DIY Kombucha
Description
Create refreshing, healthier drinks, from kombucha to herbal sodas and more, in your own kitchen.
Since the relatively recent introduction of kombucha onto North American supermarket shelves, this healthy sparkling beverage has exploded in popularity. But can it be brewed at home, with the same tasty, healthy results?
With this straightforward, accessible, and highly visual how-to guide, author Andrea Potter does away with specialist jargon and expensive or hard-to-find equipment, showing how sparkling homebrews from kombucha to water kefir are definitely possible for just about anyone to make, and have fun doing it. Coverage includes:
- Basic fermentation science
- Controlling fizz, acidity, and alcohol content
- Secondary fermentation and adding flavours to the brew
- Wild-fermented sodas, using a ginger bug (a wild yeast culture)
- Recipes for kombucha's honey-fed relative, Jun, as well as for water kefir.
Answering key questions including "where does all that sugar go?", "do I need to get a sitter for it when I go on holiday?", and "does this SCOBY look normal?", and including a comprehensive troubleshooting guide to help you keep brewing confidently and consistently, DIY Kombucha is ideal for foodies, urban and rural homesteaders, and health-motivated people - it's an essential addition to your DIY toolkit!
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Andrea Potter is a Chef and Registered Holistic Nutritionist. She has a background in Culinary Arts, with Red Seal certification. Since 2009, she has owned and operated Rooted Nutrition, aimed at providing nutrition education to a wide variety of clients. She has taught extensively on topics from whole foods nutrition and alternative baking (including sugar-free, gluten-free, and vegan), to seasonal soups, and fermenting and preserving food. Andrea is passionate about supporting health-motivated cooks to make informed healthy choices that start with vibrant, delicious, practical recipes and culinary techniques. Learn more at RootedNutrition.ca
Content
1 An Introduction to Homebrewed Sparkling Beverages
The Revival of Kombucha and Homemade Fermented Sodas
Science
Water, Sugar, Culture
Water
Sugar
Culture
Equipment
Cleaning the Equipment
That Wobbly Line between Alcoholic and Nonalcoholic
Carbonation
Too Much Fizz: How to Avoid Overcarbonation
Protect Yourself and Save the Mess
Too Little or No Fizz: Troubleshooting Lack of Bubbles
2 Kombucha
What is a SCOBY? Its History and Other Interesting Facts
From Homebrewed to Store Shelves and Back Again
About the Culture
Is My Brew Probiotic?
Sugar
Alcohol
Kombucha Ingredients
Where to Get Your First SCOBY
How Big a SCOBY Do You Need?
Tea
Which Tea Will You Try?
Herbal Kombucha
Primary Fermentation: Teas and Herbs
What Type of Sugar to Use
Kombucha Basic Recipe
Adding Flavor and Carbonation to Your Batch
Method 1: Flavor the Whole Batch
Method 2: Create Different Flavors in Each Bottle
Care for Your Mother: The SCOBY Hotel
Maintaining the Hotel
What To Do With Over-Fermented (Vinegary) Kombucha
What To Do With Extra SCOBYs
Kombucha and SCOBY Troubleshooting
Kombucha as an Ingredient
Mah's Orange Mint Kombucha Spritz
Coconut Kefir Kombucha Smoothie
3 Jun: The Honey-Loving SCOBY
Jun Basic Recipe
4 Water Kefir
Water Kefir Culture
Where to Get Water Kefir Grains
What to Feed Water Kefir
Fermenting Fruit Juices and Adding Syrups
Water Kefir Basic Recipe
Caring for Your Kefir Grains
Remaining Sugar and Alcohol
A Rhythm of Its Own
Coconut Kefir Yogurt Recipe
5 Wild-Fermented Ginger Beer; Fruit and Herbal Sodas
Ginger Beer or Ginger Ale?
Why Wild-Fermented?
Making and Caring for a Ginger Bug
Ginger Beer Basic Recipe
Root Beer
Root Beer Recipe
Variations
Love Your Liver Root Beer Tonic
Elderberry Immunity Soda
Turmeric Cardamom Fizz
Beet Cream Soda
Ginger Beer and Ginger Bug Fermented Soda Troubleshooting and FAQ
6 Whey-Fermented Drinks
Using Whey as a Starter for Fermented Sodas
How to Obtain Whey
Beet Kvass Recipe
Resources
About the author
A note about the publisher
