how to grow a SCOBY and unique ways to use it
SCOBY is a ‘Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast’. It is dense, rubbery, smells like vinegar, and it is alive👀
🫓how to grow?
ingredients
- 2 cups of water
- 2 black tea bags (unflavored, like english breakfast)
- 1/2 cup of white sugar
- GTs Original Kombucha — unflavored (look for a bottle that has sediment or floating jelly in it)
equipment
- glass jar (I used a 1-gallon jar from a second-hand store)
- cloth/towel/coffee filter (to cover the jar)
- rubber band (to secure the cloth)
process
- Steep 2 bags of tea in 2 cups of boiled water
- Mix 1/2 cup of sugar. Let it cool (heat can kill yeast and bacteria)
- Pour a store-bought kombucha into the jar
- Cover with a cloth
- Store in a dark and warm place (68–78° F/ 20–25° C) for 10 days
After 10 days, meet your new friend who will help you to make a delicious kombucha.
🙌🏽how to care?
After each fermentation, a new SCOBY forms on top of the old one. I usually keep them all in a separate container to share with friends or to start brewing in several jars at once.
Basically, any vessel you use to store SCOBY— called SCOBY hotel.
- use any glass jar, I recommend 1 gallon jar
- put your SCOBY in it
- feed it with sweet black tea
- cover with a cloth
- keep it in a warm dark place, always make sure it has enough liquid in it
SCOBY can be reused multiple times, it is getting darker through time, but as long as you feed it with sweet tea, it will be alright.
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You also can toss it any time or ….
🍡SCOBY snacks
When your SCOBY is nice and thick you can make candies or jerky out of it. It has a gummy chewy texture and can absorb any flavor.
Here are some recipes:
Carmelized gummies by Live Eat Learn
brief summary of the process:
- cut SCOBY into small pieces and place it in a bowl
- cover with any juice of your choice overnight (it will absorb all the flavors)
- dehydrate
jerky:
- cut SCOBY in stripes and place it in a bowl
- marinade overnight
- dehydrate
🧖🏽♀️SCOBY face mask
It can be used as a skin cleanser and a light peeling mask due to the content of organic acids and antibacterial properties. As well as, a great antioxidant to improve the tone of your skin. There are two ways to make it:
- apply thin layers straight on your face
- chop, blend and apply(also can be mixed with additional ingredients like honey, activated charcoal, coconut oil, aloe vera)
Leave the mask for 5 minutes maximum, since it is very acidic.
👜SCOBY material
Get creative with SCOBY🎨 experiment with different shapes and colors, use it as paper for drawing or create sculptures!
This miracle creature takes shape of the vessel it is in. Dehydrated SCOBY is a potential leather alternative. The only downside is that this material is not waterproofed, we still need solutions for that.
best of luck on your fermenting journey🌞🙌🏽
