The waiting is "over"!
It took just short of 2 weeks for my kombucha to ferment to the perfect stage. Since I am making it in a 2.4 gallon glass beverage dispenser with a spigot, today I was able to easily draw off two 16 oz. bottles (mixed with pieces of crystalized ginger) to ferment another 2 days for flavoring and I had a lovely 12 oz. sparkling serving mixed with a little ginger juice in a frosted glass. It was about PERFECT.
I'm steeping some replacement sweet tea right now and when it cools, I'll refill the container... and I should be able to draw off another 3 bottles in about 3 days. I think I'm going to LOVE this continuous brewing method!
I do still want to start another gallon bottle - or maybe even two of them - to accommodate the other SCOBYs I have. This way I can get them active, enjoy or share some additional kombucha, and eventually send those SCOBYs and their children to new homes with my sisters! Will try to do that this weekend, maybe tomorrow!
Friday, August 3, 2012
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Well, today I started my continuous brew kombucha. I used the quick cool method with the lowered caffeine method and made first a gallon batch of sweet green tea, then a gallon batch of sweet black tea. Here are the steps I took:
Since it will undoubtedly be more than 80 degrees F most of the next 7 days, I will have to keep a close eye on this batch. Around day 5, I will first make some replacement sweetened tea and have it ready. Also on day 5, I will taste test to see how the brew is coming along. If it seems on schedule for a 7 day finish, I'll bottle 3 (or 4) bottles with ginger root or juice and/or dried fruits. I will replace the same amount of sweetened teas as I had taken out (then make more replacement tea for the next bottling).
I will then let the newly bottled kombucha sit through at least the remaining 2 days - then taste test again. If it's ready, I will refrigerate and subsequently drink it. If not, I'll leave it out for another 2 days and test again. And repeat until the kombucha is right. I will test the kombucha in the main continuous brew container again about 3-4 days after adding the new sweetened tea to see if it's ready again to be bottled. Once I get the timing down, all the articles say I should have a continuous source of kombucha.
I hope this is going to be as "easy" as all the articles say it is supposed to be.
In the meantime, I am thinking I will also create a one gallon standard brewed batch (not continuous brew). If the continuous brew method doesn't work, I sure don't want to be too far behind. Having another brew started will mean I can get back into the swing of things soon enough.
That's all for now. I'll keep writing. All you have to do is keep reading!
- Boiled a little over 6 cups of water.
- Poured 2 cups of boiling water into my 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup, then put 6 organic green tea bags in and steeped for about a minute.
- While the tea was steeping, measured out 1 cup of sugar into the 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup, and poured in 4 cups of boiling water and stirred it gently until all the sugar was dissolved.
- After one minute of steeping the teabags in the 2 cup measuring cup, I carefully moved them to the sweetened water in the 4 cup measuring cup.
- Allowed to steep for about 1/2 hour.
- Poured the 2 cup measuring cup full of green tea into an ice-filled Rubbermaid drink bottle and enjoyed some unsweetened iced green tea.
- Rinsed the 2 cup measuring cup and then used it to pour 3 quarts of cool water into the continuous brew container (a 2.4 gallon behive shaped jar with a spigot, sitting on a black wire stand).
- After 1/2 hour, I removed the tea bags from the 4 cup measuring cup, squeezing all of the liquid out that I could without damaging the tea bags.
- I then poured the 4 cups of sweet green tea into the cool water in the continuous brew container.
- Repeated steps 1 - 5 with black tea.
- After the black tea was steeped for 1/2 hour, I removed the tea bags (the same as step 8 above).
- I poured the 4 cups of sweet black tea into the continuous brew container.
- Then I used the 4 cup measuring cup to add 3 more quarts of cool water to the continuous brew container.
- I added one large thick SCOBY that needed a little "pick me up" (from my last batch of kombucha last fall) and one brand new SCOBY I had purchased from NessAlla kombucha at http://store.nessalla.com about 2 weeks earlier. In addition, since the NessAlla SCOBY had produced a nice thick new SCOBY while it was sitting on my kitchen counter, I popped that one in there, too.
- I poured all the liquid from both the large SCOBY and from the NessAlla SCOBYs into the continuous brew container.
- Took one of the new,lint-free dish cloths I had purchased from the Dollar Tree a few weeks ago for this very purpose, and used it to cover the jar. Fastened the cover in place with a rubberband.
Since it will undoubtedly be more than 80 degrees F most of the next 7 days, I will have to keep a close eye on this batch. Around day 5, I will first make some replacement sweetened tea and have it ready. Also on day 5, I will taste test to see how the brew is coming along. If it seems on schedule for a 7 day finish, I'll bottle 3 (or 4) bottles with ginger root or juice and/or dried fruits. I will replace the same amount of sweetened teas as I had taken out (then make more replacement tea for the next bottling).
I will then let the newly bottled kombucha sit through at least the remaining 2 days - then taste test again. If it's ready, I will refrigerate and subsequently drink it. If not, I'll leave it out for another 2 days and test again. And repeat until the kombucha is right. I will test the kombucha in the main continuous brew container again about 3-4 days after adding the new sweetened tea to see if it's ready again to be bottled. Once I get the timing down, all the articles say I should have a continuous source of kombucha.
I hope this is going to be as "easy" as all the articles say it is supposed to be.
In the meantime, I am thinking I will also create a one gallon standard brewed batch (not continuous brew). If the continuous brew method doesn't work, I sure don't want to be too far behind. Having another brew started will mean I can get back into the swing of things soon enough.
That's all for now. I'll keep writing. All you have to do is keep reading!
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Life, the Universe and Everything ...
This spring and summer has not been the greatest for our family.
As you know from this blog and my Facebook page, I cared for my terminally ill kitty Cinnamon from the time of her diagnosis with lung cancer in February until it was time to say good-bye to her on Mother's Day due to the fact that I didn't want her to suffer. This still makes me very sad, and I still miss her.
My sister Brenda and her family had to say good-bye to their dog Samson. He was an older, big dog, and had gotten to the point where he could no longer stand on his own ... so it was time.
As most everyone who would be reading this blog knows, this spring my sister's husband Jim was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He was sent to doctors at Brigham and Women's hospital for evaluation and treatment. During evaluation, it was determined that the cancer had not gotten into the lymph nodes, so they scheduled him for surgery. The plan was to remove the affected lung or the pleural sac around it. The expectation was that he would have the lung removed. The other part of the plan was "hot chemo bath" treatment before they closed him up after surgery.
June 21, 2012: He came through the surgery with flying colors. They didn't have to remove the lung, but warned that removal of the pleural sac would actually require a longer recovery period, likening it to "peeling" the lung. He was up and walking in no time, and about 2 weeks after the surgery (July 4, 2012), was released from the hospital to stay at the "Meso" house - and apartment building set up for mesothelioma patients and their adult family during their post-hospital stay recovery. The expectation was that he would be ready to go home within 2-3 weeks or so of his hospital release.
But things did not go as planned. He started feeling more and more tired, and within days of his release had gained 6 pounds of fluid and was feeling completely wiped out. The Friday following his release, my sister took him to the doctor and they were advised he should go back to the hospital. They admitted him. He had an elevated white blood cell count and a fever of 102 plus. This SCREAMED "infection" to me, but they seemed to hesitate to call it that. By Saturday, he had had to have 2 units of blood, his white count was still high, and his temperature was still elevated. His health deteriorated fairly quickly and eventually he was diagnosed with pneumonia. Just what kind of pneumonia had yet to be determined.
His condition became extremely critical by the following Monday, when my sister Brenda and I went out to Boston to spend time with Joie for emotiona support. They put him on a ventilator and chemically paralyzed him and lightly sedated him so he couldn't fight the tube. We were told he was critical, but not how "critical" he really was. They were treating him with several antibiotics and weren't seeing any improvement, so they changed them. They had not gotten the culture results back from the lab as yet, so weren't positive what bacteria and what strain they were dealing with. When they did get the word back, they would focus more tightly on drugs which would be effective on the specific infection he had.
MSSA. Same bacteria as MRSA - Staphylococcus aureus - only supposedly, MSSA isn't methicillin resistant (penicillin family), although it apparently is a virulent, aggressive bacteria. They changed the antibiotics, and were seeing some improvement through the rest of the week - but nothing improved enough to change his condition from critical.
This past Monday they planned to do a tracheostomy and also insert a feeding tube. They need to get him off the sedation, but the ventilator stresses him out so much that they need to find a way to get him off of that, too. The only solution is a tracheostomy, so they can give him air/oxygen if he needs it after they bring him out of sedation. He wouldn't be able to eat food yet, but they need to get nutrients into him that offer more than IV feeding. Apparently, however, he was still too sick for the procedures, as when they moved him to the operating table his oxygen saturation level went down and they couldn't get it back up. They scratched the idea of surgery that day and told my sister that he was sicker than they had thought he was. His heart was beating irregularly later on, and medication didn't help, so they shocked it and the normal rhythm came back. They've now changed his antibiotics again, and have indicated that he's made very tiny bits of progress again, that his kidneys and liver are fine and that he has started to lose some of the fluid that has collected in his body. The fluid thing is tricky, as losing too much of it too quickly can damage the kidneys, so they are being very careful with that.
They still hope to do the tracheostomy and feeding tube procedures as soon as he is capable of having the surgery. Once he has those done, he should start to improve more quickly, but getting him to the point of being able to tolerate the surgery is the hard part right now.
During all of this, our family has been kind of taking turns going out to be with Joie. Jim's mom, aunt and a couple of his cousins were there the other day, my parents and my sister Brenda before that... my other sister Donna has been there several time and is there now.
And life goes on. A month or more ago, one of Brenda's cats ate day lily leaves and had to have emergency vet care for about 3 days. He's fine now, but that was scary. And one of Brenda's dogs contracted Lyme disease this past weekend - she could barely walk. She's now on antibiotics and anti-inflammatories and is doing much better.
Also during all of this, my oldest nephew wound up in the hospital with what was diagnosed as a gallbladder problem - at least one stone. They eventually did gallbladder removal and he was released and is doing well - but that was a little scary, too.
Me, I'm still dealing with grief and stress - and I do that by shutting down... but now I realize I need to get my life back on track. I need to organize my home and my life better. And I'll tell you more about how I'm attempting to do that later ...
As you know from this blog and my Facebook page, I cared for my terminally ill kitty Cinnamon from the time of her diagnosis with lung cancer in February until it was time to say good-bye to her on Mother's Day due to the fact that I didn't want her to suffer. This still makes me very sad, and I still miss her.
My sister Brenda and her family had to say good-bye to their dog Samson. He was an older, big dog, and had gotten to the point where he could no longer stand on his own ... so it was time.
As most everyone who would be reading this blog knows, this spring my sister's husband Jim was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He was sent to doctors at Brigham and Women's hospital for evaluation and treatment. During evaluation, it was determined that the cancer had not gotten into the lymph nodes, so they scheduled him for surgery. The plan was to remove the affected lung or the pleural sac around it. The expectation was that he would have the lung removed. The other part of the plan was "hot chemo bath" treatment before they closed him up after surgery.
June 21, 2012: He came through the surgery with flying colors. They didn't have to remove the lung, but warned that removal of the pleural sac would actually require a longer recovery period, likening it to "peeling" the lung. He was up and walking in no time, and about 2 weeks after the surgery (July 4, 2012), was released from the hospital to stay at the "Meso" house - and apartment building set up for mesothelioma patients and their adult family during their post-hospital stay recovery. The expectation was that he would be ready to go home within 2-3 weeks or so of his hospital release.
But things did not go as planned. He started feeling more and more tired, and within days of his release had gained 6 pounds of fluid and was feeling completely wiped out. The Friday following his release, my sister took him to the doctor and they were advised he should go back to the hospital. They admitted him. He had an elevated white blood cell count and a fever of 102 plus. This SCREAMED "infection" to me, but they seemed to hesitate to call it that. By Saturday, he had had to have 2 units of blood, his white count was still high, and his temperature was still elevated. His health deteriorated fairly quickly and eventually he was diagnosed with pneumonia. Just what kind of pneumonia had yet to be determined.
His condition became extremely critical by the following Monday, when my sister Brenda and I went out to Boston to spend time with Joie for emotiona support. They put him on a ventilator and chemically paralyzed him and lightly sedated him so he couldn't fight the tube. We were told he was critical, but not how "critical" he really was. They were treating him with several antibiotics and weren't seeing any improvement, so they changed them. They had not gotten the culture results back from the lab as yet, so weren't positive what bacteria and what strain they were dealing with. When they did get the word back, they would focus more tightly on drugs which would be effective on the specific infection he had.
MSSA. Same bacteria as MRSA - Staphylococcus aureus - only supposedly, MSSA isn't methicillin resistant (penicillin family), although it apparently is a virulent, aggressive bacteria. They changed the antibiotics, and were seeing some improvement through the rest of the week - but nothing improved enough to change his condition from critical.
This past Monday they planned to do a tracheostomy and also insert a feeding tube. They need to get him off the sedation, but the ventilator stresses him out so much that they need to find a way to get him off of that, too. The only solution is a tracheostomy, so they can give him air/oxygen if he needs it after they bring him out of sedation. He wouldn't be able to eat food yet, but they need to get nutrients into him that offer more than IV feeding. Apparently, however, he was still too sick for the procedures, as when they moved him to the operating table his oxygen saturation level went down and they couldn't get it back up. They scratched the idea of surgery that day and told my sister that he was sicker than they had thought he was. His heart was beating irregularly later on, and medication didn't help, so they shocked it and the normal rhythm came back. They've now changed his antibiotics again, and have indicated that he's made very tiny bits of progress again, that his kidneys and liver are fine and that he has started to lose some of the fluid that has collected in his body. The fluid thing is tricky, as losing too much of it too quickly can damage the kidneys, so they are being very careful with that.
They still hope to do the tracheostomy and feeding tube procedures as soon as he is capable of having the surgery. Once he has those done, he should start to improve more quickly, but getting him to the point of being able to tolerate the surgery is the hard part right now.
During all of this, our family has been kind of taking turns going out to be with Joie. Jim's mom, aunt and a couple of his cousins were there the other day, my parents and my sister Brenda before that... my other sister Donna has been there several time and is there now.
And life goes on. A month or more ago, one of Brenda's cats ate day lily leaves and had to have emergency vet care for about 3 days. He's fine now, but that was scary. And one of Brenda's dogs contracted Lyme disease this past weekend - she could barely walk. She's now on antibiotics and anti-inflammatories and is doing much better.
Also during all of this, my oldest nephew wound up in the hospital with what was diagnosed as a gallbladder problem - at least one stone. They eventually did gallbladder removal and he was released and is doing well - but that was a little scary, too.
Me, I'm still dealing with grief and stress - and I do that by shutting down... but now I realize I need to get my life back on track. I need to organize my home and my life better. And I'll tell you more about how I'm attempting to do that later ...
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Summer again ...
I guess, for some reason, I just post here in the summer time. :) Not sure why that is, other than the possible fact that I have more time in the summer.
I hope to be posting again about my latest venture into continuous brew kombucha - once I get it started. I am still slowly recovering from the illness and death of my cat, but I hope to get started on the next kombucha brew this weekend. I know, I don't have much time ... :)
I hope to be posting again about my latest venture into continuous brew kombucha - once I get it started. I am still slowly recovering from the illness and death of my cat, but I hope to get started on the next kombucha brew this weekend. I know, I don't have much time ... :)
Sad times
Anyone who follows me on Facebook knows that I recently had to say good bye to my 12 year old kitty Cinnamon. She had been diagnosed with secondary lung cancer in early February, and I made the decision on May 13th, 2012 - Mother's Day - to end her suffering. It was probably the hardest decision I have ever made, but I knew in my heart that it was the right one. I was fortunate enough to be able to afford having the vet come here, which made it so much less traumatic for both of us. I miss her lots, but I know that her pain is over and she is at rest.
Rest in peace, my Cinnamon girl. I love you.
Rest in peace, my Cinnamon girl. I love you.
Bottling Kombucha - the hardest part!
(This was originally written probably toward the end of August 2011)
Really, the bottling of the kombucha probably requires the most investment in time and effort.
What you need
If you are adding liquid such as ginger or fruit juice, place some into each bottle you wish to flavor, using the funnel if necessary. You will probably need to experiment with the amount, but I would err on the conservative side when starting out with this - better to not have as much fruit flaver as you want but have good kombucha than to ruin the kombucha with too much fruit juice. You can add your fruit or dried fruit at this stage as well. Or, you can add juice or fruit after adding the kombucha - just be sure to leave enough room when you fill the bottles.
Carefully remove whatever cover you have from your fermentation container. Pour the kombucha from the fermentation container into the pouring container (measuring cup or pitcher). Put the funnel into the mouth of the first bottle to fill. Pour the kombucha from the pouring container into the funnel. I carefully tip the bottle so that the kombucha streams down the glass inside the bottle in an attempt to produce less foam and lose less of the natural carbonation. Fill the bottle up to within about 1/2" from the top if you have already added any juices or fruit you wish to add - if not, be sure to leave enough room to add the extras. If you encounter a lot of foaming, fill it as much as you can without making a mess then top off later after the foam settles some. If your bottle is as full as you want it to be, and you are not adding any extras or have already added the extras, you may cap the bottles at this point.
If you haven't added any extras and you are not interested in increasing or maintaining the carbonation of your kombucha, put the sealed bottles into the refrigerator. If you are have added extras and want the flavoring to be stronger, and/or want to increase or maintain the carbonation, you can leave the bottles in a place similar to where you fermented your kombucha - right next to your fermentation container is fine. I've had the best results, so far, with leaving them out for 3-4 days after bottling. Some people advocate that you leave them for up to a month. You may want to experiment a little to see what works best for you. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that more fermentation occurs in the bottle - and carbonation will build up as a result. As carbonation builds, there becomes a chance that a bottle could explode, creating the possibility of some danger and definitely creating a mess. My 3-4 day second fermentation period, has, for me, given the kombucha enough carbonation to result in a champagne-like "pop" as the cap is removed (scaring my cats in the process!), with a champagne-like fine fizz to the kombucha itself - Mmmmmm!
Next time, I'll try to add some photos and maybe some about "continuous brewing" - which is the next thing I want to try!
Happy sipping!
Really, the bottling of the kombucha probably requires the most investment in time and effort.
What you need
- glass bottles with screw on or flip top (like Grolsch) caps (tops must fit securely)
- funnel that will fit into the tops of your bottles
- large measuring cup or pitcher (most recently I've used a one gallon pitcher in this process)
- kombucha
- flavorings such as ginger juice, sliced ginger, raisins, fruit juice, fruit pieces, etc. THIS IS COMPLETELY OPTIONAL but some kind of fruit or dried fruit additions may help maintain or increase natural carbonation.
If you are adding liquid such as ginger or fruit juice, place some into each bottle you wish to flavor, using the funnel if necessary. You will probably need to experiment with the amount, but I would err on the conservative side when starting out with this - better to not have as much fruit flaver as you want but have good kombucha than to ruin the kombucha with too much fruit juice. You can add your fruit or dried fruit at this stage as well. Or, you can add juice or fruit after adding the kombucha - just be sure to leave enough room when you fill the bottles.
Carefully remove whatever cover you have from your fermentation container. Pour the kombucha from the fermentation container into the pouring container (measuring cup or pitcher). Put the funnel into the mouth of the first bottle to fill. Pour the kombucha from the pouring container into the funnel. I carefully tip the bottle so that the kombucha streams down the glass inside the bottle in an attempt to produce less foam and lose less of the natural carbonation. Fill the bottle up to within about 1/2" from the top if you have already added any juices or fruit you wish to add - if not, be sure to leave enough room to add the extras. If you encounter a lot of foaming, fill it as much as you can without making a mess then top off later after the foam settles some. If your bottle is as full as you want it to be, and you are not adding any extras or have already added the extras, you may cap the bottles at this point.
If you haven't added any extras and you are not interested in increasing or maintaining the carbonation of your kombucha, put the sealed bottles into the refrigerator. If you are have added extras and want the flavoring to be stronger, and/or want to increase or maintain the carbonation, you can leave the bottles in a place similar to where you fermented your kombucha - right next to your fermentation container is fine. I've had the best results, so far, with leaving them out for 3-4 days after bottling. Some people advocate that you leave them for up to a month. You may want to experiment a little to see what works best for you. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that more fermentation occurs in the bottle - and carbonation will build up as a result. As carbonation builds, there becomes a chance that a bottle could explode, creating the possibility of some danger and definitely creating a mess. My 3-4 day second fermentation period, has, for me, given the kombucha enough carbonation to result in a champagne-like "pop" as the cap is removed (scaring my cats in the process!), with a champagne-like fine fizz to the kombucha itself - Mmmmmm!
Next time, I'll try to add some photos and maybe some about "continuous brewing" - which is the next thing I want to try!
Happy sipping!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Ok ... Get on with it - How do you make it?!
Ok, enough lecturing, and on with the "recipe"
To brew a gallon of kombucha the way that I do it (that isn't set in stone) you will need:
In all of the options, the differences occur early in the process - during the tea steeping portion - so once we get to the point where our formerly hot tea is at room temperature, the instructions are the same.
Preparation for any of the brewing processes:
The next steps are almost identical, no matter what went before. I'll note any differences that different options may require.
Once your kombucha tastes just the way you like it, it is time to bottle. Bottling and flavoring your kombucha will be another post! In that next post, I will try to include any other information and tips I can think of as well as links to some of the resources I have used or at least looked at.
I hope these steps haven't been too confusing. Feel free to ask questions if you have any. If I don't know the answers I will try to find them for you.
Till next time - enjoy!
To brew a gallon of kombucha the way that I do it (that isn't set in stone) you will need:
- Your SCOBY
- Some starter kombucha, in which you should have your SCOBY stored, plus any extra kombucha you might have saved
- One gallon or more of non-municipal water. All municipal water supplies in the US are chlorinated. Chlorine kills bacteria. We do not want to chance that enough chlorine to kill your culture could possibly be left in your water after you've boiled it. Also, MANY municipal water supplies in the US are fluoridated. Fluoride kills bacteria and, from what I've been reading, human cells... Google fluoride and health and you'll see why you wouldn't want to be even drinking fluoridated water, let alone putting it into your kombucha!
- 6 tea bags (or the equivalent in family sized tea bags or loose tea) - any combination of black and green teas. Some claim that the tannins in the black tea are essential to a proper kombucha culture, so I have been using 1 or 2 black and the rest green teas in regular sized tea bags. Again, I get organically grown tea, as that is free of any pesticide residues that might manage to get packaged on non-organically grown tea. An important note here: If you are just beginning to make kombucha, it is highly recommended that you not experiment with flavored teas or herbal teas. Some herbs and some flavorings are naturally anti-bacterial - this can kill your kombucha culture. If you want to experiment with flavored or herbal teas, my recommendation (and that of many of the other websites out there about kombucha) is to ferment only black, green or white real tea, and add the flavored or herbal teas during the bottling process. If you do experiment during fermentation you will probably want to be certain that you have at least one "back up" SCOBY so you won't have to start all over again without one
- One cup of white cane sugar - organic or just store brand works fine. This feeds the yeast in the culture. Like the alternatives to real tea above, you will want to stick with white cane sugar at least during your own kombucha brewing learning curve, as some other natural sweeteners do not have enough sucrose for fermentation, or, like honey, may contain natural anti-bacterial agents and wind up killing your SCOBY. Again, when experimenting with other natural sweeteners, be sure to have a back up SCOBY just in case
- A one gallon or larger jar (mine are 5 litres, which gives me room for error)
- A 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup or 2 quart heat resistant bowl (Pyrex has always been my choice of heat resistant glass items, and I love the 4 cup pyrex measuring cup) - depending on the method you choose when preparing your tea for fermentation, you may not need either of these items.
- A stainless steel teapot or stainless steel stock pot - stainless steel is the preferred material in which to boil water and/or brew tea as it does not leech as readily as other metals - and you do not want metals or non-stick coating materials leeching into your tea, both for your health and the health of your kombucha culture.
- Cheesecloth or other breathable woven material with a tight enough weave to keep out fruit flies and the like, cut large enough to cover the mouth of your jar with a couple of inches hanging over the edge. NOTE: If you decide to use cheesecloth, make sure that you use multiple layers. The cheesecloth that I use is already two layers - I cut enough off to triple the double layers - I have so far found this to be enough to keep out the bugs, although some people tell you never to use cheesecloth. If you are unsure or have had a fruit fly or other pest problem recently, then a piece of muslin or linen or similar tightly woven but breathable cotton type material may be a better choice for you
- A rubberband that will fit snugly around the mouth of the jar with the covering on it
- A quiet, relatively warm place out of direct sunlight, in which to put your gallon jar so the kombucha will ferment
- About one week if your jar can stay at about 75-80 degrees. Shorter if it is consistently warmer, and longer if it is consistently cooler. Some people with homes that get to under 70 degrees, particularly in the winter time, have reported over two weeks (even up to three weeks) for the fermentation process to complete
In all of the options, the differences occur early in the process - during the tea steeping portion - so once we get to the point where our formerly hot tea is at room temperature, the instructions are the same.
Preparation for any of the brewing processes:
- Make sure that your SCOBY is at room temperature. If you've refrigerated it, take it out of the fridge and leave it out for a couple of hours so that it is at room temperature before you must add it to your kombucha tea mix.
- Do the same with any kombucha starter tea you will be using.
- Be sure all of your utensils and containers are very clean. I generally wash my stuff in the dishwasher and then rinse extremely well - and in extremely hot water - right before starting the process. While you don't have to "sterilize" everything, it is pretty important for all of the items that come in contact with your SCOBY and/or the liquids to be clean and sanitary.
OPTION ONE: The full-caffeine"wait for it," long cool down method
Note: This method will have a long period of time (hours) between start and finish, although there isn't really any extra work involved, and there is no mitigation of the caffeine content.
- Using a stainless steel stock pot, boil your gallon of non-municipal water.
- Once the water has begun boiling, add your one cup of white cane sugar, stir until the sugar is completely dissolved, and turn off the heat.
- Place your 6 teabags or equivalent in family bags, or loose tea in a tea ball, into the sweetened boiled water immediately after turning off the heat.
- Let the tea steep for up to 10 minutes.
- Remove the tea bags and allow the tea to cool to room temperature.
- Once the tea is at room temperature, skip down to the steps labelled "Is it time for the SCOBY now?"
OPTION TWO: The reduced caffeine option with long cool down
Note: This option will necessitate heating more than one gallon of water and will be easiest if you use both your stainless steel stock pot AND a tea pot plus the Pyrex measuring cup or bowl.
- Heat one gallon of water in the stainless steel stock pot.
- While that is heating, boil at least one quart of water in a stainless steel teapot. Try to time this so that the teapot boils at nearly the same time as or just after the water in the stock pot.
- Once the water in the stock pot is boiling, add your one cup of white cane sugar, stir until the sugar is completely dissolved, and turn off the heat.
- Place your teabags or loose tea filled tea ball into the Pyrex measuring cup or bowl.
- Once the water in the teapot has come to a boil, pour up to a quart of the boiling water into the Pyrex measuring cup or bowl and steep the tea in that container for 30 to 60 seconds. Just count it out, because looking at the clock will probably mean it will steep too long. At no more than 60 seconds, remove the tea bags or tea ball from the measuring cup or bowl, place the tea bags/tea ball into your boiled sugar water, and throw out the tea water from the Pyrex container. The reason for this: According to several sources, the vast majority of caffeine in tea is released during the first 30 to 60 seconds that tea is immersed in boiling water. When we throw out the tea water from the Pyrex container, we will discard most of the caffeine that tea would release.
- Let the tea steep for at least 10 minutes. When I am using the "Wait for it" option, I will simply leave the tea bags to steep until the tea is at room temperature. It's just my opinion, but I feel that a lot of the flavor can be lost when you "pre-steep" to remove the caffeine, and I want to get all the possible flavor out of the tea before continuing on to the next phase of brewing kombucha.
- Once the tea is at room temperature you may remove the tea bags/ball if they are still in the tea and skip down to the steps labelled "Is it time for the SCOBY now?"
SHORTER COOL DOWN METHOD for either full caffeine or reduced caffeine options
- Boil about 2 quarts of water in either your stainless steel stock pot or teapot (teapot is easier if it will hold enough water)
- If you are using the full caffeine option, measure your 1 cup of sugar into into the 4 cup (1quart) Pyrex measuring cup or into your 2 quart bowl. If you are using the reduced caffeine option, skip this step.
- Place the tea bags/tea ball into the 4 cup (1 quart) Pyrex measuring cup or 2 quart bowl.
- Once the water boils, pour approximately 1 quart of water over your tea into your container.
- If you are using the reduced caffeine option, steep the tea for 30 to 60 seconds (count - don't use the clock - timing is important here, but just so you don't steep too long), remove the tea bags/tea ball and set aside somewhere clean. Then discard this tea water. Immediately place the tea bags/tea ball back into the Pyrex measuring cup or bowl and pour another quart or so of still close to boiling water over the tea bags. Add one cup of sugar. If you are using the full caffeine option, skip this step.
- For both methods: Stir the water gently until the sugar has completely dissolved and steep for no less than 10 minutes (longer if you are using the reduced caffeine option).
- Once you feel that the tea has steeped for long enough to be extra strong (I generally will leave it to steep for about 30 minutes, especially if using the reduced caffeine option), skip down to the steps labelled "Is it time for the SCOBY now?"
Is it time for the SCOBY NOW?
Almost!The next steps are almost identical, no matter what went before. I'll note any differences that different options may require.
- Get your one gallon or larger glass jar, and make certain it is sanitized. Place it in a stable location where you will do no damage with any splashed water or tea, and at a level that you will be able to pour liquid into it.
- If using the Shorter Cool Down Method, and if your 1 quart container of strong sweetened tea is still very warm (i.e., not at room temperature), put about 3 quarts of cool but not cold water into the jar. If using the "Wait for it" long cool down method, skip this step.
- Pour all of your sweetened tea into the gallon jar. If using the Shorter Cool Down Method, you will want to ensure that the tea and water are mixed so the resultant cooled tea is uniform in temperature and that it is approximately room temperature.
- NOW it's time for the SCOBY! With exceptionally clean hands, pick up the SCOBY and place it into the jar of tea. It may sink or it may float - it doesn't really matter, as long as it is in there.
- Carefully add a cup or more of starter kombucha, from which your SCOBY should have just come. If you don't have enough starter kombucha, you may use bottled room temperature kombucha either from a previous batch of your own or from a bottle of commercially sold, raw, organic, plain kombucha (like G.T.'s Original Raw Kombucha) to make up the difference. Some kombucha brewers advocate using apple cider vinegar if you do not have starter kombucha, but I've never done that, so I'm not sure how much of it you would add.
- Put your clean fabric cover over the mouth of the jar and fasten it on with a rubber band.
- Carefully place the covered jar in the warm place you have prepared for the fermentation process, and wait.
- Taste test your kombucha using a straw: if it has been consistently above 80 degrees where you are fermenting, test after 5 days; test at 7 days if it has been consistently less than 80 degrees, particularly if it has been between 75 and 80 degrees. Any cooler and you should probably test at 7 days just to see how far along it is, then use your own judgment on testing intervals after that. While people's tastes vary, for most people, tart but not vinegary is going to be about what they want. I like mine tart with a hint of sweetness to it, but I find that too sweet is not refreshing.
Once your kombucha tastes just the way you like it, it is time to bottle. Bottling and flavoring your kombucha will be another post! In that next post, I will try to include any other information and tips I can think of as well as links to some of the resources I have used or at least looked at.
I hope these steps haven't been too confusing. Feel free to ask questions if you have any. If I don't know the answers I will try to find them for you.
Till next time - enjoy!
Monday, August 8, 2011
You drink THAT?! Ewwww!
Yes, I do. I like it.
I will admit, kombucha is something of an acquired taste - but for a lot of us, so was beer - and kombucha is better for you than beer. And if you time it right, it might even give you a little buzz. Admittedly, very little buzz, but there is like a half a percent of alcohol or so in it unless you like yours more on the vinegary side.
I just had some of my latest bottled batch, the one I made to be lower in caffeine, and since it turned out so well, I will include the "de-caffeinating process" in my description of how to make kombucha once you have grown or acquired a SCOBY. See my immediately previous post describing how I grew my own SCOBY.
SOME IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START
About temperature
It is important that you not shock either the SCOBY or the starter tea with too large a temperature change, as the yeast and bacteria in the culture are not very tolerant to sudden large temperature changes. This goes for a cold SCOBY/starter into room temperature kombucha tea mix, or room temperature SCOBY/starter into a hot kombucha tea mix.
About caffeine
There appears to be disagreement among the kombucha brewing community as to whether or not there is caffeine in the fermented end product. Some state that the caffeine is "converted" during the fermentation process, another website provides the results of lab testing that shows a reasonably significant amount of caffeine remains in drinkably fermented kombucha - but that the amount of caffeine goes down the longer it is fermented, and that there is much less caffeine in vinegary sour kombucha (there is also much less drinking enjoyment in kombucha that has been fermented that long). Given my own experience with a HORRIBLE, POUNDING headache in the middle of the night after I had run out of kombucha for nearly 2 days, I am pretty certain I experienced caffeine withdrawal - so I personally believe that there is enough caffeine in kombucha to cause withdrawal if you go without after regularly drinking it over a period of weeks.
About alcohol
Alcohol is a by product of fermentation. While some say there can be a significant amount of alcohol in kombucha, the range that appears to be most commonly agreed on by the kombucha brewing community no more than 0.5% to 1%. For comparison: Beers sold in the U.S. range in alcohol content from 3.5% (some light beers) to 10+% (some microbrewery crafted beers) - if you're interested in a listing of beers with their alcohol content and other information, take a look here. As for kombucha, the longer you ferment, the less alcohol will be in the final product - and the more vinegary it will taste. So far, my kombucha has not appeared to contain any significant amount of alcohol - certainly less that G.T.'s kombuchas, which often give me a little flush to my face - never had that response to my own. Darn. :-)
I will admit, kombucha is something of an acquired taste - but for a lot of us, so was beer - and kombucha is better for you than beer. And if you time it right, it might even give you a little buzz. Admittedly, very little buzz, but there is like a half a percent of alcohol or so in it unless you like yours more on the vinegary side.
I just had some of my latest bottled batch, the one I made to be lower in caffeine, and since it turned out so well, I will include the "de-caffeinating process" in my description of how to make kombucha once you have grown or acquired a SCOBY. See my immediately previous post describing how I grew my own SCOBY.
SOME IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START
About temperature
It is important that you not shock either the SCOBY or the starter tea with too large a temperature change, as the yeast and bacteria in the culture are not very tolerant to sudden large temperature changes. This goes for a cold SCOBY/starter into room temperature kombucha tea mix, or room temperature SCOBY/starter into a hot kombucha tea mix.
About caffeine
There appears to be disagreement among the kombucha brewing community as to whether or not there is caffeine in the fermented end product. Some state that the caffeine is "converted" during the fermentation process, another website provides the results of lab testing that shows a reasonably significant amount of caffeine remains in drinkably fermented kombucha - but that the amount of caffeine goes down the longer it is fermented, and that there is much less caffeine in vinegary sour kombucha (there is also much less drinking enjoyment in kombucha that has been fermented that long). Given my own experience with a HORRIBLE, POUNDING headache in the middle of the night after I had run out of kombucha for nearly 2 days, I am pretty certain I experienced caffeine withdrawal - so I personally believe that there is enough caffeine in kombucha to cause withdrawal if you go without after regularly drinking it over a period of weeks.
About alcohol
Alcohol is a by product of fermentation. While some say there can be a significant amount of alcohol in kombucha, the range that appears to be most commonly agreed on by the kombucha brewing community no more than 0.5% to 1%. For comparison: Beers sold in the U.S. range in alcohol content from 3.5% (some light beers) to 10+% (some microbrewery crafted beers) - if you're interested in a listing of beers with their alcohol content and other information, take a look here. As for kombucha, the longer you ferment, the less alcohol will be in the final product - and the more vinegary it will taste. So far, my kombucha has not appeared to contain any significant amount of alcohol - certainly less that G.T.'s kombuchas, which often give me a little flush to my face - never had that response to my own. Darn. :-)
More Kombucha
More about kombucha...
A little more about the SCOBY, and how to make your own. The SCOBY is a gelatinous mass of yeast and bacteria that forms when conditions are right. While many people obtain their first SCOBY from online/mail order options or from friends who may be brewing their own kombucha, it is quite possible to grow your own - and not difficult. It's just a little time-consuming.
You can read the article that I read here (this is a great website with lots of info on natural foods in general, by the way). But I will also share my experience in growing my own SCOBY.
First, I bought some G.T.'s Original Raw Organic Kombucha at Hannaford. You should be able to get by with one bottle, but I was drinking it then, and had more on hand.
Next, I made sweet tea as described in the article at the website, but I made 2 cups of tea, sweetened with 2 tablespoons of white cane sugar.
I had an empty G.T.'s bottle, so once both the newly made tea and the G.T.'s Original Kombucha were at room temperature, I combined them in my 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup and then poured the combined liquid into each of two empty G.T.'s bottles about 3/4 of the way full - so that there was the maximum amount of surface space I could get.
Then I covered each with a square of paper towel and fastened them with rubberbands. Now, it would have been better - possibly even faster - if I had put the liquid into a container with a larger diameter, but I worked with what I had at the time, having read that the starter SCOBY needed to be thick, but the diameter didn't really matter that much.
Finally, I put them into the cupboard above my pilot lit gas wall oven, where it was much warmer than anywhere else, and I waited.
A new SCOBY forming rather resembles an oil slick when it starts. There is nothing to indicate that it is anything more than a slime coating on the top of the liquid... you just have to wait. Time is the last ingredient in this recipe.
At first, I was convinced that I had a moldy SCOBY forming on one of the containers, because it looked like there was something dark forming on part of my slime. But everything I read stated that mold looks like dry greenish black mold and this didn't look like that. Since I had two of them going, I figured I would just wait and see, and if it turned out to be mold, I had the other one. It took well over a week for one of the SCOBYs to resemble the SCOBYs that I'd seen in pictures, but once it did, it was just a matter of waiting for it to thicken up. What had appeared to be mold turned out to be a brown clump of yeast waste - yucky looking but perfectly normal in this kind of culture. After a bit over two weeks, it seemed almost done - but I waited a little longer for it to thicken a little more. When that first one got to be over 1/4 inch thick, I gathered the stuff I had to try to make a batch of kombucha with my new SCOBY. I left the second one, which seemed much thinner, in the jar and ignored it for another few days.
That one came out even thicker, in the end. I can't really remember how I managed to get three, as I really do only remember starting two - but I did get three by the time all was said and done. I now have three healthy SCOBYS that I rotate by the length of time since they've been used - the older ones being first used. I keep them in ceramic bowls, covered with the tea they were cultured in, with the bowl covered with plastic and stored in the fridge. The refrigeration slows the activity of the SCOBY so they will last. They can be kept in the fridge for a couple of weeks, but much longer than that and you risk them starting to die off.
Next up, how I made kombucha with those thick, gelatinous masses!
A little more about the SCOBY, and how to make your own. The SCOBY is a gelatinous mass of yeast and bacteria that forms when conditions are right. While many people obtain their first SCOBY from online/mail order options or from friends who may be brewing their own kombucha, it is quite possible to grow your own - and not difficult. It's just a little time-consuming.
You can read the article that I read here (this is a great website with lots of info on natural foods in general, by the way). But I will also share my experience in growing my own SCOBY.
First, I bought some G.T.'s Original Raw Organic Kombucha at Hannaford. You should be able to get by with one bottle, but I was drinking it then, and had more on hand.
Next, I made sweet tea as described in the article at the website, but I made 2 cups of tea, sweetened with 2 tablespoons of white cane sugar.
I had an empty G.T.'s bottle, so once both the newly made tea and the G.T.'s Original Kombucha were at room temperature, I combined them in my 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup and then poured the combined liquid into each of two empty G.T.'s bottles about 3/4 of the way full - so that there was the maximum amount of surface space I could get.
Then I covered each with a square of paper towel and fastened them with rubberbands. Now, it would have been better - possibly even faster - if I had put the liquid into a container with a larger diameter, but I worked with what I had at the time, having read that the starter SCOBY needed to be thick, but the diameter didn't really matter that much.
Finally, I put them into the cupboard above my pilot lit gas wall oven, where it was much warmer than anywhere else, and I waited.
A new SCOBY forming rather resembles an oil slick when it starts. There is nothing to indicate that it is anything more than a slime coating on the top of the liquid... you just have to wait. Time is the last ingredient in this recipe.
At first, I was convinced that I had a moldy SCOBY forming on one of the containers, because it looked like there was something dark forming on part of my slime. But everything I read stated that mold looks like dry greenish black mold and this didn't look like that. Since I had two of them going, I figured I would just wait and see, and if it turned out to be mold, I had the other one. It took well over a week for one of the SCOBYs to resemble the SCOBYs that I'd seen in pictures, but once it did, it was just a matter of waiting for it to thicken up. What had appeared to be mold turned out to be a brown clump of yeast waste - yucky looking but perfectly normal in this kind of culture. After a bit over two weeks, it seemed almost done - but I waited a little longer for it to thicken a little more. When that first one got to be over 1/4 inch thick, I gathered the stuff I had to try to make a batch of kombucha with my new SCOBY. I left the second one, which seemed much thinner, in the jar and ignored it for another few days.
That one came out even thicker, in the end. I can't really remember how I managed to get three, as I really do only remember starting two - but I did get three by the time all was said and done. I now have three healthy SCOBYS that I rotate by the length of time since they've been used - the older ones being first used. I keep them in ceramic bowls, covered with the tea they were cultured in, with the bowl covered with plastic and stored in the fridge. The refrigeration slows the activity of the SCOBY so they will last. They can be kept in the fridge for a couple of weeks, but much longer than that and you risk them starting to die off.
Next up, how I made kombucha with those thick, gelatinous masses!
No kitties, Kombucha!
So ... about kombucha. Kombucha is fermented tea. It's an ancient Asian drink and is available at many health food stores and even some grocery stores like Hannaford. There are many supposed health benefits, but the main ones are lots of pro-biotics (good for the digestive system) and lots of B vitamins (likely due to the yeast).
If you've ever had hard cider, I think that the taste is similar, but less sweet. There are "hard iced teas" on the market, but I don't think that the flavor is very like those. And, yes, as a fermented beverage that starts out with sugar, it does contain a very small amount of alchohol - but a lot of that is dependent upon how long you ferment it.
I decided to embark on making my own due to the fact that the cost of the stuff I like is about $3.70 per 16 ounce bottle. I looked into it online and found a number of different sites and blog entries devoted to the brewing of kombucha. It sounded simple enough - tea, water, sugar and time ... except that I would need a starter culture, sometimes called a Kombucha mushroom, but more technically and accurately referred to as a "SCOBY". S.C.O.B.Y stands for "Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast" and is exactly that. You can buy a SCOBY online for anywhere from $15-$30, but I was leery of all these little individual sites and researched if there was a way to make my own.
Sure enough, there is! It's a little time-consuming, but it's relatively inexpensive, and the three that I grew have made me several batches of kombucha and ensure that I can rotate them so they can rest a little between batches... and I always have one backup. The cool thing is that they grow their own replacements - a "baby" that you can separate from the "mother" when the baby is thick enough.
Here is a list of the things you would need were you to decide to brew your own kombucha:
I will write more about how I grew my own SCOBY and how I brew and bottle my kombucha in future blog posts... I hope you are interested and enjoying the read!
If you've ever had hard cider, I think that the taste is similar, but less sweet. There are "hard iced teas" on the market, but I don't think that the flavor is very like those. And, yes, as a fermented beverage that starts out with sugar, it does contain a very small amount of alchohol - but a lot of that is dependent upon how long you ferment it.
I decided to embark on making my own due to the fact that the cost of the stuff I like is about $3.70 per 16 ounce bottle. I looked into it online and found a number of different sites and blog entries devoted to the brewing of kombucha. It sounded simple enough - tea, water, sugar and time ... except that I would need a starter culture, sometimes called a Kombucha mushroom, but more technically and accurately referred to as a "SCOBY". S.C.O.B.Y stands for "Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast" and is exactly that. You can buy a SCOBY online for anywhere from $15-$30, but I was leery of all these little individual sites and researched if there was a way to make my own.
Sure enough, there is! It's a little time-consuming, but it's relatively inexpensive, and the three that I grew have made me several batches of kombucha and ensure that I can rotate them so they can rest a little between batches... and I always have one backup. The cool thing is that they grow their own replacements - a "baby" that you can separate from the "mother" when the baby is thick enough.
Here is a list of the things you would need were you to decide to brew your own kombucha:
- LOTS of black or black and green teas (there are some that believe some black tea is essential for a good kombucha - who am I to argue that?) - preferably organic and it's great if you can find affordable free-trade tea. I found organic black and green teas at Hannaford.
- White cane sugar. Can be organic if you prefer, but my understanding is that the sugar is almost completely consumed by the fermentation process, so most people aren't as picky about this. Other sweeteners may be iffy - honey, for example, has natural anti-bacterial properties and so might kill the bacterial part of your culture, ruining your kombucha. Probably best to stick with plain white cane sugar especially to start.
- SCOBY plus some starter tea - generally included if you purchase a SCOBY online. If you grow your own, you will have the leftover tea from that starter. And you will always save some kombucha from each batch you brew to protect your stored SCOBY and use as starter tea for a new batch.
- At least one, prefereably two, 1 gallon glass jar(s). I purchased 5 litre canning jars online - they were pricey - or at least the shipping was high, but they fairly sturdy. You might be able to find gallon or larger glass jars at a restaurant if you know anyone who might be willing to save them for you. Or, if you purchase in bulk and can find glass jars that large, and don't mind eating a lot of pickles or whatever before you can use them ...
- Cheesecloth (I triple layer it for better protection from flies and such), a square or two of muslin or other breathable but fairly tight weave cloth large enough to hang a couple of inches over the mouth of your jar(s). Some people use a lint free kitchen towel.
- Rubberbands. Several. Large enough to go around the mouth of your jar and whatever material it is you cover it with. Just get a package of them so you have plenty of them when you get going - eventually they will stretch out and break, and you'll want to have more to replace broken ones.
- 1 -2 quart Pyrex or other heat resistant bowl or measuring cup. I have both, but am now mostly using my 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup. The measuring cup can be used in both the preparation process and the bottling process, so it might be your best bet.
- Tea kettle or small stainless steel stock pot.
- Six to eight 15-16 oz bottles. If you already drink a commercially sold kombucha you can sometimes use those bottles - especially if they have screw on caps. Or you can do what I did and buy bottles ... or what I really did was buy a case of Grolsch beer in the flip top bottles and drink or discard the beer for the bottles. It is actually cheaper to buy a case of Grolsch and pour the beer down the drain to get the bottles than it is to buy the bottles online and pay for shipping. Shipping glass is EXPENSIVE.
- A funnel that will fit into the necks of your bottles. Still tricky, but the funnel truly helps in bottling.
- Plastic straws. I have a little dispenser similar to the old fashioned straw dispensers one used to find in the old soda shops - this keeps them clean and protected in storage. You will want to use the straws to help sample your kombucha during the fermenting process to see if it's at the point you would want to bottle it yet - i.e., taste-testing.
- A quiet, warmish (70-85 degrees F) space big enough to hold at least one, if not both, of your gallon jars, and possibly 3 or more of your bottles. I use the top of my fridge right now, but I'm thinking I will need to rearrange the area over my wall oven - mine is an old oven with a pilot light, so there is always a little bit of heat rising from it. The warmer the area, the faster your fermentation will take place.
I will write more about how I grew my own SCOBY and how I brew and bottle my kombucha in future blog posts... I hope you are interested and enjoying the read!
Kitties and Kombucha ...
Not together!
Just catching up on some stuff ... and the two big things to catch up on are the kitties and my foray into making my own kombucha. I was going to try to fit both into one post, but it will be much too long, so I am going to split into at least two posts.
Kitties first: Earlier this summer Cinnamon was very sick. I truly thought I was going to lose her. After much agonizing on my part, I finally decided to take her to the vet with my sister Donna's assistance. Given that Cinnamon stresses out so badly about ... well, everything ... I was afraid she was going to wind up in worse shape from the trip to the vet. As it turned out, I was in worse shape on that trip than she was. She started wailing as soon as I moved the cat carrier, and she didn't stop except at a few stop lights along the way, but she weathered the trip ok. Her illness stumped the vet. She'd vomited up everything she'd eaten two days in a row and had diarrhea and then didn't eat for another day or two - hence the vet visit. But when Dr. Drumm did his exam, she had no fever or palpable blockages. He gave me some medicine that was supposed to relax her digestive tract and prevent her from vomiting so readily, and he said that if she wasn't better by the next day he wanted her back at the office (Oddly, while she hadn't stopped eating, Sianna had also been sick for a day or so during this period of time). The medicine worked, and the next day she was eating a little bit without any vomiting. I still have no idea what was wrong with her - I suppose she might have eaten something bad, like maybe a sick mouse or something - but I really don't know.
Since her illness, I've been feeding her a little differently. My girls both get Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Feline Formula - which has venison and salmon - for their first meal of the day. Then at dinner time, they get chopped up chicken breast that I cook for them (I do it all at once then freeze or refrigerate it until feeding) plus a little more dry cat food and if there is any broth left from the chicken they get a little of that, too. And before I go to bed, they get a rounded tablespoon of dry cat food. The other dry cat food that I feed is Purina One Beyond (salmon and brown rice) and I rotate that and the other dry food for the dinner and bedtime meals.
The main thing that is different about the dry foods that I am feeding is that they contain no corn, wheat or soy. Cats are what is known as "obligatory carnivores" meaning they MUST eat primarily meat to maintain proper nutrition. While cats might consume vegetable matter in the digestive tracts of animals they eat, they do not need to eat grains or vegetables. They need more protein than the average cat food contains, which is why I feed the Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Feline Formula - it has 42% protein as opposed to less than 32% for most other cat foods.
A quick side note: Interestingly, when I was looking up the links for this blog article, I just found that Purina One had a voluntary recall of one type of food for salmonella. The symptoms, with the exception of fever, are very similar to what Cinnamon's symptoms were. It wasn't the same brand, but it does make me wonder ... although salmonella is fairly common - it is even found in ants these days. And I recently read that, while dogs and most healthy humans are very resistant to salmonella infections, cats do not have much resistance to it, as they generally eat what they kill immediately or not at all.
Anyway, Cinnamon has been doing very well on her new food regimen. I'm taking more care to control how much she eats and she has lost weight, which is also a good thing. She looks and acts healthier now than she did before she got sick. Sianna is also doing well with the food, although she isn't as into the cooked chicken as Cinnamon is. I wind up giving her less chicken and more dry food and Cinnamon gets less dry food and more chicken. And they still wind up finishing up each other's dinners - only a little bit of leftovers in each dish, but it's funny to see them sneak over to the other's leftovers.
Tomorrow - kombucha.
Just catching up on some stuff ... and the two big things to catch up on are the kitties and my foray into making my own kombucha. I was going to try to fit both into one post, but it will be much too long, so I am going to split into at least two posts.
Kitties first: Earlier this summer Cinnamon was very sick. I truly thought I was going to lose her. After much agonizing on my part, I finally decided to take her to the vet with my sister Donna's assistance. Given that Cinnamon stresses out so badly about ... well, everything ... I was afraid she was going to wind up in worse shape from the trip to the vet. As it turned out, I was in worse shape on that trip than she was. She started wailing as soon as I moved the cat carrier, and she didn't stop except at a few stop lights along the way, but she weathered the trip ok. Her illness stumped the vet. She'd vomited up everything she'd eaten two days in a row and had diarrhea and then didn't eat for another day or two - hence the vet visit. But when Dr. Drumm did his exam, she had no fever or palpable blockages. He gave me some medicine that was supposed to relax her digestive tract and prevent her from vomiting so readily, and he said that if she wasn't better by the next day he wanted her back at the office (Oddly, while she hadn't stopped eating, Sianna had also been sick for a day or so during this period of time). The medicine worked, and the next day she was eating a little bit without any vomiting. I still have no idea what was wrong with her - I suppose she might have eaten something bad, like maybe a sick mouse or something - but I really don't know.
Since her illness, I've been feeding her a little differently. My girls both get Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Feline Formula - which has venison and salmon - for their first meal of the day. Then at dinner time, they get chopped up chicken breast that I cook for them (I do it all at once then freeze or refrigerate it until feeding) plus a little more dry cat food and if there is any broth left from the chicken they get a little of that, too. And before I go to bed, they get a rounded tablespoon of dry cat food. The other dry cat food that I feed is Purina One Beyond (salmon and brown rice) and I rotate that and the other dry food for the dinner and bedtime meals.
The main thing that is different about the dry foods that I am feeding is that they contain no corn, wheat or soy. Cats are what is known as "obligatory carnivores" meaning they MUST eat primarily meat to maintain proper nutrition. While cats might consume vegetable matter in the digestive tracts of animals they eat, they do not need to eat grains or vegetables. They need more protein than the average cat food contains, which is why I feed the Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Feline Formula - it has 42% protein as opposed to less than 32% for most other cat foods.
A quick side note: Interestingly, when I was looking up the links for this blog article, I just found that Purina One had a voluntary recall of one type of food for salmonella. The symptoms, with the exception of fever, are very similar to what Cinnamon's symptoms were. It wasn't the same brand, but it does make me wonder ... although salmonella is fairly common - it is even found in ants these days. And I recently read that, while dogs and most healthy humans are very resistant to salmonella infections, cats do not have much resistance to it, as they generally eat what they kill immediately or not at all.
Anyway, Cinnamon has been doing very well on her new food regimen. I'm taking more care to control how much she eats and she has lost weight, which is also a good thing. She looks and acts healthier now than she did before she got sick. Sianna is also doing well with the food, although she isn't as into the cooked chicken as Cinnamon is. I wind up giving her less chicken and more dry food and Cinnamon gets less dry food and more chicken. And they still wind up finishing up each other's dinners - only a little bit of leftovers in each dish, but it's funny to see them sneak over to the other's leftovers.
Tomorrow - kombucha.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
How Did it Get to be Next Summer Already?
I see that I last posted over a year ago. That was not my intention. But winter was emotionally difficult for many reason - not the least of which the very wintery weather!
I seem to have lost at least one friend over the hard winter, perhaps two - people who I spoke to regularly. One seems simply to have dropped off the face of the earth, and the other ... well, I'm not quite sure what is going on there - just that I hear "I'll call you later" a lot but then nothing ...
Work has been stressful for me, and that is all that I will say on a public forum about that.
But, I've been trying to get myself out of the emotional dip I seemed to have gotten into and I think I'm doing it, finally.
Let me share some of the discoveries I've made ... I'll forwarn you - they are food and drink related.
I make a decent guacamole - but I cheat. I use pre-chopped pico de gallo, then mix that in with mashed fresh avocado, and a liberal dash of lime juice, either fresh or bottled.
I make a pretty good stout beef stew - and I cheat at that too. I think I wrote about that in a previous post, but I'll repeat it here. I buy raw diced potatoes, fresh English peas, celery and carrot sticks, chopped onion, sliced mushrooms and stew beef, and a four or six pack of stout ale like Guinness. I flour and brown the beef pieces in a little olive oil, coconut oil or another healthy oil, then remove it from the pot. Then I chop the celery and carrot sticks into stew worthy pieces (in other words - however big or small I feel like at the moment!), throw them and the onions in, and saute them until the onion is getting transparent. Then, back in goes the beef, maybe some fresh rosemary, a little minced garlic or garlic powder (whatever I have at the moment) and whatever herbs strike my fancy - keeping flavor in mind, of course! Then, and here's the part I haven't quite got perfected, one and a half to two 12 oz bottles of the stout... Too little and it hasn't got that hint of bitter bite, too much and the bitter bite is much less enjoyable. After the stout, add water, and simmer for a while - until the carrots are starting to get tender. If you need to get more beef flavor, add small amounts of beef flavored Better Than Bouillon paste to taste. Then add the peas and the potatoes. The peas will probably take longer to get tender than the potatoes, so you may want to add them earlier - depends on if your peas are fresh or frozen (don't EVEN put canned peas in there!!!). Once the peas are close to done, add the sliced mushrooms and simmer for a while longer or until it all tastes delicious and all the ingredients are tender. Depending on how thick it is, or how thick you like it, at any point you may wish to blend a little flour or cornstarch to thicken it up, but be careful not to add too much or you will have jellied beef stew! :)
Finally, the drinks... I've discovered barley water - a gaming friend introduced me to it! It's pretty simple, really... here's a couple of links: Barley Water by Alton Brown of the Food Network and this answer at Yahoo Answers. Depending on how long and vigorously it simmers, you may find it is a little thick - syrupy, almost. Just add water or ice to thin it down. It's refreshing and has many of the benefits of barley. Don't throw out the barley like Alton Brown says, though - put it away for eating... you can heat it and put honey on it for a lovely hot breakfast, or use it in some stout beef stew ... or any number of ways that you could use rice or pasta. It's good for you and tastes great!
For my next post I will talk about my experiences drinking and now making Kombucha - a fermented tea drink.
Until then - hope you get a chance to try some of the "recipes" I've shared. Be adventurous in the kitchen but try not to burn anything! :)
-- T
I seem to have lost at least one friend over the hard winter, perhaps two - people who I spoke to regularly. One seems simply to have dropped off the face of the earth, and the other ... well, I'm not quite sure what is going on there - just that I hear "I'll call you later" a lot but then nothing ...
Work has been stressful for me, and that is all that I will say on a public forum about that.
But, I've been trying to get myself out of the emotional dip I seemed to have gotten into and I think I'm doing it, finally.
Let me share some of the discoveries I've made ... I'll forwarn you - they are food and drink related.
I make a decent guacamole - but I cheat. I use pre-chopped pico de gallo, then mix that in with mashed fresh avocado, and a liberal dash of lime juice, either fresh or bottled.
I make a pretty good stout beef stew - and I cheat at that too. I think I wrote about that in a previous post, but I'll repeat it here. I buy raw diced potatoes, fresh English peas, celery and carrot sticks, chopped onion, sliced mushrooms and stew beef, and a four or six pack of stout ale like Guinness. I flour and brown the beef pieces in a little olive oil, coconut oil or another healthy oil, then remove it from the pot. Then I chop the celery and carrot sticks into stew worthy pieces (in other words - however big or small I feel like at the moment!), throw them and the onions in, and saute them until the onion is getting transparent. Then, back in goes the beef, maybe some fresh rosemary, a little minced garlic or garlic powder (whatever I have at the moment) and whatever herbs strike my fancy - keeping flavor in mind, of course! Then, and here's the part I haven't quite got perfected, one and a half to two 12 oz bottles of the stout... Too little and it hasn't got that hint of bitter bite, too much and the bitter bite is much less enjoyable. After the stout, add water, and simmer for a while - until the carrots are starting to get tender. If you need to get more beef flavor, add small amounts of beef flavored Better Than Bouillon paste to taste. Then add the peas and the potatoes. The peas will probably take longer to get tender than the potatoes, so you may want to add them earlier - depends on if your peas are fresh or frozen (don't EVEN put canned peas in there!!!). Once the peas are close to done, add the sliced mushrooms and simmer for a while longer or until it all tastes delicious and all the ingredients are tender. Depending on how thick it is, or how thick you like it, at any point you may wish to blend a little flour or cornstarch to thicken it up, but be careful not to add too much or you will have jellied beef stew! :)
Finally, the drinks... I've discovered barley water - a gaming friend introduced me to it! It's pretty simple, really... here's a couple of links: Barley Water by Alton Brown of the Food Network and this answer at Yahoo Answers. Depending on how long and vigorously it simmers, you may find it is a little thick - syrupy, almost. Just add water or ice to thin it down. It's refreshing and has many of the benefits of barley. Don't throw out the barley like Alton Brown says, though - put it away for eating... you can heat it and put honey on it for a lovely hot breakfast, or use it in some stout beef stew ... or any number of ways that you could use rice or pasta. It's good for you and tastes great!
For my next post I will talk about my experiences drinking and now making Kombucha - a fermented tea drink.
Until then - hope you get a chance to try some of the "recipes" I've shared. Be adventurous in the kitchen but try not to burn anything! :)
-- T
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Complaining early ... it's HOT! (and stuff about me)
In my last blog post, I mentioned that I would probably be complaining in August about how hot it was, since I was so happy to get the warmth of spring. Well, we seem to have largely skipped right over that "warmth" ang gone directly into the heat of summer - we've had August weather quite a few times in MAY! We have had unseasonably warm weather this spring - which led to "quick - please get my a/c unit in the window!" (thank you very much to Brenda's family).
News about ME (who else?)
Over the last few years, I have developed asthma, and over the last six months or more, it's apparently been aggravated by a number of allergens - most recently, mildew/mold (same thing - one is just a nicer sounding name) and I cough a lot. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to avoid molds - I think the carpet in the office area where I work has mildew - when you walk into the main office, you can smell the mustiness, especially when it's been damp or rainy outside. And, due to a leak SOMEWHERE in my car, water gets into my trunk and sometimes into the floor of the back seat, and so the car carpets are mildewy as well. Since that amounts to about 9.5 to 10 hours of my day, you can imagine that I've been having a lot of trouble - mostly with coughing. At first I wasn't absolutely sure it was the office carpet that was the big offender, but when I had 3 great days and 2 bad ones in one week (the 3 days I was off were good, the 2 I worked - not so much), as well as the weekends always being a little better, I have become convinced that the midlew in the carpet at work is a huge problem for me.
I have an air purifier in my own small office area, and have been wearing a specially designed silk mask to help filter out the bad stuff. That seems to have helped, even if I have to constantly explain to people why I am wearing it, and that, NO, I AM NOT CONTAGIOUS (sheesh - if I was that sick or knew I was contagious, I wouldn't come to work - do they think I'm stupid?) The doctor has put me on a new inhaler medicine which also seems to be helping. I was on this medicine, by the way, when I had the 3 great days and two bad ones, so I'm holding to the work mildew thing as the trigger.
I've also started eating raw honey from local bees every day (They sell some from Ray Tousey in Clermont at the Kaaterskill Farm health food store in Greenport on Healy Blvd), in hopes of lessening the impact of local pollens on my allergies. It's got a lot of glowing anecdotal reviews, but most doctors will not suggest it due to the lack of clinical evidence. I've been trying to eat better (more veggies, more healthful fats, better quality foods) and am taking a number of supplements which I'm also hoping will help - from DrBenKim.com at his online store. This is all NOT CHEAP and I am very thankful to be able to afford to do it.
But I know one of the things I need to do is MOVE more. I freely admit that I HATE to exercise. After I drive home from work, the very last thing I want to do is exercise, especially when it's 85 degrees F outside! And I don't seem to have the ability to get up early to do it when it's cooler out, either. I will have to figure something out.
And I'll let you know what I figure out - next time!
TTFN!
T
News about ME (who else?)
Over the last few years, I have developed asthma, and over the last six months or more, it's apparently been aggravated by a number of allergens - most recently, mildew/mold (same thing - one is just a nicer sounding name) and I cough a lot. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to avoid molds - I think the carpet in the office area where I work has mildew - when you walk into the main office, you can smell the mustiness, especially when it's been damp or rainy outside. And, due to a leak SOMEWHERE in my car, water gets into my trunk and sometimes into the floor of the back seat, and so the car carpets are mildewy as well. Since that amounts to about 9.5 to 10 hours of my day, you can imagine that I've been having a lot of trouble - mostly with coughing. At first I wasn't absolutely sure it was the office carpet that was the big offender, but when I had 3 great days and 2 bad ones in one week (the 3 days I was off were good, the 2 I worked - not so much), as well as the weekends always being a little better, I have become convinced that the midlew in the carpet at work is a huge problem for me.
I have an air purifier in my own small office area, and have been wearing a specially designed silk mask to help filter out the bad stuff. That seems to have helped, even if I have to constantly explain to people why I am wearing it, and that, NO, I AM NOT CONTAGIOUS (sheesh - if I was that sick or knew I was contagious, I wouldn't come to work - do they think I'm stupid?) The doctor has put me on a new inhaler medicine which also seems to be helping. I was on this medicine, by the way, when I had the 3 great days and two bad ones, so I'm holding to the work mildew thing as the trigger.
I've also started eating raw honey from local bees every day (They sell some from Ray Tousey in Clermont at the Kaaterskill Farm health food store in Greenport on Healy Blvd), in hopes of lessening the impact of local pollens on my allergies. It's got a lot of glowing anecdotal reviews, but most doctors will not suggest it due to the lack of clinical evidence. I've been trying to eat better (more veggies, more healthful fats, better quality foods) and am taking a number of supplements which I'm also hoping will help - from DrBenKim.com at his online store. This is all NOT CHEAP and I am very thankful to be able to afford to do it.
But I know one of the things I need to do is MOVE more. I freely admit that I HATE to exercise. After I drive home from work, the very last thing I want to do is exercise, especially when it's 85 degrees F outside! And I don't seem to have the ability to get up early to do it when it's cooler out, either.
And I'll let you know what I figure out - next time!
TTFN!
T
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Spring at last?
I'm really tired of being cold and, well, cold. The sun and warmth of spring and summer aren't coming quickly enough.
Of course, in August, when it's hot and humid, I'll likely have forgotten that I was in such a hurry for it to be warmer ...
Of course, in August, when it's hot and humid, I'll likely have forgotten that I was in such a hurry for it to be warmer ...
Friday, March 19, 2010
Daylight Savings Time
Well, it's great for light at the end of the day ... but horrible for getting up. I have such a hard time getting up in the morning when it's dark out - right before we had to change the clocks, it was light when I had to get up for work, and I was feeling more energetic as I got ready and on my trip in to the college. That all ended as soon as we turned the clocks ahead for daylight savings time ... it's now dark again in the mornings when my alarm clock goes off - and I am having a really hard time getting out of bed.
Who thought this was a good idea, anyway? Why don't we just allow our minds and bodies to adjust naturally to the longer days of spring and summer and the shorter days of fall and winter without artificially trying to change things? I don't know who it really helps - I know it doesn't help me.
I know whose idea it was, originally, a couple of hundred years or so ago... do you?
Who thought this was a good idea, anyway? Why don't we just allow our minds and bodies to adjust naturally to the longer days of spring and summer and the shorter days of fall and winter without artificially trying to change things? I don't know who it really helps - I know it doesn't help me.
I know whose idea it was, originally, a couple of hundred years or so ago... do you?
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
OK, So ... Now that I know you're out there ...
So ... I was thinking today about Keely Smith. I accidentally discovered her music when I met my friend Harry from Texas. As we got to know each other, he told me his favorite style of music was an offshoot of Big Band Era music that call "The Rat Pack" style (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and their contemporaries who performed similar types of music). At the time I subscribed to Yahoo music and I found a few "stations" that played that style of music. I found that I really enjoyed it myself!
One of the female vocalists that I frequently heard, sometimes solo and sometimes with Louis Prima, was Keely Smith. She has a very clear voice, an easy style and just a great sound. She came into the limelight when she worked with Louis Prima, and eventually married him. According to what I've read online (I'll find it and cite it soon), he was abusive and the marriage didn't last - but she remained in the music industry, although she did take some time out to raise a family. While she never achieved the fame of Ella Fitzgerald or other contemporaries, she performed for years - and, last I read online, still does. Keely will be 78 on March 9, 2010, according to this Wikipedia article, and still sounds as good as ever.
You can find a few Keely Smith songs in my playlist above - take a little listen!
One of the female vocalists that I frequently heard, sometimes solo and sometimes with Louis Prima, was Keely Smith. She has a very clear voice, an easy style and just a great sound. She came into the limelight when she worked with Louis Prima, and eventually married him. According to what I've read online (I'll find it and cite it soon), he was abusive and the marriage didn't last - but she remained in the music industry, although she did take some time out to raise a family. While she never achieved the fame of Ella Fitzgerald or other contemporaries, she performed for years - and, last I read online, still does. Keely will be 78 on March 9, 2010, according to this Wikipedia article, and still sounds as good as ever.
You can find a few Keely Smith songs in my playlist above - take a little listen!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Here's the latest...
I had a lovely dinner with my sister Brenda, her husband and the kids yesterday for Valetine's Day. The food was great, the company was fun (including the humans ... the six indoor kitties are always entertaining), and I enjoyed the movie (National Treasure 2). We played a little bit of Wii bowling - where I was the champ until I faced off with my brother-in-law - but he just BARELY triumphed over my natural talent. ;-) And, of course, the brownies for dessert - just WONDERFUL... (I love brownies).
Now, there's an odd name for a food, thinking about it... "brownies" - where do you suppose that started? There must have been other brownish foods by the time they were invented... and wouldn't they be better named "chocolaties" or "fudge cakes" or something like that? Hmm ... bears looking into.
Here we go ... according to several sources, the true origins delightful fudgy cake confection, which those of us with discerning palates consider to be one of the most delicious snacks or desserts known to human kind, are shrouded in mystery. Nobody really knows who invented them, and the assumption is that the name came from the color of the food, which is classified as a "bar cookie". Check out this article for the whole story...
That's all for now - catch you later!
-- T
Now, there's an odd name for a food, thinking about it... "brownies" - where do you suppose that started? There must have been other brownish foods by the time they were invented... and wouldn't they be better named "chocolaties" or "fudge cakes" or something like that? Hmm ... bears looking into.
Here we go ... according to several sources, the true origins delightful fudgy cake confection, which those of us with discerning palates consider to be one of the most delicious snacks or desserts known to human kind, are shrouded in mystery. Nobody really knows who invented them, and the assumption is that the name came from the color of the food, which is classified as a "bar cookie". Check out this article for the whole story...
That's all for now - catch you later!
-- T
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Just getting started
Welcome ... you all know me - I generally have a lot of opinions and a lot to say, but here I plan to be a little bit quieter than you're used to. Hope nobody is disappointed!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
