GIVE A SCOBY GROW A SCOBY GIVE A SCOBY GROW A SCOBY
India Pearlman Nourishment and Social Change Capstone Studio, IND 402-04 Spring 2020 Professor Amanda Huynh Table of Contents
Overview 1
Fermentation Lingo 3
Research 5
Exploration 13
Midterm Feedback 17
Covid-19 19
Kombucha 21
Ideation 25
Final Product 27
Bibliography 33 2
Give a Scoby, Grow a Scoby is a tea towel (accompanied by a scoby) designed to teach the user how to make kombucha at home. The tea towel is made out of a natural linen that will get stained by each kombucha making process therefore leaving a memory of the batch on the cloth itself. By having an object that is used with each batch the user is able to hold onto an imprint of every kombucha they make adding to their connection to this living beverage.
Topic: Fermentation and Empowering People Through Fermentation
Problem: OVERVIEW Why Fermentation? Fermentation is something that I am drawn to due to the apprehension I have to try it myself. I love the taste, but I am afraid to attempt it. Are there other people who have this fear? With my research I am interested in how to inform myself and create a system that people feel comfortable learning to ferment within. Fermentation is exciting and carries a long history of tradition and is an accessible way to experience science. There is a special connection with this process and the creator due to it being alive. How can we empower people with food by having them experience fermenting? Fermented foods are delicious and full of such great vitamins and probiotics.
Objective: Create a way to overcome the learning curve and myths of fermentation. 4 Lacto-Fermentation Is the process in which natural bacteria already present in the fruits or vegetables feeds on starch and sugar to create lactic acid. This is what gives fermented foods their signature “fermented” taste.
Wet Brine A precise 2% salt to water mixture to create the atmosphere for lacto-fermentation to take place
Dry Brine Is created by tossing vegetables or fruits in salt which is measured to taste, until the water naturally starts to be drawn out by the salt. This salt and water combination produces a brine with the correct atmosphere for the lacto-fermentation to occur.
Kombucha FERMENTATION Lacto-fermented sweet tea Scoby LINGO An acronym for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (what turns the sweet tea into kombucha) Burping The process of releasing some of the carbon dioxide from the glass container you are fermenting in
Fermentation 1 (F1) The first process of kombucha fermentation where the sweet tea is turned into kombucha using the scoby
Fermentation 2 (F2) The second process of kombucha fermentation where flavoring is added and carbonation is built up 6 SIX WEEK PLAN
WEEK ONE WEEK TWO Exploration Exploration • Research • Research • Visiting places with homemade fermentation • Write out some recipes/process for • Looking at the History different foods/drinks • Go to library and look at books on • Take notes on how the instructions are fermentation written out (focus on language used) • Compiling recipes • Take notes on how people teach it on • Compiling youtube videos of people making youtube it
WEEK THREE WEEK FOUR RESEARCH Planning Action • Research • Research • Contact people (bloggers, youtubers, local • Try fermentation people) about how they got started/ what tools • Document heavily they use • Looking into different kits and what they • Start collecting tools for fermenting have • Take notes on accessibility • What kind of person buys a kit • How hard is it to get each piece (document • Kit moodboard each step) • Start writing questions for people who • Try not to order things online don’t ferment • Start planning a co creation
WEEK FIVE WEEK SIX Action Compiling • Have a co creation session • Put together all of this information in a • Compile information from this session digestible format • Add any questions remaining from this 8 Common Fermented Foods: Recipe Key Words:
• Coffee beans • Ease • Cocoa beans • Fermentation • Cheese • Gut health • Yogurt • Self burping • Beer • Weight • Wine • Headspace • Sourdough bread • Brine • Creme fraiche • Label date • Kefir • Personal preference • Kimchi • Taste test • Kombucha • Room temperature • Miso • SCOBY • Pickles (salt brine) • Mother How to Brew Your Own Kombucha with Brad | It’s Alive | Bon Appetit: • Salami • Kombucha • There are two stages of fermentation; with the scoby and in the bottle with juice for • Sour cream • Sterile flavoring and carbonation • Hot sauce • Jar • Fresh juices ferment faster because the bacteria is still alive • Tempeh • Salt • Leave headspace for proper carbonation • Vinegar • Sugar • Use beer flip top airtight food grade bottles to lessen chance of explosion • Worcestershire sauce • Time • Fish sauce • Tea
Things Needed for Kombucha F1:
• Big glass container/jar • Scoby • Starter Kombucha • Loose tea/tea bags (preferably black tea) • Sugar • Dish towel and way to secure it to the top of the glass container • Filtered water
Things Needed for Kombucha F2: Beginners Guide To Fermentation: Kombucha Making (Pro Home Cooks): • Flip top bottles • Save lots of money making it at home • Flavorings • Full of probiotics • Brew tea for 10 minutes (brew with half the liquid so the other half can be used to cool down the tea faster) Recipe Notes: • Temp needs to be AT MOST 90 degrees F or it will kill the scoby • When adding the scoby add a cup of the previous kombucha or store bought plain kombucha Have a step by step with the exact ingredients integrated (don’t want any room for confusion) • Ferment in 66-78 degrees F The vegetables must not have contact with the air or they will dry out/grow mold • Bless your kombucha :) Make a large batch because it takes a while to make and lasts a very long time • Teaching patience (give it its space) • Ferment for 7-10 days (the longer it goes the more vinegar like) • Ph monitor/ strips, should be between 2.5-3.5 ph 10 Kimchi Workshop notes
Contraband Ferments (classes and workshops)
FUN FACTS: • Over 100 different types of kimchi • Fermented food will tell you if its wrong or right • Organic produce has better microbes but the fermentation outcome will most likely be the same if it is organic or not • Microbes eat the bad and leave the good The Complete Guide to Flavoring and Carbonating Kombucha • Our hands add to the fermentation process because of the microbes that our hands have on (Pro Home Cooks): them • Fun kitchen tools and fun ingredients to add to the kombucha flavors • DO NOT use anything with fats ie. coconuts and avocados IDEAS: • If kombucha is ever too strong add water to dilute it • Kimchi soup • Yes PH is good to know bit it is about the taste • Mango Kimchi • Want it to be between sweetness and tartness around 7-10 days • Kimchi Ceviche • A “burp” is a quick open close of the bottle • Put whole anchovies in • Make sure to refrigerate after 4-5 days or you risk the bottle exploding • Kimchi bloody mary • Suggestion of flavor : hibiscus lemon • Rhubarb kimchi • Minimize headroom but still have a little • Find secondary used for fermented veggies besides just eating them plain • Frozen fruit works too • The flavoring you use will change the color of the kombucha NEEDS: • Experiment with spices too! • Vessel (glass jar, ceramic croc), can get from a bodega and ask if they have any pickle jars they are throwing away • Target has the best deal on ball jars with wide mouth • Non iodized salt (doesn’t matter the type) • All salts have different salinities so do it by taste not quantity • Gochujang
WATCH/READ/GOOGLE: • Microbia museum in Amsterdam • Salt Fat Acid Heat • Fiery ferments • Miso tempeh natto (book)
Beginners Guide To Fermentation: Bottling + Flavoring Kombucha (Pro Home Cooks): • Use fermentation bottles with flip tops • The potential is ENDLESS • Use clean hands when handling scoby • Let the bottles sit on the counter • With fresh fruit juice it will only take about 3 days or less • Burp bottles once/twice a day to prevent explosion sometimes it will fizz out • Putting in fridge pauses fermentation/heavily slows it • The brew will taste better over time because the scoby has to get used to the environment 12
TIPS: • Keep veggies the same size and thicknesses • DO NOT FERMENT IN METAL • Airlocks are not needed lids and fermentation weights are great • DO NOT USE POWDERED SPICES • At home salt brine by weight is not necessary • Can use the bottom of a napa cabbage as a weight • You can wrap bigger leaves on top of the packed down veggies as a protective barrier from possible mold if it does happen • Things that can be used as weights; • AVOID PLASTIC • Press it everyday until it stays on its own • 99 cent glass ashtrays for fermentation weights • Put a plate under the jar to help with spillage or seeping • DO NOT put near kombucha because a little scoby will grow on the veggies (can be separated by a shelf or so) • BLACK, RED, OR NEON MOLD = DEAD • Kham yeast is not dangerous • If mold does grow scrap it off until it looks like something you want to eat • Bread boat is a good brand for fish sauce • LABEL YOUR JARS, DATE AND WHAT’S IN IT • Fermented veggies are able to curb sugar cravings
HOW TO: Dry Brine Technique • Mix salt with the veggies to bring the water out of the vegetables • Then taste and see if it needs more salt or is good • Have more vegetables than you think because they shrink down a lot • IF the veggies are not wilting leave the salt and walk away for 10-15 minutes to let it get going and if that still doesn’t work add a little water and it should be good • Then add in seasonings, ie. onion, garlic, hardy seaweed, etc. • Add gochujang (start light you can always add more) • Use gloves • Pack it into the jar • Create the anaerobic environment by getting EVERYTHING under the liquid • Put it somewhere cool and dark • Burp everyday ESPECIALLY IN THE SUMMER • Taste/smell after the third day to determine how long you want it to go • When you like the taste put it in the fridge to slow down the fermentation process and it should be good for a very long time 14 First Attempt At Lacto-Fermentation (done before kimchi workshop) RECIPE: 4 cups of filtered water 3 tablespoons sea salt 1 teaspoon cracked peppercorns 2 bay leaves 1 pinch of thyme Chopped carrots, celery, Persian cucumber INSTRUCTIONS: Boil water for 1 minute with salt, pepper, bay leaves, thyme Sterilize jar (I put it in microwave with water) Chop and slice vegetables to liking a same size Let water cool until room temperature Place vegetables in jar and pour room temp liquid into jar leaving 1in-2in of headspace Place remaining liquid in bag and use as weight (the plastic is not good and I won’t be doing this again) Seal jar and burp everyday leaving it at room temperature Taste after day 5 decide if it’s to your liking remove weight and place in fridge NOTES: Day 1. Liquid is clear, smells like black pepper Day 2. Liquid still pretty clear can see start of bubbles cucumber and celery has started floating Day 3. Liquid is cloudy and still smells like pepper, tasted one of the cucumbers last and it was VERY salty might have to adjust salt and get a scale to make sure it is a 2% brine (later found out I EXPLORATION can do it by taste) Day 4. Liquid is cloudy and brine is not as salty smelling the veggies look more dull Day 5. Looks the same as yesterday much less bubbles and I put it in the fridge Overall: too much pepper and salt going to do it by weight next time and not use plastic bag weight
Day 1 Day 2
Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 16
Second and Third Attempt at Lacto-Fermentation
Used the dry brine method learned in the Used dry brine method on turnips. Fermented kimchi workshop. for a week and it turned out great. I brought Carrots and daikon radish with garlic. them into class to share with everyone and Fermented for around a week before placing got a positive response. in the fridge. Overall they turned out okay but not great.
I began researching and experimenting with creating my own ceramic fermentation weights. The purpose of these weights are to keep the vegetables under the brine to prevent their contact with the air which would cause mold to grow. These are my first prototypes playing around with the thickness. size, and overall shape. 18
“Work out a clearer go-to definition of Lacto fermentation (not just veggies and booch), the presentation would be stronger with evidence of how you know people are apprehensive towards eating these foods (I’ve seen these attitudes too, but evidence is always better). I would decide soon whether you’re specifically focusing on children or on a broader audience (could be both!). I think it could be useful to figure out what the barriers to entry are (how could you start fermenting while spending the least amount of money?, what projects are lowest risk/highest reward?, think about like stages of difficulty)”
“You mentioned having fun at the workshop. I think the best way to get people interested in something is to make it easy for them to start. So maybe a beginners guide or kit, 10 “recipes” to learn how to ferment your own food, would be great”
“Why are people apprehensive about live cultures in kombucha but not in MIDTERM things like yogurt? Something else we’ve talked about is how a lot of fermented foods are ancient recipes, so can it be about intergenerational knowledge exchange? Who gets to be the knowledge holders? A kit / a book also has to live in a space or be activated in some way that you can also design. Design FEEDBACK the workshop, design the space that facilitates learning + bonus points if it can relate to fermentation. Fermentation weights are a good start! Are these made for a standardized size, like a wide-mouth mason jar?”
“I think a kit would be a great path to go down but maybe more contained to a single product”
“Love fermentation love the idea. I made some fermented hot sauce a little while ago using a vacuum sealer which was actually very approachable and easy. I’m super interested to see where this goes I think you need to do a lot of ideation on what this could end up looking like. I think a kit is kind of boring but maybe necessary?” 20 After the midterm I was planning on continuing down this path of handmade ceramic weights while taking the feedback into account, when Covid-19 began to affect New York and we were all sent home. Luckily before we left I had started the process of growing my own scoby which can be done by further fermenting a bottle of store bought unpasteurized original kombucha. So my scoby and I took a little trip to New Jersey. Once I got home I was unsure of what direction to go in for this project as I had been using the ceramics studio. The only consistent thing I was doing in relation to my capstone project was making kombucha. It gave me something to do and something to enjoy while staying home. This got me thinking about how I could share this experience with my friends who I planned on sharing this kombucha with at school.
GROWING A SCOBY FROM SCRATCH
• Get a bottle of raw unfiltered kombucha • Take 2-3 cups of boiling water to pour into glass jar • Put two tea bags into to steep for 20 minutes • Add ¼ cup of sugar and let it cool down • Add unfiltered plain kombucha • Cover with cloth and secure with rubber band • Let it go for about a month • Store in indirect light in a warmer area COVID-19 • You want this liquid to be strong 22
I follow the recipe from Prohome Cooks youtube video; so far it has produced a flavor I really enjoy. I use a gallon jar with a spigot for easy bottling.
How to Make Kombucha: Brew 12 tea bags for 10 minutes using 8 cups of water. Add 1.5 cups of sugar and stir to combine. Then add remaining 8 cups of water to cool the tea. Tea should be below body temperature. Next, add 2 cups of starter kombucha and your scoby. Place a towel over the opening of the jar and secure it with a rubber band. Then put it somewhere out of direct sunlight and wait. It takes up to a week to ferment but start tasting it after the 3 day mark and decant it when you like how it tastes! KOMBUCHA
For F2 I use grolsch beer bottles because they are a great size, have a swing top, and are made for carbonated beverages. By using many small bottles I am able to try many flavorings. I have also used beer growlers. I have tried mango, grape, honeydew, ginger with cayenne, and raspberry. So far my favorite flavor is raspberry. 24
I wanted to see how people were already sharing this experience from home so I joined three facebook groups to see the interaction of seasoned kombucha makers and newbies like myself. This felt like an easily accessible platform where people were comfortable enough to post any question they had relating to kombucha. I found that one of the most frequently asked questions was “how do I do it?”
A very common image commented on peoples posts when they are asking about ratios
A posting teaching how to ship a scoby 26
IDEATION 28
Tea Towel Rubberband
FINAL PRODUCT Sugar Time
Scoby Glass Jar
Tea Water 30
34
(2016, August 1). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3Axb37lMWI
(2017, March 27). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFeH3fq1AHA
(2016, August 8). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VrfDb9uhOQ
Boys, J. (2017, March 24). Retrieved from
https://anoregoncottage.com/easiest-fermented-pickled-vegetables/
(2018, April 30). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbdkbCU20_M
(2017, December 14). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnfvrWUXM0Q
(2016, October 21). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng2zOFADe0s
(2016, May 4). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIt1tBGbQec BIBLIOGRAPHY Shaw, H. (2012, May 20). Retrieved from https://honest-food.net/pickled-carrots-recipe/
(2019, August 15). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZghX4Mrg7kw
(2019, March 28). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SOPeZWkc1k Just wanted to say a big thank you to my professor Amanda Huynh. This year has been a crazy one to say the least and without you I don’t know if this project would have ever been completed.
-India