I've Got Culture!
Yes! This is the wonderful kombucha which has been used as a health drink for more than a thousand years by people of the far east. And now I have one of my own! A very good friend of mine had got one all the way from Russia, and has been drinking from it for years now. She decided I could do with some better health and gave me a baby culture to grow in my own home :) And now, after a week, I am really fond of it!
The culture grows in a glass jar, full of sweet tea. This pic is from the internet of course, as my culture is little more than a film on top of the tea surface. But I will post a pic once it grows enough to be discernible in a photograph, and will also post details of all the benefits I have got from drinking the elixir! And, if you want, you can have your very own kombucha culture from me!
The culture grows in a glass jar, full of sweet tea. This pic is from the internet of course, as my culture is little more than a film on top of the tea surface. But I will post a pic once it grows enough to be discernible in a photograph, and will also post details of all the benefits I have got from drinking the elixir! And, if you want, you can have your very own kombucha culture from me!
10 comments:
U are supposed to drink that??? AHEM! From what I read on the wiki link.... a glass of juice (or red wine!) would be much more beneficial. Think about it...
Hi Tanushree,
In that case,try growing a 'Red wine' culture,and in case you are successfuly,may be we could also have a share:-)
Oh sure, I've always been interested in "growing" wine at home! But wine cultures are not easy to come by, alas. Do you know where I can get my hands on some???
Read this :
Sim1's LCBO tip made me remeber this... With the alcohol prices in Canada so high due to total government control of liquor sales, thrifty Canadians have started making their own wine and beer. All over town you'll see wine-making shops: Essentially you go in, pick your choice of grape juice/extract, choose the quantity (30l's or so), and get a call after two months to come in and help bottle it. The deal with the bottling is that if you have a hand in the 'production' of the wine, they tax you less (sounds like a good small business to me). The bottling process is pretty easy, you wash the bottles (new, or from your previous batch), choose plastic or cork for a stopper, and then put all into this fancy pneumatic thingey which seals it right up. Options are custom labels and foil wrapping for the corks. At around $3.50/bottle for 'Australian Shiraz' I couldn't have made a better weekday drinking/cooking wine. I'm keeping a bottle to see if it matures well(haha). Watchout: For some reason whenever I spill it (it's potent), it stains my kitchen counter like hell. Oh yes, the beer... I've made a case of 500ml Mexican beer, not too bad, and with a refrigerated shelf-life of 3 months, makes for some quick consumption.
You have given me food for thought!
@Mohit: Go go go!!! Maybe you should try making some fruit wines, out of strawberry and stuff.
@kopos: I could give you a culture in a couple of weeks, when mine is "grown up" enough.
Interesting. I have a thing for fermented foods, but since it's not that common in Western cooking I'm glad you provided a link.
I even found a website that will send you culture and makes the tea premade (that might be easiest for me).
Enjoy your tea!
wow this looks damn awesome ladt, and very very intriguing as well, though a tad gross as well.
@Jane: Thanks! I am enjoying it already. Hope you do too, if you decide to make it.
@Jhantu: It is all of those, yes. The grossness of it doesn't really bother me so much. I enjoy peering at it everyday to see how much it has grown and all that. But one thing grossed me out a bit. When I decant the liquid and store it in other bottles to let the fresh batch brew, in a few days, a little culture forms in the new bottle. It is transparent and almost impossible to see while pouring, and I drank it down one day. I am sure you can imagine what that was like! Well, I have been using a strainer ever since. Lessons learnt and all that...
This was really new and weird! I never knew one could have tea with mushrooms growing in it!!!
Hope you're enjoying it!
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