REHYDRATING SCOBY'S TO MAKE BABY SCOBY'S AND KOMBUCHA

Here is the dried SCOBY and the small jar of Kombucha
I flopped this baby in.

Chara, a reader here asked an excellent question regarding rehydrating dehydrating SCOBY'S.(Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast.) Anyone who brews kombucha knows that they quickly accumulate baby SCOBY'S right? They grow on top of the kombucha in the process of brewing kombucha. The longer it is left to brew the thicker the SCOBY gets. Sort of like the "mother", if you will. Usually I have baby SCOBY'S coming out of my ears till I starting dehydrating them once they got about 1/4 inch thick. Once dehydrated, I would grind it with a variety of herbs and salts. I would not use these salts to cook the food as we do know that heat will kill the healthy probiotic bacteria.  I used them on already cooked foods and salads and fruits. It's just another way to use these babies and getting the benefits of probiotics at the same time. Anyway...

Chara's question was, "can you rehydrate them and use them for a SCOBY again?"

Dried, I made sure baby SCOBY, or should
I say "mama SCOBY", was tucked under the
kombucha.  Yup.  I'm a mom too.  LOL.

Being that I still brew kombucha and still grow these baby SCOBY'S, I haven't had a need to rehydrate them. But the the sake us all of us knowing I immediately put one dehydrated SCOBY in a jar and topped it with fresh kombucha.

In 12 hours time the SCOBY was fully rehydrated. I could tell by how it gracefully moved in the kombucha, once I slightly moved the jar.

In 24 hours time it appeared to show the signs of a baby SCOBY floating on top.

In 36 hours time. Yes, that's definitely a baby SCOBY. The mother SCOBY is now very much alive.  You can see the fine lines in the pic. Yay!

So my answer to you my dear Chara would be a definite yes. Yes you can rehydrate, dehydrated SCOBY'S to make more babies, and more kombucha. I do know from experience I wrote in another blog on making baby SCOBY'S using a bottle of store bought kombucha only. However, that can take up to 2 weeks for that to begin happen.  Which by the way happened here in 36 hours:)

Thank you again for asking such a wonderful question. It's good to know that there are other inquisitive minds. I am sure there are many other folks who have thought of the same question, but just didn't bother to ask. So now we know just a little bit more than yesterday.  Thank you for allowing me to be of service. Till the next time...many blessings.

Sincerely,

Mary Helen

Now tell me if I am wrong, but I see a white baby SCOBY floating on top of the kombucha in 36 hours.  Yes, she can make more baby SCOBY'S once she has fully rehydrated!  Good News, it's good enough for me.  I can keep taking pictures.but this pic alone is enough evidence for me.

Just a note, If you don't like the sight of this SCOBY or the thought of you making your own probiotics.  You can always go to Nutrasource.com and pick up a bottle for a reasonable price.  Personally.  I don't mind the extra work.

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.  

KOMBUCHA SCOBY FACE MASK/TONER

So here's the situation.  I have loads of Kombucha SCOBY Cultures. SCOBY is the acronym for Symbiotic Culture for Bacteria and Yeast They have been my babies for a few months now constantly reproducing.  I have been searching for creative ways to prepare kombucha SCOBY, besides kombucha tea, and  to eat, in an appetizing way.  So if you have any ideas please feel free to let me know.  Meanwhile I found sites where folks not only bathe with kombucha vinegar.  I've read where they get the kombucha SCOBY's and put it directly on the face.

Well, here is my recipe for a great way to help rid acne, and close those open big pores, and heal from the outside as well as the inside.  I really like the way it tingles my face each time I apply it. It feels like something is going on.  It is because it's very much alive and a raw probiotic.  The SCOBY to Kombucha, is like the Mother to vinegar, healthy.  Mother knows best, right?. It also acts like a gentle chemical peel. softening, (tenderizing) the skin. Just like it cleanses and softens the inner organs.  It helps rid your body of any invading bacteria that can cause acne or just clogged pores.  It just doesn't sit on my face. I take the opportunity to lie down and rest while it is drying on my face for about 15 minutes.  Why?  Well, I'd rather have the gravity pulling my skin in my  favor right? Lol.  I like it because it does tend to pull similar to a mask when it is fully dried, and I get the soft and tender looking skin. It rinses off well with warm water too. Speaking of tender skin, tenderizing my skin comes to mind with this cream. Hey for a woman my age, my skin looks better every month for a year now.  Nice to know that I am not getting older, I am getting better.  Haha, I least I think so:)

Probiotic Face Mask/Toner with SCOBY.
 It looks sticky but it's not.

It blended in quite well.  Velvety

What gave me the idea to make this probiotic facial mask is that I read that they also use SCOBY'S as a natural bandaid for cuts, burns, even surgeries back in the old days.  It has been known to help heal the wound by acting like a layer of skin. It helps bind the skin  by regenerating new cellular construction when the SCOBY was applied to the wound.  Furthermore, it does not allow any other bad bacteria to enter the wound as well because it creates a  tight seal, and the live acetic cultures living in the SCOBY.   Anyway I figure if the SCOBY can regenerate new cellular construction, well, let it be on my face too,  Guess what?  I'm liking it.  I like the way it makes my skin  feel on the outside, which is by the way the largest organ in our body.  So now I feel I got it going on in the inside and outside as well. Not perfect, but hey who is? And to me, that's all that matters. If it works, i'll holler.  So, I'm hollering!  Lol. Now if it could only remove all this excess fat on my body.  Actually using probiotics this last year has helped me shed off 40 pounds, but it took a long time to get this big and unhealthy, so it's going to take a while longer of being consistant in my probiotic/gt kombucha/kifer/fermented foods regime.  One day at a time.

So back to this Probiotic Facial Mask/Toner.  I used...

I extracted the micro-nutrients from the green/mint herbs
 in healthy oils.
My SCOBY before it was rinsed.

• 8 oz scoby culture fresh
• 1/8 c kombucha vinegar (loaded with probiotics.)
• 1 tbsp of your favorite oil.  (I used my mixed green tea/mint coconut/ghee/grapeseed oils that I had previously extracted the micro nutrient rich antioxidants like phyto-chemicals that were in the herbs.
• one clean glass or plastic container, with lid to hold one cup of this toner
• very powerful mixer.  I am fortunate to own a Vita-mix and am so happy with the way it creams it so quickly.

Wash your scoby well with water making sure to remove anything stringy.  That "stringy" dark threads is spent yeast from the green tea, and sugar that the scoby used to make the probiotic gt kombucha.  Now make sure you wring it out well.  Add all the ingredients and blend on high speed for 3 minutes or until it comes out creamy and is quite spreadable.  I now put this in a 8 oz jar.  Any leftover's I add to my homemade edible body butters, and use that on my face as well as my body.  I don't wash that off,  my skin just sucks up all the available micro-nutrients. I find myself washing my face more often just for that tingly feeling.  Silly me, but, Isn't that great?  I think so.  So now you try it.  I do have extra creams, and cultures just in case anyone is interested.

I hope you like this one and can put those extra SCOBY'S to good use.  This is so easy and very inexpensive to make.  I used to pay $100's of dollars for expensive name brand creams.  Not anymore because, mine work better.  Try it for yourself.  Anyway, until the next time...see you real soon.

Enjoy and Many Blessings,

Mary Helen

BREW KOMBUCHA WITHOUT THE SCOBY.

SCOBY (SYBIOTIC CULTURE OF BACTERIA AND YEAST, in Kombucha

Who says you need a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) to make Kombucha?  I remember when I searched for this wonderful baby (SCOBY) I read I needed to make my own kombucha earlier last year.  I did make a drink similar using a Mother from an apple cider vinegar I brewed earlier last year using green tea.  But I only made green tea vinegar.  haha, It was good and also probiotic, but it was not kombucha.  It was altogether a whole different ball game. Well after months of research and experimenting in my own kitchen.  I found you can make kombucha using a bottle of kombucha itself to innoculate your tea to make the SCOBY and the Kombucha.   However, my quest to get my real SCOBY was accomplished here in my own neighborhood.  Anyway,  here is what you will need...

• one gallon of green or black  tea.  Home brewed is preferred but store bought is also an option.  
• one 16 oz bottle of original raw kombucha
• one large glass, stainless steel, or plastic container, big enough to hold your kombucha tea.  Note, if using a plastic container, it must read #1, or #2 on the bottom of the container.
• 1/2-1 cup sugar.  Not less.  Do not substitute.



WHITE FILM QUITE DEFINED...SCOBY 

• clean cloth to cover

Add sugar to steeped tea, disolving before you add your bottle of kombucha. Stir well and pour in large container.  Cover with a cloth to avoid any unfriendly critters that may be flying around.  Because if you make it, surely they will come.  LOL.  Put in a warm quiet place undisturbed.  I like to keep mine by the warm window.  She loves it there, and within 4-10 days, you will see a thin layer of white film, floating on top.  Do not disturb her.  She will grow into a off white beautiful SCOBY.  And you are on your way to a happy successful kombucha brewing.

Note you can always make more or less of this recipe.  However on the note of making less...  May I suggest you still add the full 16 oz bottle of kombucha anyway.  It will just help speed up the brewing process, by maybe a couple of days. Also note that the more sugar you add, the chances of having an alcoholic beverage is also greater.  Not to the point of drinking real alcohol. but it is noticeble in taste. So just be careful there I particularly do not like the taste of alcohol. So I use less sugar. The taste is not sweet at all, but you can always get creative by adding juice, or any sweetener of your choice.  Next will come the carbonation but that is in  the second ferment, and bottling and capping.  We'll talk about that another day.

So let's get healthy and start brewing.

Happy Live Probiotics Folks:)

Many Blessings:)

Mary Helen

sybiotic culture of bacteria and Yeast