missmary
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Posts posted by missmary
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Is there anything I could do that would make it harmful to drink? (yes, I know this is a crazy question)
The primary mistakes I have seen are people trying to reduce sugar too much or to use sugar substitutes (like stevia or coconut sugar). The scoby needs sugar to feed off and to keep everything in balance. When things do get off balance you are likely to get mold, which could be harmful. If you see mold, toss the whole lot and start again with a new scoby. Luckily, mold is pretty easy to detect. If something is furry or powdery, there is a good likelyhood it is mold.
Slimy brown globs are normal yeast and nothing to worry about.
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So glad to find this thread! I've restarted my batch after a fallow period with a lot of black tea and the darkest sugar I could fine and the culture is coming together nicely. I'm very eager to get my favorite rosemary kombucha back into my daily intake.
why the darkest sugar? Dark colored sugar tends to be high in molasses, which is high in mineral content. Such mineral content is fantastic for water keifer, but too many minerals will yield yeasty kombucha--maybe not on the first batch, but after a while. Kombucha does best on organic cane sugar.
Also, in case you were wondering, alternative sugars don't work for kombucha either, at least for long term, so no coconut sugar, honey, maple syrup or stevia. There is a culture that grows on honey (Jun tea), but you need a Jun scoby for that one.
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This morning: cold roasted chicken thigh, red and yellow bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots. mayo with hot sauce, black coffee. Followed this with a hard boiled egg (they were cooking when I took this picture--normally I have some on hand).
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So are most of you using fruit juice for second ferments?
I use whole fruit, but way more than a spoonful: I put a full bag of frozen tart cherries (or cranberries or peaches, but usually the tart cherries) and let it go 5-7 days. I get good flavor that way. I have not had luck with sliced or grated ginger, but moderate success when adding ginger juice FWIW.
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Does anyone else believe there is a limit to how many you should have a day for a daily egg eater? My lcl and hcl levels are great.
Nope. You can have a full dozen every day if you want or more, although I would recommend varying your protein sources. Dietary intake of cholesterol has very little impact on blood levels of cholesterol, but it is possible to develop sensitivities to foods like eggs if you eat too much too often to the exclusion of other foods.
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Can I use flavored black/green full-caf teas as my initial ferment? So the entire box of vanilla black tea in my tea chest that hasn't been touched in years...can I use that to use it up? I feel like that would be delicious with some sort of herby flavor added to second ferment...
The issue with flavored teas like your vanilla bean, is that the oils might damage the scoby or go rancid. This probably wouldn't happen on the first batch, but over time it might. So, depending on your taste for adventure, you could do some batches with the flavored one, maybe alternating with something plain? Do make certain the tea is really tea and not an herbal concoction--green, white, black, etc. are needed to feed the scoby.
Personally I stick to plain teas for the first ferment and add flavoring in the second (my scoby is healthy and robust and multiplying) but someday I might pull an extra one and test out a batch with flavored tea.
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If eggs are your protein, do they also count towards your fat in a meal? I know the yolks have a bunch of fat in them, as well as protein / micronutrients, so I wonder.
yup. If you have enough eggs you are covered for both protein and fat. That said, the fat in the template is really a minimum. It's fine to have additional fat with eggs if you want it.
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Hi all just starting I hate trying to figure out how much by my hand palm isnt there a oz per each or cup size for the veggies
The meal template gives you slightly vague information on purpose. Do your best to estimate the palm-size and thumb-sizes. Make sure you have at least 1 cup of veggies, but more like 3 is better, especially if they are salad greens. After that, try to use your own hunger to guide you. If you are hungry between these meals you need more of something, likely more protein or fat but more vegetables is rarely a bad thing. good luck!
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If it is, and assuming I'm some kind of crazy for eggs, would it be safe to take 4 eggs at all 3 meals? What if I could handle 2 palm-sized portions in each meal? Would it be healthy?
Eggs are a great healthy food, but variety is also good. I don't think it would be *unhealthy* to have 12 eggs in one day, but if you did that every single day, you would be missing out on the particular nutrients that come other protein sources.
I have eggs most days, but rarely more than 4 or 5 in a single day (sometimes over several meals). This leaves room for fish and beef and lamb and turkey and chicken and shellfish and pork
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The cloth cover needs to be 100% cotton correct? Something like a tea towel? I think I have that but not sure if I have a proper sized rubber band.
I don't know if 100% cotton matters, since it doesn't touch the tea or the scoby. I use some scraps of quilting-weight fabric that are probably mostly cotton, pretty tight weave but thin fabric. For rubber bands, the band off asparagus bunches works pretty well for me. They break after a few months and need to get replaced, but it's not a big deal.
I haven't done continuous brew so I can't comment on that part. good luck!
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exciting! here are my thoughts:
Question 1: She gave this to me in a sun tea type container with a lid. Is this ok or should the lid be replaced with a cotton cloth and rubber band?
Yes! The first ferment needs to breathe, so replace the lid with cloth+rubber band asap.
Question 2: When I asked her what kind of tea she used she said "Cherry Vanilla Twinnings I think". I believe she has been doing this with herbal tea and she said she usually waits 3 weeks. Is this going to be ok?
I think cherry vanilla twinnings is black tea+flavoring, not pure herbal, which is good. Kombucha needs real tea to work (it might be ok for one batch but the scoby will die eventually without real tea). Black tea, green tea, oolong, something like that would be good. It can have flavor like the cherry vanilla or earl grey or whatever, but the scoby will be happier and healthier if you don't include flavoring in the first ferment. save flavors for the second ferment when the mother isn't in the brew--otherwise you might have a slow growing sluggish scoby or get mold or who knows what.
Question 3: It looks like I have a baby growing on the bottom, is that normal? Until recently the mama was on the bottom but now that has floated to the top. It's been 2+ weeks and I tested the PH today and it looks somewhere between 3 and 4 and it still tastes slightly sweet, but hard to tell with a flavored tea.
The mother and baby can be anywhere--especially if you have been moving the container around. I think it is best if the baby can form a kind of seal on the top of the liquid, but don't freak if it doesn't work out that way. I've found timing to be pretty forgiving, but then again, I like mine really sour. I've never taken PH measurements, so I haven't a clue about that.
Good luck!
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I didn't get any fizz on my first batch (my flavours weren't sugary enough to lead to fermentation)
um, just in case people are confused reading this: if you didn't get fermentation you would not get the health benefits of kombucha or the flavor (AND it might get moldy). I suspect your batch fermented just fine...
Kombucha doesn't need to have bubbles to be "correct" or truly fermented. Although adding sweeter juice or fruit might help you get more bubbles, bubbles can also be encouraged by tightly sealing bottles (less space at the top, more air tight*), shaking bottles daily, etc.
*caution: these same steps also increase risk of explosions and broken bottles.
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Obviously if you can buy it commercially, it must be shelf stable so it doesn't explode in the bottles...
There actually was an issue with this in the US for a while, as one brand (GTs) was fermenting so much post-bottling that it became alcoholic! I find my homebrew keeps pretty much indefinitely once refrigerated. Left sitting out it will become too sour to drink after a while but I have not found that to be true in the fridge.
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One other question - I saw a lot of people talking earlier in the thread about adding honey to second ferments to help the fizz. Honey (at least raw) has antibacterial qualities - wouldn't that harm the kombucha instead of help it be better for you?
Never use honey in Kombucha. It will kill a scoby. scobys like sugar. Sorry I didn't notice that conversation elsewhere in this thread...only 60 pages/1195 posts. I should have caught it.
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Okay. I've heard of kombucha, but never bothered to try it or anything. I've done water kefir before, but that was because it was so easy - add sugar to water, drop in grains, wait three days, filter, mix juice, wait two days, drink. Easy.
Oh MrsStick! You are in for a treat.
I have done water kefir, and I stopped.The grains were always wanting to be fed, but I didn't like the water kefir that much so I couldn't finish it before the next batch, so it multiplied. It was madness.
Kombucha is equally easy, really, and more forgiving on the timing. Admittedly, I do like it pretty unsweet. But I've found I can leave the first ferment for a week or two or three weeks if I get busy and it really doesn't hurt it. If it gets too sour, I'm generous with fruit juice on the second ferment. I've even been too lazy to bottle it after the second ferment and left it out on the counter all week (taking some off each day as I wanted it) and it was fine! It formed a new scoby on top of the fruit, but otherwise fine.
Kombucha is a "relax and be patient" sort of endeavor. It's only hard if either of those things are hard for you
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Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately bottled Kombucha will be a little hard for me to track down here in Sydney before the weekend. I could get to the supermarket and get distilled white vinegar if that's any better than ACV. So am I correct in presuming that you don't think I've got enough acid in the mix?
Apple cider vinegar (the live culture kind) is what you want, not distilled white vinegar, and not too much of that. I think you are ok with what you have...wait and see if a baby scoby grows (a thin film will form on the top of the liquid), then you will know it is working.
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Do you think it would go bad that fast? It's only in the fridge up to 2 weeks
This is important information! I thought you were keeping it there indefinitely, just topping it off with more tea. I wouldn't keep it any longer than 2 weeks, but 2 weeks might be ok.
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Question for those also continuous brewing: I've always made a large batch of sweet tea concentrate, kept it in the fridge, and added some + water to replace what I draw off.
I would not do this. Kombucha is a culture that keeps tea too acidic to grow mold and bacteria. Sweet tea concentrate kept separate from the Kombucha scoby would not have this advantage and it would spoil.
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Can anyone tell me how Kombucha compares to Kefir for probiotics?
I assume you mean water kefir? They are similar. Kombucha is a bit stronger, ie. less sweet, more probiotics and enzymes, a little easier/more predictable to brew, but the general intent and effect is the same.
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Please can you explain what folate is and why folic acid is not advisable?.....Any credible source material you can point me to? Where would I find folate? What is the best form it comes in?
Here is Chris Kressor's take, and I would consider him a highly credible source. He does state that folate prevents neural tube defects, and lists a few sources (natural and supplments) for folate. http://chriskresser.com/folate-vs-folic-acid
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I assume the tea is doing something with the wee beasties as well, otherwise kombucha would be water based.
lol! YES, you need good strong tea in there too. I do well with 2 heaping Tablespoons of loose-leaf Oolong per batch.
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I am surprised at the length of time it's taking to eat up that sugar. I'm wondering if I should grow a new scoby from an original GT bottle and add it to the vessel. Any opinions?
If you have a healthy looking scoby (whitish and thick, like a rubbery disk) I wouldn't bother to make a new one. I find the recipes often have way more sugar than needed. The sweeter the tea the longer it takes to eat it all up! FWIW I use one cup of sugar in about two-1/2 gallons of strong tea. I let it brew for at least a couple weeks, more like a month in the winter.
If your scoby doesn't seem healthy. though, go ahead and start a new one. easy peasy.
I've had great luck using the GTs plain for this.-
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I'm curious, would it be possible to use fruit juice concentrate (organic, NSA) to flavor the kombucha for the second ferment?
Yes. I usually use a combination of fruit and fruit juice. Just be aware of how much juice you add: you want a juice-flavored "mostly kombucha", not kombucha-flavored "mostly juice".
Changes in Menstrual Cycle
in Ladies Only
Posted
Allia- The whole30 is good for getting your period back. Nourishing yourself thoroughly and completely is good for getting your period back. That does not mean it will be magically synced up and perfect. Lots of people go through a transition where it might come early or late but continuing to eat this way usually helps rather than hurting.
One thing that can hurt is when people go too low carb. That's one reason why we remind people to each at least a "fist-size" portion of starchy veggies every single day. If you are really worried, have more: more starchy veggies, more fat and more protein.