Cooling off with the Buch and Kefir

Hello my dear ones

A little late, but I felt we cannot possibly go full swing into summer without these wonderful fermented drinks recipes.

I have been brewing kombucha in my kitchen for a number of years this has helped everyone in the family to consume lots of kombucha. This acquired tangy taste has been absolutely miraculous in getting my kids to try all sorts of foods and have a diverse palate, a lot more than I could ever claim to have growing up. I also include the milk kefir recipe. This has become a new favourite for my kids, with a fruit addition such as blueberries or strawberries, it tastes like drinking yoghurt. This one definitely brings back the memories of MAYO drinking yoghurt, we used to buy frozen as kids. I have no idea what the contents of the MAYO are, but rest assured this will be great for your kids, packed with probiotics and antioxidants depending on the fruit you use.

Happy summer drinking!

Kombucha

You need:

1. A sterilized (with soap and water) and well dried mason or glass jar (brewing vessel),

2. Wooden spoon,

3. Boiled water,

4. SCOBY ( Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast)

5. Starter liquid from previous kombucha

6. 200g Sugar,

7. 15 - 20g Tea bags.

8. Rubber band

You do:

1. Place the tea bags and sugar in the brewing vessel. This measurement depends on how you like your kombucha, the more sugar you add does not mean the sweeter the drink. The longer the primary fermentation lasts, the stronger the drink.

2. Fill the jar with adequate boiling water to cover the sugar and tea, stir until the sugar is dissolved.

3. Cover with cheese cloth or any swatch of a cloth, let it sit for 15-20 minutes so you have a strong brew.

4. Remove the tea bags and stir the tea again in case there is still some undissolved sugar.

5. Add cool boiled water until the jar is 2/3 full and stir.

6. Once the tea is room temperature, add the SCOBY. It is important to ensure that the tea has cooled off, otherwise the SCOBY may become damaged.

7. Add the starter liquid from the previous kombucha, making up approximately 10-15% of the total liquid.

8. Cover the jar with a cloth and secure with a rubber band. The cloth is to allow the scoby to breath, but keep the fruit flies out.

9. Keep the jar in a warm place, away from strong odors.

10. Leave the kombucha to ferment, do not touch for 5 - 7 days.

11. Start tasting kombucha from day 5 - onwards.

12. Once the sweetness has been replaced by a tart vinegary taste, you are ready to consume and bottle the rest and store in the fridge.

Milk Kefir

You need:

1. Kefir grains

2. Whole milk

3. Sterelized (with soap and water) and well dried mason or glass jar (brewing vessel)

4. Wooden spoon

5. Cheese cloth

6. rubber band

You do:

1. Pour the whole milk in the brewing vessel do not fill to the brim of the jar.

2. Using a wooden spoon put kefir grains in the milk

3. Cover jar with cheese cloth and rubber band for a 24 hour period.

4. Strain the milk and save the grains in the fridge for the next batch.

5. Enjoy your milk kefir and flavour using fruit of choice in a blender.