Do you know how to make a scoby with vinegar? Some people already know what a scoby is while others do not. SCOBY stands for “symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast,” and it is the major ingredient that is used in the fermentation and production process of kombucha. A SCOBY typically appears dense, rubbery, round and it is also opaque with mild and vinegary smell.
On the other hand, kombucha is a fermented beverage that can be enjoyed by many people due to its unique flavor as well as immense health benefits. Kombucha has a historical link to Asian tradition but it is very popular now and you can buy it online or obtain it from health food stores.
Kombucha consists of many health properties such as detoxifying qualities as well as to give vitality also called immortality elixir. Kombucha has a slight vinegary and tangy taste and its base consists of water, unrefined sugar and tea bags. The beverage helps to increase energy, digestibility, gut healing and flora.
As such, this post gives you a step-by-step tutorial about how to make a scoby with vinegar. It also outlines the ingredients together with the necessary elements required to prepare the recipe.
Table of Contents
Ingredients for Scoby with Vinegar
It may happen that your unfinished home-brewed kombucha may not come the way you would love it to but then you should not throw it away. You can use it for other purposes by just letting it become vinegar. Vinegar plays a crucial role in brewing kombucha so you can use it for that purpose.
Kombucha is antioxidant and it consists of aggressive culture which can quickly change to vinegar if the process of fermentation is not stopped on time. You can use homemade vinegar for different recipes of kombucha vinegar. If you want to continue brewing vinegar, you can designate it as “vinegar SCOBY.” The following are ingredients kombucha vinegar.
- 14 cups of purified water
- 16 to 20 tea bags
- 8 tablespoons or 35 grams of loose-leaf black tea or green tea,
- 6 tablespoons or 35 grams of balled oolong tea,
- 10 tablespoons or 35 grams of loose open-leaf oolong tea
- 1 cup of evaporated cane sugar
- 2 cups starter tea (This starter tea consists of unflavored kombucha that you can buy from the retail store or previously brewed kombucha)
Directions for Brewing Kombucha Vinegar
You begin by heating six cups of purified water in a stainless steel saucepan at a temperature of about 212°F. After the water has boiled, you should then remove it from the heat and add tea. After adding tea, cover the contents to allow them to steep for about 4 minutes. However, you should stir the contents at every 2 minutes to ensure that they evenly dissolve.
The next step is to remove the tea bags or you can use a fine-mesh strainer to separate the tea from the other residue. This is followed by composting the tea and adding sugar. Carefully stir the tea until the sugar is completely dissolved using a spoon.
When you are satisfied that the sugar has dissolved, you should then add 8 cups of the remaining purified water. This water will play a significant role in cooling the tea to the level of room temperature of about 72°F or cooler or even lower.
After this stage, you should then add starter tea and carefully stir the contents. You then pour the mixture into a 1-gallon jar and carefully lay the SCOBY on top of the tea. Use a clean cotton cloth to cover the top of the jar and you can use a rubber band to hold it in place to facilitate fermentation.
You must make sure that you place the jar with the tea in a warm place consisting of about 72°F to 78°F. You should always be careful to avoid the jar under direct sunlight since it can affect the quality of the kombucha. Leave it to ferment and you must make sure that you do not disturb it.
The vinegary nature of the kombucha depends on how long you subject it to fermentation. You can continue fermentation of kombucha for a period of about 18 to 21 days but you need to periodically taste it using a straw. When you ferment the kombucha for such a period, you would then make basic vinegar.
You can produce a unique flavor of vinegar that compares to the one you can buy from the store after aging the kombucha for about three to five weeks. When the kombucha vinegar satisfies your taste, then you can remove the SCOBY and pour the liquid in a storage container and place it in a refrigerator. Refrigeration helps to stop the fermentation process.
Tips
Whenever you are making kombucha, the thumb rule is that you should sanitize all the equipment that you use for brewing and fermenting it. Sanitizing your equipment helps to eliminate harmful bacteria that can make you sick. You should always prioritize your health to avoid unfortunate incidents.
There are different methods that you can use to sanitize your equipment. Regular machine wash of the cotton cloth using hot water is enough to sanitize it. You can also consider the option of bleaching if you like.
You can use cider vinegar to sanitize equipment such as glass fermentation vessel, storage jars as well as spoons. You can also use a bleach solution consisting of one tablespoon bleach and a gallon of water to sanitize your equipment. Commercial sanitizer is also another better option that you can use to sanitize your brewing equipment.
Conclusion
We hope you have enjoyed the tutorial and you will use the information to make your scoby with vinegar at home. It is a simple process with just a few easy steps to follow. The most important thing is to make sure that you have the right ingredients so that you can make scoby that satisfies your needs. You can leave your comments below.
