first batch, which I started on Wednesday, using fanciest formosa oolong (just on the off chance you cared!) some sugar in the raw, apple cider vinegar and a bottle of expensive and plain kombucha from the store. I can happily say that, sitting in my fermenting closet, I've started to see my Kombucha Mother forming a baby, so my tea should be ready in the next day or so. Yeah baby!
I also got it into my head that if I'm going to be sucking down healthy fermentations, that I should try OTHER easy fermentations. I have some water and milk kefir grains on their way to my home, should be here by Wednesday. I've been drinking kefir drinks for a while without realizing how amazingly good they are for me. When I had to fight the short one for some, I knew I needed to make some of that, too.
Since one usually thinks "alcoholic" when one thinks "that's fermented" I should explain that I also have some beautiful strawberry mint mead brewing in the bottom part of my fermenting closet. I drink mead. I'm not a big fan of other alcohols, but damn if I don't love me some fermented honey. I'm just a little sick of having to special order the stuff out here.
So, here's to my fermented journey. May it be fruitful, fizzy, explosion free, and always tasty. If you are keen to follow along, I spill recipes as I make them, pictures as and when appropriate, and I might prattle on for a while about ALL my ferments. Like my sauerkraut. Oh, and PICKLES this week.
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