DEHYDRATED SCOBY FOR A RAINY DAY

DRIED SCOBY CULTURES cut into smaller pieces making it easier to dry.

One motto that I say often is "waste not, want not".  I have an abundant amount of SCOBY cultures, even after l've shared as much as I could.  Hmm. what to do.  So a few months back I did research on is it possible to dry my babies (SCOBY) without harming them and their nutritional value.  So YES YOU CAN, dehydrate them and save them for a rainy day.  I've been doing so since then.  They make a good back up supply for whatever reason.

Very thin transparent, band aid looking dried SCOBY made from brewing my kombucha tea

They can be dehydrated, or sun dried. In doing so they become a concentrated form of probiotics.  I sun dried a few cultures by a sunny window flipping them over daily for a couple of days.  I have also used the oven light to dry them. That took 24 hours, but my culture was thinner.  Both ways have been very successful.  Just make sure you never use high heat.  Well you can but you will kill their probiotic benefits.  If that happens they will only be good for seasoning.

Before I cultured my SCOBY babies till they were almost 1 inch thick.  Now that I am drying them, I like to "harvest" them while they are about 1/8 inch thick. It's easier, and quicker to dry. Then I can...

Dried SCOBY cultures are quite pliable.  I just folded this one
and started stuffing it in the jar.

• Pulverize and encapsulate them.  You would be making your own probiotic capsules or pills.  Fresh too, and you know exactly what is in them.  All you do is grind them to a fine powder. You can pick up empty capsules online, or at most pharmacy's.  If need be you can always go to the local dollar store and buy cheap vitamins, empty 1/2, and add some probiotic powder to it.  Or
• Rehydrate the powder SCOBY in your favorite smoothie, protein shake, juice, soda, or water.  Now it's a real LIVE vitamin water.  Or
• Spice?  Spices are a bit of a spice of life...especially if they are healthy, organic, natural, and affordable.  Dried Scoby has a fragrance of a mild vinegar.  I like to mix a combination of spices including powdered SCOBY to my homemade spiced rosemary sea salts, or jalapeno cilantro sea salts.  It really does have a zesty taste.  It's great on salads.  Or 
• If you have any other idea's please feel free to share.

Now here is where I store them.  I stuff the jar first before I
start pulverizing them.