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| Ginger Lemon and Pomegranate Kombucha |
Oh my. These two flavoured Kombucha recipes are really not unlike sparkling fruit juice and ginger beer. But they're good for you, only cost a few pennies to make a gallon of them and are ridiculously easy.
I couldn't decide which one I liked better, so I thought I'd share them both and let you decide!
I apologize for the rather dark photos, but I'm in Vancouver, BC right now visiting family, and it's been raining. Every single day for the last month. Non-stop. Like a rain forest, but without the warm weather.
Well, ok, I'm exaggerating. There were those two half days worth of semi-cloudy sunshine...
This ducky photo was taken this morning, looking out the window of my mom's kitchen. My mom's poor cats, they've been so housebound by the rain that their only entertainment is sitting by the window and hoping the ducks from the nearby pond will wander over! When they finally did it was a pretty exciting moment.
This poor little guy has been laying around belly up on the couch, day in and day out, waiting for someone to come by and scratch him, since he can't go outside.
Anyway, you're here about the Kombucha, not the rain, right?
So a little over a week ago I shared how I resurrected a Kombucha Scoby that had been hanging out in my mom's basement for over half the year.
I followed my regular method, I brewed some sweetened tea, added my old scobies and a jar of leftover Kombucha tea from my last batch, and let it ferment for 10 days on the kitchen floor near the heating vent, where it grew another healthy scoby and came out nice and fizzy.
I reserved about 2 cups worth of Kombucha tea (KT) to use for my next batch. Usually you only need about 1/2 cup of liquid, but since I'll be leaving my scoby for another several months again I reserved more to keep my scobies from drying out.
Then I flavoured my plain old Kombucha tea. Here's how:
For Ginger Lemon Kombucha - Makes 3.5 cups of tea
3.5 cups of strained KT
1.5 Tbsp ginger pulp - you can do this a couple of different ways; finely grate a chunk of ginger and use the remaining pulp, or cheat like me and use a jar of ginger pulp (I didn't have any fresh, and my mom had a little jar that was super handy!)
1 Tbsp lemon juice (fresh is best, but I cheated again and used bottled lemon juice!)
For Pomegranate Kombucha - Makes 4 cup of tea
3.5 cups of KT
1/2 cup sugar free pure pomegranate juice (I used some POM because it happened to be in my mother's basement!)
The Double Fermentation Method
1. Mix your ingredients together in clean containers with tight fitting lids.
2. Place your containers in a warm dark place, or drape with a clean tea towel. Let ferment another 48 hours or so.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: You'll want to be careful here - this part of the process builds up carbonation ("fizz") and you may want to periodically open your lids slightly to let some of the carbon out so that your Kombucha doesn't explode! - There's a great article on this from Kombucha Kamp and the comments section is super helpful, too!
3. Scrape the newly forming scobies off the top of your tea (these might be funky colours because of the ginger and pomegranate). Store in the fridge.
My KT came out nice and fizzy and as I'm writing this I'm alternating between the two glasses shown in the picture!
I'd love to hear about your favorite Kombucha flavours and how you brew it!! Please feel free to leave a comment or a link to your Kombucha recipes in the comments section below :)
For more Kombucha stuff, check out:
Kombucha Diary: Day 13 - Bottling and
Flavouring Kombucha (blueberry mint flavoured)
Resurrecting a Kombucha Scoby
Resurrecting a Kombucha Scoby
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| Pomegranate and Ginger Lemon Kombucha |
This post was shared on the following great linky parties: Waste Not Want Not Wednesday, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Whole Food Wednesday, Wheat-Free Wednesday, Keep it Real Thursdays, Simple Lives Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Tasty Traditions, Fresh Bites Friday, Get Real Frugal Friday, Fight Back Friday, Gluten Free Fridays, Whole Food Fridays,Monday Mania,Motivation Monday,
These ideas look wonderful. I'm currently collecting kombucha bottles and soon I want to start making my own. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Eileen! Glad you like the post :)
DeleteThanks, Danielle. I've been wanting to try making kombucha, so t his is perfect timing! I pinned this for reference. :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you found it helpful, it's very easy so I definitely recommend making your own!
DeleteThis looks awesome! I've been thinking about getting a SCOBY and I'm super convinced now....I have to have homemade kombucha!!!
ReplyDeleteI feel ya on the rain thing....Vancouver is so brutal that way sometimes....most times ;-)
Hi Koko, thanks for stopping by, and thank goodness yesterday and today had sunshine!! I've been sitting by the window/standing outside whenever I can just to collect some much needed Vitamin D!
DeleteIn a few days I'll be attempting to grow my own scoby, and sharing some links on how to do it, so if you can't find a scoby you might want to check out my upcoming posts :)
This looks fabulous, great recipe! Thank you so much for celebrating TWO YEARS with FULL PLATE THURSDAY, I appreciate your visit!
ReplyDeleteCome Back Soon
Miz Helen
Thanks, Miz Helen! Congrats and thank you for hosting :)
DeleteFunny you should post this right now... I am just now drinking my latest batch of kombucha: ginger pomegranate! Yummy. Have you tried pineapple ginger? You gotta try it. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteDoes your kombucha always come out fizzy? Mine rarely does and I just can't figure it out. I use just black tea (taste preference) and sugar. My scobys grow thick and healthy and the kombucha tastes great... but it's got little bubble to it. Any ideas?
Oooh, pineapple ginger sounds wonderful! I will definitely have to try it.
DeleteI haven't brewed enough to say for sure, but I'm pretty sure that letting it ferment at least 10 days, then double fermenting it adds carbonation (fizziness). Here's a great article that I just found on creating fizz from Kombucha Kamp that explains it - http://www.kombuchakamp.com/2011/01/kombucha-carbonation-for-beginners.html
Sounds like you need to be really careful with the double fermenting so that things don't explode on you!
I love flavored kombucha and these look so delicious!! This would be a perfect recipe to share at Meal Plan Monday at www.modernalternativekitchen.com. The link goes live at 7a EST tomorrow, hope to see you there!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jill. I'm a little behind in linking up as I'm getting ready to travel, but I'll be there next week :)
DeleteI love ducks and cats :) The drinks look and sound refreshing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned all your entries to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! :)
On the Gluten Free Fridays tab we have new badges for you to display on your blog. There are a few different choices for you. There are varying sizes as well. If you've had a featured recipe in the past, feel free to grab one of those badges as well! They are free for the taking; use as you wish! Thanks for supporting our GF community and spreading the word!
Thanks for linking back to the Gluten Free Fridays post!
See you at the link up this week!
Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
This looks yummy! I'm in the mood to try new flavors with my kombucha.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been taking the new scoby off the top of the double fermented kombucha. Should I be doing this?
Also, I would love for you to link up your recipe at Motivation Monday where we share healthy recipes, healthy living tips, and whatever helps us be a better person.
Hi Barb, I don't know if you absolutely need to take off the scoby, but when you double ferment you usually re-bottle the kombucha into the containers you'll be storing it in, and if you brew in a larger container your scoby might not fit into the jars. Also, if you read the very detailed directions on Kombucha Kamp (http://www.kombuchakamp.com/2011/01/kombucha-carbonation-for-beginners.html) they mention filling your jars almost to the top and putting on a lid = no scoby on top. So I don't think you need the scoby on there anymore.
DeleteOh, and thanks for the invite! I'll come check it out :)
DeleteI have never heard of kombucha. Can I buy it at the store?
ReplyDeleteHi, yes, you can buy Kombucha in bottles in the store, usually in the refrigerated section of most markets/health food stores where they carry other drinks. There are a variety of brands/flavours to choose from. But you can also make it yourself, which is much cheaper and more rewarding ;)
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