Read Drink Your Way to Gut Health Online
Authors: Molly Morgan
Drink Your Way to Gut Health (3 page)
preparing fruits and vegetables
Always wash fruits and vegetables first!
Even
if you are planning to peel a fruit or vegetable, scrub and wash the outside of it first. Then cut away any damaged or bruised areas on the produce.
To wash produce: Wash under running water. For thick-skinned produce like oranges, cucumbers, and melons, use a clean produce brush. Pat dry with a paper towel or clean cloth.
What about bags of spinach marked “pre-washed”? Although it is safe to use without further washing, to be on the safe side, it is always best to wash it before use.
storing
After the fermented beverages and products have completed the fermentation process, store them in a refrigerator. It is best to consume the smoothie immediately for optimal freshness, or store in the refrigerator and consume within 3 or 4 days.
don't be afraid to toss a bad batch
When you are beginning to brew these beverages and make these products at your home, you may have some batches that flop. You will know this almost instantly! For example, my first batch of homemade yogurt kefir, after fermenting for 24 hours, had an awful smell⦠something did not go right with the process. What to do? Discard the batch and start again. Although it may seem wasteful, it is necessary because consuming improperly brewed probiotic beverages could be harmful.
nutrition facts
Each recipe in this book has the Nutrition Facts information listed per serving, which includes a percentage for vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron. This number is for the percentage of the “daily value” (DV) of a nutrientâthe amount of the nutrient (set by the FDA) the average person should consume each day for optimal health. Foods providing 20 percent or more of the DV are considered to be high sources of a nutrient, but foods providing lower percentages of the DV also contribute to a healthful diet.
Daily Values
Calcium: 1,000 mg for adults and children aged 4 years and older
Vitamin C: 60 mg for adults and children aged 4 and older
Vitamin A: 5,000 IU for adults and children age 4 and older
Iron: 18 mg for adults and children age 4 and older
Basic
Recipes
Making your own probiotic-rich beverages takes a little practice, but once you get the basics down, it goes very smoothly. The best part is that you can save a bunch of money and have a stock of probiotic-rich beverages on hand to drink your way to gut health. I suggest you tackle these basic recipes one at a time and remember that you can purchase store-bought versions if making your own seems too intimidating. Although, once you get started, my prediction is that you will be hooked, as it is fun and rewarding!
about kombucha
Kombucha is a fermented tea beverage that is said to have originated in China around 220
BC
, later spread to Russia before 1910, and then on to Europe. Some call kombucha the elixir of health and a cure-all for everything from arthritis to chronic fatigue syndrome. Although there is limited scientific evidence to support the claims that are touted about kombucha, it is a viable way to drink your way to gut health and introduce probiotics to your body.
How is kombucha made? It is made from fermenting tea (typically black tea) with a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY), aka kombucha mushrooms.
A word of caution: When preparing kombucha at home, it is important to follow all kombucha brewing recommendations and steps. If there is any suspicion that the batch of tea you are making isn't goodâfor example, the appearance of little white or black spots over the top of the SCOBY (a sign of mold)âthen you must discard the batch and the SCOBY and start over.
While kombucha is not routinely reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), following the unexplained illness of two women (one resulting in death) in 1995, the FDA was prompted to review the situation. They evaluated the practices of commercial kombucha SCOBY production (aka kombucha mushrooms), and found no issues of pathogenic organisms or hygiene violations. It's important to note that one of the women who fell ill had increased her daily kombucha intake from 4 ounces to 12 ounces, and that over a hundred others were consuming kombucha made from the same SCOBY and did not fall ill.
This brings up two important points for those starting to brew their own kombucha and/or consume kombucha:
Buy your starter SCOBY:
It is my suggestion to purchase a new, fresh SCOBY from a reputable source rather than using SCOBY from someone else. This way you are ensuring that you are starting with a fresh, pathogenic-free SCOBY. (See
Resources
.) Although part of the tradition of making kombucha is handing down SCOBY from one person to another (when making kombucha, the SCOBY then makes what is called a “baby” SCOBYâmore to come on this), for safest practices, buy your own SCOBY to start fresh! Then reuse your own SCOBY.
Consume safe quantities of kombucha:
Typically, consumption of 4 ounces per day is a safe place to startâand to stay; this is why most of the kombucha recipes in this book call for only ½ cup of kombucha, to help you keep your intake in check. Only start consuming kombucha if you are healthy. If you have health issues, discuss it with your health care provider before consuming kombucha.
Another reason to limit how much kombucha you consume is that, because of the brewing process, kombucha will have a small percentage of alcohol. Store-bought kombucha must have 0.5% alcohol or less. When making your own batch at home, it can vary. You can determine how much alcohol is in your kombucha with special equipment known as a hydrometer, which measures the specific gravity of the liquid. To determine the alcohol by volume (ABV), first measure the specific gravity of the liquid before you start and then measure the specific gravity of the finished kombucha. Then using an ABV calculator, you can determine the percentage of alcohol in your batch. Most homemade kombucha comes in around 0.5% or less for alcohol percentage.
kombucha
- supplies
- Kombucha home brewing kit that includes:
- One 12-cup kombucha brewing jar
- Temperature indicator strip, for the jar
- Cotton cloth or cheesecloth (cover for the jar during brewing)
- Rubber band
- pH strips
- Four 1-quart storage bottles or canning jars with lids
- ingredients
- 12 cups water, divided
- 6 unflavored tea bags (see
Note
) - 1 cup granulated sugar
- SCOBY package (with SCOBY and liquid), or the reserved SCOBY and kombucha from a brewed batch (see details below)
My go-to source for kombucha brewing supplies is Kombucha Brooklyn (see
Resources
). There are also other sources, although some sell the SCOBY in a dehydrated state. The “live” SCOBY is easier to work with and produces a great batch of kombucha the first time, whereas it can take a few batches with a dehydrated SCOBY for productive brewing.
Before you start brewing your own kombucha, it is important to know that it is a process that takes time. Typically the brewing takes 7 to 14 days, although when you first start it could be 15 to 28 days, depending on brewing conditions and factors like temperature and water quality.
Serves 48 (½ cup each)
Make sure the work surface and your hands are clean.
In a saucepan, bring 4 cups of the water to a boil and add the tea bags. Remove from the heat and let the tea steep for 20 minutes. This step should not be completed in the brewing jar!
While your tea is brewing, wash your kombucha brewing jar with warm soapy water. Rinse thoroughly and dry.
Remove the tea bags from the pan. Add the sugar to the tea (this is food for the SCOBY), stirring to dissolve. Add the remaining 8 cups (½ gallon) cold water to the brewing jar, then add the brewed tea.
Place the temperature indicator strip on the side of your brewing bottle. Once the tea is below 90°F, it is time to add the SCOBY. Transfer the entire contents of your SCOBY package (liquid and SCOBY) to the brewing jar. Cover the top with the cotton cloth and the rubber band to hold it tight.
Move your brewing bottle to a warm, dark area (away from direct sunlight) to let the brewing begin. Ideally you want a temperature between 72°F and 80°F. Adjust the location to keep your jar within the range throughout the brewing process.
Days 1 to 2:
Be patient! Within the first two days, a new “baby” SCOBY will form on the top of the jar and small bubbles will start to form. This is not mold but rather the beginning of the brewing process. Mold looks different than the SCOBY formation: Mold looks more like small white or black spots/specks on the top of the batch, versus the SCOBY which has more of a waxy look.
Days 3 to 4:
A maturing culture will result in the growth and expansion of the bubbles, which will slowly take over the top of the jar.
Days 7 to 14:
When to stop the brewing process is somewhat a matter of personal preference, depending on the taste profile you would like to achieve. Monitor the top of your jar: When the surface has been visibly taken over by the cultures (which should happen between day 7 and day 14), it is time to test the acidity of the tea with pH indicator strips. I like to bottle my batches when the pH is around 2.8 or 2.9, when it is slightly less acidic. The pH is an indicator of the sweetness: A pH of 3.1 is a sweeter flavor and a pH of 2.7 is more on the sour side. The longer the brewing process continues, the less sugar that is left in the tea (the SCOBY uses the sugar basically as food) and hence, a more sour taste and lower acidity.
As noted above, your first batch of kombucha may take longer to reach the point when the SCOBY has “taken over” the top of your brewing jar. Another indicator to monitor is the pH; if the pH is still above 3.0, let the brewing process continue to allow the SCOBY to consume more of the sugar, which creates a traditional kombucha flavor.
choosing bottles
Many kombucha supply stores will have 32-ounce bottles to store your kombucha, but my personal pick is 1-quart canning jars. The reason I like the canning jar option is because one of my favorite ways to enjoy kombucha involves the second ferment and canning jars have a wide mouth that makes it easier to add things like orange slices to flavor the kombucha.
Once you have determined your kombucha is done fermenting, it is time to bottle your kombucha. Start by thoroughly washing your hands and remove the two SCOBYs (the one you added to the jar and the one that formed during fermentation, which typically separates from the original SCOBY and is referred to as the “baby”).
Transfer the top SCOBY (the baby) and the top layer of the original SCOBY to a bowl and top with 1½ cups of your brewed kombucha; this becomes your SCOBY package for the next batch of kombucha. Discard the old SCOBY.
Sanitize your storage bottles or canning jars by washing them with warm soapy water or in the dishwasher. Fill your bottles with the remaining kombucha and cover, or get creative and flavor your kombucha (see the
Variations
).
Once your kombucha is bottled, let it sit at room temperature for 3 to 7 days to get bubbly, then transfer the bottles to the refrigerator to slow the fermentation process. Or, after bottling, transfer to the refrigerator for a non-bubbly version of kombucha.
Now it's time to brew your next batch of kombucha! You simply go back to the preparing the tea step. The difference is that this time you are going to use the baby SCOBY (newly developed) and the original SCOBY along with the 1½ cups of reserved kombucha as the SCOBY package for batch number two!
If you don't want to immediately get another batch of kombucha brewing, you will need to store your SCOBY and reserved kombucha. Make your own SCOBY package by storing the SCOBY and the reserved 1½ cups kombucha in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to several months. When you are ready to get started brewing again, follow the brewing process.
Note:
Choosing tea for your kombucha: There is room to play around with the types of tea that you use to brew kombucha, although it is best to stay with pure tea varieties, like green tea and black tea, that do not have added flavors, as the flavors could disrupt the brewing process.
variations
The Second Ferment