I have had numerous emails of late asking about the voluntary recall of kombucha from healthfood store shelves around the country. It was supposed to be back on the shelves as of this week, but so far, no G.Ts to be found at least in my neck of the woods. What’s more, it’s supposed to be pasteurized when it is restocked. No longer raw? What’s the point of even drinking it then?In the meantime, folks who have never made kombucha themselves and got quite used to the convenience of buying it at the store are going through major withdrawal from this healthy, enzyme rich, probiotic filled beverage.
My advice to folks has been to roll up their sleeves and make the stuff! It is so easy to do and compared with the price of a pint of G.T.’s Kombucha ($2.99 in my healthfood store), making it yourself is dirt cheap.
On top of that, homemade tastes infinitely better and there is no risk of too much alcohol like bottles sitting on store shelves for who knows how long as you control the brew time! My kids much prefer mine to store bought any day of the week.
I make about 5 gallons of kombucha every 8 days or so this time of year as it is so hot and we go through it so very fast to keep hydrated. It is so hydrating, you won’t believe it – much more hydrating that plain water.
I make the 5 gallons for about $1.60 per gallon. That translates to 20 cents per pint as compared to $2.99 per pint for a bottle of G.T. Kombucha!
Give it a go! It is so easy to do.
If you want to make multiple gallons, check out the post plus videos on Kombucha Advanced Techniques
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Hi Everyone .. please note that a couple comments haven't posted yet for some reason. Must be a google glitch. Thanks for your patience.
Mary, you can give away your extra cultures to friends or use them for fertilizer in your garden. They are great in compost.
Sarah,
I'm new to Kombucha. What do you do with all the extra mushrooms? I saw a site that sold a quart size mushroom starter kit for $20 w/shipping. Will that grow to your size? Would I use 2 smaller mushrooms for a larger bowl?
thank you,
mary
Chaylife and Emily – thanks for the kind words! So glad you are enjoying the blog!
thank you for this reminder for me to make up a new batch of kombucha! it is so good, homemade. =)
thank you so much for visiting my blog and most of all, for leading me to yours!! what a treasure. i can see that i am going to spend hours reading your previous posts – you've shared so much good stuff!
emily
home2learn.wordpress.com
Hi Sarah,
I just wanted to tell you, I really enjoy your posts and love your videos. I am new at the real food lifestyle and appreciate all the help I can get–and your videos are very helpful. Thank you.
Hi Mary, you can keep the Mother going for quite a long time. I discard a culture when it gets really stained from the tannins in the tea and then go to a fresh culture (baby). If you keep the culture in the fridge for over a month, then it is probably so weakened you should discard.
Hi Jennifer, a manager at my healthfood store told me this. There is a lot of rumor swirling around about the GT Kombucha recall, so much of it is probably false. It would be so devastating if it comes back on the shelves pasteurized, though. I am sure the company is very much against this so hopefully it will not happen.
Wait, you can buy Kombucha in a store?
Just kidding, though I never have.
It really is a snap to make once you get the hang of it. The links should be helpful for those who want to venture making their own.
I have a question. How many good brews can you get from a mother? I have so many stockpiled in the fridge because I never used one more than two times.
I'm wondering where you found out that GT's will be pasteurized. The latest information I could find on it was that it would still be raw when returned to store shelves, but that was almost a month old: http://nativesunjax.wordpress.com/2010/07/02/update-on-unpasteurized-kombucha-from-gt/
Thanks Ms. Healthy Home Economist,
I appreciate having the links together.
Just started my virgin batch last night with my scrawny little scoby.
Pavil, the Uber Noob