Kombucha. A divisive beverage enjoyed by some, pretended to be liked by some, and hated by others. Kombucha dates back to ancient China (who would’ve thought this trendy beverage had such deep worldly roots?). Originally a fermented tea known for health benefits, it is now a drink enjoyed by hipsters and millenials alike. It has a taste akin to vinegar mixed with juice and is slightly effervescent. I recently bought The Noma Guide to Fermentation a book by world-renowned chef René Redzepi and David Zilber. Noma is a restaurant in Denmark that is consistently ranked as one of the world’s best restaurants. The book is a guide on all things fermented, from vinegars to lacto-fermented fruits and vegetables to koji and garums. It also talks about the science behind each delectable concoction. It is a very cool book for food and science nerds.
Many of the recipes require intensive setups or long incubation periods, so I decided to start out with one of the easier ones, kombucha. The apple kombucha recipe was simple, all you needed was high-quality apple juice and a SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeasts, the gelatin-like material that helps the liquid ferment into kombucha. You can even take old SCOBYs and make vegan calamari!). I got some Martinelli’s unfiltered apple juice, but I needed a SCOBY. I found out that my sister’s friend’s roommate makes kombucha, and she was happy to give me a SCOBY (apparently they grow like mad). I had a glass kombucha chamber with a spigot at the bottom, and I poured in the juice and carefully, with a plastic bag covering my hands (in lieu of gloves), I placed the SCOBY in. I covered with a lid with a mesh top so air could get in. A large glass jar with a towel and rubberband overtop could also work well.
My mom snagged some pH test strips, and it took about a week for the kombucha to get to the desired pH range of 3.5-4. Taste is also a good way to measure when your kombucha is done. It should taste slightly vinegary and sweet. At this point, I poured the kombucha into several swing-top bottles and put them in the fridge. Over time, the kombucha became more effervescent. It was a good first attempt, although it tasted a bit yeasty, which could have been due to the yeasts overtaking the SCOBY.
