Pomegranates soared to popularity because of their high amount of antioxidants. The taste can range from sweet to sour depending on the variety of pomegranate and its ripeness, but as a general rule, if you like the taste of grenadine syrup, you probably like pomegranate. You can push this pomegranate kombucha recipe to the sweeter side by adding more juice or make it more sour by using less.

Pomegranate Kombucha Recipe

Makes 1 gallon

Ingredients

14 cups purified water
16 to 20 tea bags or
8 tablespoons (35 grams) loose-leaf black teaa
1 cup evaporated cane sugar
2 cups starter tea (Starter tea is previously brewed kombucha or store-bought raw kombucha with no flavoring or infusion.)
1 SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast is the starter culture for kombucha and can be sourced online or at specialty stores.)
4 cups pomegranate juice

Directions

Heat 6 cups of the water in a stainless steel saucepan to 212°F over medium heat. Remove from the heat, add the tea, stir well, and cover. Steep for 4 minutes, stirring once after 2 minutes. Remove the tea bags or pour the tea through a colander or fine-mesh strainer into a second pot. Compost the tea.

Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the remaining 8 cups of water to cool the tea to about room temperature (72°F or cooler). Add 2 cups of the starter tea and stir. Pour into a 1-gallon jar.

With rinsed hands, carefully lay the SCOBY on the surface of the tea. Cover the opening of the jar with a clean cotton cloth and hold it in place with a rubber band. Place the jar in a warm spot (72°F to 78°F) out of direct sunlight and leave undisturbed to ferment for 7 days.

Taste your kombucha using a straw. Does it taste too sweet? Let it go a few more days before tasting again. Is it sufficiently tart, and you love it? Time for the next step.

Carefully remove the SCOBY with rinsed hands and place it on a clean porcelain or glass plate or bowl bathed in kombucha. This will be your culture for the next batch.

If immediately proceeding with another batch, reserve about 2 cups of the finished kombucha for the starter tea of your next brew.  

Add the pomegranate juice to the fermented kombucha tea. Stir gently. Using a funnel and a spouted measuring cup (for easy pouring), fill your bottles with the flavored kombucha, leaving about 1 inch of air space in the neck of the bottle. As you pour, you may want to use a fine-mesh strainer to filter out yeast strands. Cap tightly. Your kombucha is ready to drink, but if you prefer a more carbonated beverage, proceed to the next step.

To begin the optional secondary fermentation process, simply store the capped bottles in a warm dry place (72°F to 78°F is best) for 48 hours. Be aware that the sugars present will add fuel to the fermentation action in the bottle, which will increase the pressure inside the bottles. After 48 hours, chill one of the bottles for at least 6 hours. Crack it open and pour it into a glass. If it effervesces, you’ve done it! If you want more carbonation, let it go for a few more days and test again with another chilled bottle. When you’re pleased with the carbonation, refrigerate all the bottles to end the fermentation.

Reprinted with permission from “Kombucha Revolution” by Stephen Lee, copyright (c) 2014. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Random House LLC. Cover photography (c) 2014 by Katie Newburn All other photography (c) 2014 by Leo Gong. Publisher retains all copyrights and the right to require immediate removal of this excerpt for copyright or other business reasons.

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Why just drink kombucha? Here are 15 other ways to put your fermented tea to use. 

Hippie alert: I have been brewing kombucha for quite some time. I have passed along many a SCOBY (that’s a Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast to you kombucha newbies) to family members and friends. And although the site of a gelatinous form brewing in a large glass jar on the kitchen counter might freak some people out (it does) there’s nothing more satisfying than fermenting your own kombucha and skipping out on the $5 bottle at the local co-op.

Kombucha is a beautiful – albeit slightly odd looking – thing. The fact that you pour sugary tea into a glass vat and it somehow transforms into a fizzy drink full of probiotics still amazes me. But if you brew your own kombucha, you know fully well that once you get going, you can soon have too much of the stuff. Granted, a refrigerator full of ready-to-drink kombucha is not a bad thing, but there are plenty of other ways to put the stuff to use.

1. Wash your hair

Just like vinegar can do some good for your hair, so can kombucha. In fact, it is gentler on hair than regular vinegar, and can serve you well as a hair rinse. Because you want stronger kombucha, making your own hair rinse is also an excellent way to put over-brewed kombucha to use. Consider infusing it with some rosemary while you’re at it.

2. Mix a cocktail

Kombucha is fizzy, why wouldn’t you want to make a cocktail out of it? Because of its strong taste, you can think of kombucha as a sour mix. Kombucharita anyone? Or how about a Kombucha Pineapple Cocktail? Summer drinking just got a whole lot more appealing.

3. Blend smoothies

Kombucha can easily be used as your liquid for a healthy smoothie. If you’re a fan of green drinks, try a kale kombucha smoothie. Or if a fruitier taste is more to your liking, try this strawberry coconut smoothie.

4. Facial toner

As it turns out, just like vinegar, kombucha can also be used as a facial toner – it helps balance the skin’s pH levels. You can use it on its own, just applying with a cotton ball, or make a toner with a few other ingredients like this kombucha aloe toner.

5. Make popsicles

Put that kombucha in the freezer! Freeze in popsicle makers on its own, or come up with crazy combinations like vanilla and berries.

6. Mix up a salad dressing

You can make a basic vinaigrette by switching out kombucha in recipes that call for apple cider vinegar.

7. Clean your house

If your kombucha has sat a little too long and it’s too strong to drink (i.e. it tastes like vinegar) bottle it up and use as an all purpose cleaner. Use it as you would distilled vinegar for cleaning.

8. Give yourself a facial

Some are so addicted to kombucha that they swear by using it for making your own facial creams. You can add a bit of it to your regular moisturizer as well.

9. Ease a sore throat

Blend tea and honey and gargle like you would salt water.

10. Soak your feet

Use one part room temperature water and one part kombucha for a foot soak. Make sure you use kombucha that has been brewed for a long time so that it’s extra strong and not as sweet as one you would drink.

11. Use it as a pet treat

If you’re trying to get rid of some of your SCOBY, you can dry it and use it as a chew toy for your animals. No, really, it’s like fruit leather for your dog.

12. Make vegan sushi

Granted, this may make some people queezy, but you can cut up a scoby and use it as a replacement for fish in sushi.

13. Compost with it

When your scoby gets out of control and you don’t have a friend to give it to, you can throw it in your compost.

14. Two words: vegan jerky

Yes, you can turn your scoby into jerky if you really feel like it. Just marinate and dehydrate and you can serve kombucha jerky to all of your friends.

15. Use as a natural pesticide

You can use kombucha as a natural pesticide in your garden. Just pour into a spray bottle and go to town. You can also combine with a few tablespoons of dishwashing liquid in a bowl and set out to help get rid of fruit flies.

 Image: Anna Brones

The post Fermented Frenzy: 15 Different Uses for Kombucha appeared first on EcoSalon.