Under natural conditions, when symbiosis of yeast and bacteria is formed, Kombucha is formed. But there was a time when he was very popular. It can be found in almost every culture, which is no coincidence, because this drink has a pleasant taste and many useful properties. In addition, the liquid obtained with Kombucha is the strongest antibiotic. And how to grow kombucha, and what is needed for this?
The first mention of Kombucha dates back to 220 BC, to the time of the Jing Dynasty of Ancient China, where it was called Kombucha. This name is still found in the name of the fungus in different cultures.
What is kombucha?
Kombucha is a floating fibrous strand of colonies of beneficial microorganisms and cellulose. It also contains healthy yeast that digests sugars into alcohols. Since ancient times, people have known how to grow Kombucha and what useful properties it has.
The fungus contains Gluconacetobacter xylinus, a producer of microbiological cellulose. This microorganism is capable of converting ethanol into acetic acid, due to which the amount of alcohol decreases, and the number of probiotic products increases.
The acidic environment created by Kombucha prevents the formation of mold and pathogenic bacteria. Kombukha is capable of producing many useful substances, such as:
- ethanol;
- about a dozen organic acids, including acetic, oxalic, lactic, citric, and others;
- sugars presented as disaccharides and monosaccharides;
- purine bases;
- tannins and resins;
- beneficial enzymes;
- vitamins;
- antibiotics.
Antibacterial effect
In the last century, associate professor L. Danielyan at the Department of Microbiology conducted a study of the antibacterial properties of Kombucha. As a result of testing, the scientist was able to find out that the produced fluid has antibacterial activity, due to the presence of active bio-substances in it. Because of this feature, people from ancient times used liquid, and also knew how to grow kombucha. The product it produces is highly effective against many gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Many unsorbed bacteria died in the fungal solution in the interval from ten minutes to two hours. Spores of bacteria and pathogenic fungi showed little resistance and died in the interval from one to five days. These included anthrax spores and other dangerous pathogens. Streptococci turned out to be the most sensitive to the action of fluid: they died in about an hour.
How to get a mushroom?
There are several ways to get a kombucha. It is being sold, sent from other countries and cities. And few know how to grow Kombucha from nothing. This activity is uncomplicated, but requires patience.
There are many recipes that allow you to grow Kombucha from scratch. How exactly to do this is up to you.
Before you start growing mushrooms, you should prepare a container. It must be thoroughly washed. Kombukha loves cleanliness, at the slightest pollution he will die, before he has time to grow to a mature size. For washing use baking soda, do not use chemical detergents.
Method one
To grow Kombucha from scratch, no matter how trivial it sounds, you need tea. For germination, strong black tea is brewed, a spoonful of sugar is added and the composition is left for two to three days in a warm place. A film of oily consistency begins to form on the surface of the nutrient medium. This is the bookmark of the mushroom. After a couple of months, the membrane will get stronger. During this period, it will be necessary to transfer it to another container and pour cooled tea with the addition of five tablespoons of sugar per two liters of liquid. For the preparation of tea, only boiled water is used, since raw water may contain salts that have a detrimental effect on the fungus.
The jar with the mushroom is not closed, but covered with gauze in several layers or with a napkin, so that no midges and other insects get inside. Do not place a can of mushroom at the window: direct sunlight and drafts inhibit the development of the fungus.
Second way
Some people know how to grow Kombucha at home from apple juice. To do this, juice is taken and divided into two containers, left for a couple of months. As a result of fermentation processes, a thin substance is formed on the surface. It is carefully removed and placed in a nutrient medium from a slightly sweetened tea. In this environment, the formation of Kombucha occurs. For its growth and development, it is necessary to leave the jar open, and so that insects do not get into it, the neck is covered with gauze in 2-3 layers.
Third way
Few people know how to grow Kombucha at home from kvass. This is done from freshly prepared homemade kvass, which is put in a warm place without closing the lid. This is necessary for free air access. After a while, a thin film will appear on the surface. A young mushroom-kombucha will grow, covering the entire surface of the liquid, thereby blocking the access of air to the solution. This slows down the fermentation process. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to bend the edges of the film, passing air to the nutrient medium. After a few weeks, the embryo becomes less transparent and is better seen on the background of the drink. At this point, the liquid is diluted with sweetened tea.
Fourth way
Some have heard that you can grow mushrooms on beer. This method is considered the fastest. And how to grow Kombucha yourself in this way?
To get the embryo, you need to pour one hundred grams of unpasteurized live beer into a jar, add a teaspoon of sugar and two teaspoons of soured wine. Everything is mixed and placed in a warm dark place. After some time, a fungal germ film forms on the surface. It is carefully removed and placed in a container with pre-prepared sweet tea. It remains only to wait until the mushroom grows.
Fifth method
Our grandmothers knew how to grow Kombucha at home while cooking apple cider vinegar. To do this, they took apples without wormholes and rubbed with a core on a grater. The resulting mass was placed in a container and poured with boiled cooled water: one and a half liters of water pound apples. The composition is added one hundred grams of honey and ten grams of yeast for every liter of water. Instead of yeast, slices of brown bread were used before. The mixture is left in a dark place open for ten days. During fermentation, the contents are mixed.
Ten days later, the composition is filtered, poured into another jar and left to roam for two months. At this point, the liquid becomes transparent, fermentation processes end. A dense jellyfish forms on the surface - this is the so-called vinegar uterus or young Kombucha. It is carefully transferred to a container with sweet tea and insisted.
Mushroom culture medium
To grow Kombucha from tea, it is important to properly prepare a nutrient medium for it. The best is considered to be the preparation of a universal solution. For him, you will need to make one percent tea, in which sugar is added at a rate of 1:10. The mushroom is placed in this nutrient medium.
To prepare a tea solution, take one and a half liters of boiled water, add five grams of black or green tea to it. Tea is infused for twenty minutes, after which seventy grams of sugar is added to the composition. The composition is cooled to room temperature.
You can not pour sugar on the mushroom, and you can not put the mushroom in a hot solution, as it can die.
During the preparation of the solution, honey can be used instead of sugar. In this case, there is an increase in the antiseptic properties of the resulting liquid.
You can prepare the culture medium in a different way by taking a teaspoon of tea leaves and one hundred grams of sugar per liter of water.
In some people, black teas cause arrhythmia. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended to use a nutrient medium from green tea for the fungus. However, you should be careful, as such a drink can cause a sharp drop in blood pressure. Also, green tea can trigger heartburn, pain in the digestive tract.
Mushroom Care Features
In the first days after the mushroom is placed in a fresh nutrient medium, it sinks to the bottom of the can and lies there. After a while, he begins to rise. This is due to carbon dioxide bubbles formed due to yeast fungi. If this does not happen, then the medusomycete (fungus) does not have enough heat. You can fix this by placing the bowl with the mushroom in a warm place, but so that there is no sharp increase in temperature.
When the mushroom grows, it will begin to exfoliate. At this point, it is removed from the can, separated, placed in another nutrient medium.
Usually, the fungus reaches its first maturity in three to seven days, depending on the time of year. For treatment, infusions of different ages are used - from three days to two weeks.
On the third or seventh day, the drink becomes a pleasant sour-sweet taste. After two weeks, it looks like dry wine.
The finished drink is filtered, poured into containers and stored in the refrigerator. Usually in its pure form, infusion is rarely used. Most often, the drink is diluted with tea.
Indications and contraindications
Wondering how to grow Kombucha, the photo of which is presented in the article, few people think that the drink they make has its own indications and contraindications for use.
The drink is recommended for use with urolithiasis. It quenches thirst well in the hot season. Liquid helps to normalize the digestive tract.
If you make a drink from green tea, then it will have excellent tonic properties. It contains more vitamins than black tea. A ready-made product can be used to rinse the oral cavity after eating: the drink has an antibacterial property, kills bacteria that affect the teeth. You can not use the drink on green tea to those who suffer from gastritis, low blood pressure.
You can prepare an infusion of tea with bergamot or other herbs, for example with mint, lemon balm. In such infusions, honey is usually added to saturate it with useful elements such as potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, etc. This addition allows you to give an antibacterial and tonic property to the drink.
Conclusion
Knowing how to grow Kombucha step by step, you can make healthy and tasty drinks with different tastes. They will help with heaviness in the stomach, relieve unpleasant sensations. However, it is worth remembering that you can not drink a drink earlier than an hour after eating. This is due to the fact that the liquid actively interacts with food, and immediately after eating a feeling of hunger may appear.
It is most useful to drink kvass in the morning and in the evening. Drunk infusion in the morning helps prepare the digestive system for the upcoming daily load, and in the evening kvass will soothe, improve sleep, and disinfect the stomach and intestines.
With proper storage of the mushroom, it will delight for many years with tasty and healthy kvass. And if you use different types of culture media, then drinks will have different tastes.