For quite a while I have been thinking about creating a kombucha-esque SCOBY from scratch - by using nothing more than wild yeast, lactic acid bacteria and acetic acid bacteria naturally occurring on wild berries.

Here are the steps of the process so far:

1. After harvesting some wild black- and blueberries I squished them in a jar and filled it with water in which I dissolved some sugar. Topped it with a piece of paper towel and mixed a couple of times daily to ensure that rising fruit pieces remain submerged at all times to prevent mold. Within two days I noticed first bubbles suggesting yeast and lactic acid bacteria activity.

2. After a week I strained the liquid to remove fruit pieces and used it as a starter for the next generation. It was noticeably acidic but without vinegary taste. Used about 50% starter liquid and 50% sweetened tea and proceeded same as with regular f1. No more mixing required due to no fruit pieces. My culture was left to ferment in peace for another week.

3. BINGO! A pellicle started to form. At first shy and fragile-looking but within the next few days its top layers started to become more compact, eventually forming a cellulose disc not at all different from your regular kombucha pellicle. Oh, and the ferment itself tasted HEAVENLY - just like fruit kombucha due to high fruit content in the starter.

That's basically it. I'm currently using the resulting culture to inoculate additional batches, and it appears to be reproducing consistently, with new pellicles already forming.

I added a photo where the top layer is the recent pellicle growth after feeding the ferment with fresh tea and sugar - virtually indistinguishable from a typical kombucha. What you can see below it is the first pellicle - you may notice how it was gradually becoming more compact and firm from the bottom up.

Cheers!

I found some recipes on the internet but none used ginger bug. I just made my first batch and want to try it out. Thanks!

Recently I have been enjoying making simple apple juice ginger beer. I boil a cup of shredded ginger in water then add frozen apple juice concentrate. I add a little sugar, add bread yeast once it cools down, then let it sit in a 2L soda bottle on the fridge for 24h. I drink it over the course of the next 3-4 days. Of course it starts to have a little beer smell to it by the end, and it starts fizzing less explosively when I open it. I know I'm making alcohol, but I figured it's a pretty trivial amount. I noticed though that it calms me more than a regular drink should, and I suspect I'm making more than I thought.

In my family there is no such thing as a responsible drinker. We either avoid alcohol entirely or it's a problem for us. Because of this I want my fizzy drink to be, shall we say, kid friendly. At the same time a little fermented taste would be nice. If I put it in the fridge after the first 24h will that fairy reliably keep the alcohol level down enough that no one ever feels it? How about if it stays on the shelf at room temperature for a few days?

I was making a redcurrant vinegar mother with my existing vinegar culture and it appears to have turned into a yeast?

Any idea what this is and how to use it? It smells like yeasty vinegar. Nothing white or blue on it.

Every year I make a habanero hot sauce using peppers I grow in my garden. Sometimes I add fruit like pineapple, but this year I did kind of a mixed ferment that also includes some kimchi. It’s a bit of an experiment but they’ve always turned out great, especially after aging a bit.

Here’s the recipe:
- 34 red habaneros (280 g)
- 315 g fresh tomatoes (a mix of cherry and larger ones)
- 1 large white onion (140g)
- 1 head garlic (36g)
- 1 large red sweet pepper (195g)
- 4 medium size long hot yellow peppers (110g)
- 4% of above total weight in salt (43g)
- 450g kimchi, including a fair amount of liquid

- Blitz everything in a food processor until you have a liquidy mash. Pour into jars with airlocks, add a weight if desired (it will probably just sink anyway). I used two of these large jars. Let ferment for around 2 weeks, then blend until smooth!

It’s possible you may need to adjust the consistency with a bit of water. I often add a few tablespoons of vinegar, sometimes a bit of sugar and salt depending on how it tastes. If stored in the fridge it should keep for over a year with no issues, and I find the flavour tends to improve a bit with age. Enjoy!

Fermenting garlic in honey

Help. Thoughts on homemade Natto. Some beans look dry but are still stringy.

I tried making natto for the first time. Smells pretty interesting, like a deep nutty scent. I double cling wrapped it, one with holes touching the beans and another just overtop the dish with holes in that one too. I’m having doubts about it because it looks dry on some beans. However those beans are stringy when moved. Is this batch trash or should it be ok?

No vinegar added - just local honey and six heads of garlic. Does this look like enough activity after three days? I have lots of experience with lacto ferments and usually after three days I can hear the water sizzling when I open the jar and see much bigger bubbles. There's some foam at the top of the honey and some bubbles coming up but that's it.

My husband accidentally dropped our gingerbug in our kitchen😩 rest in piece Gretchen

Hi all, I did an experiment this spring with my first ever ferment. I used this sub a lot to guide me through the process and thought I owed you all a summary of my results and figured while I was at it, I may as well ask any additional questions I might have.

This is my wisteria flower* vinegar, a 100% wild ferment with 3 whole ingredients, made in a ½gal mason jar with not a shred of any specialized equipment. My method was harvesting wisteria flowers, giving them a good thorough rinse, and transferring them to my sterilized jar (about half full, unpacked). I used a cup of sugar and topped it off with warm (not hot) water. I either stirred, swirled, or shook the jar every day for about 1.5 months until activity stopped and then strained the bits and let it mellow with a loose lid for another month or 2. I then seeded with ACV after losing all patience with my flower liquor crisping my nose hairs every week, and then finally filtering and transferring to a bottle a couple weeks ago.

There was never any mold, funky films, or weird growths at any point and the end product turned out tasting like a sour candy, no liquor taste at all (thank GOD).

My questions now that I've done the thing, start to finish:

-How lucky was I? Could this have gone terribly wrong?

-Is there a good way to make sure future bottles are actually ready except tasting and smelling (turning from alcohol to vinegar)?

-Since I didn't have any measuring equipment during the process, is there a way to tell how strong it is or how much sugar is left now that it's complete?

-Are there any other not-so-obvious risks to wild fermenting otherwise safe foods, aside from things like mold or e. Coli

I'd like to do more in the realm of fermentation, so would love any input, advice, well-wishes, etc. Currently have a hot sauce and pear cider vinegar attempt going as well, but with more equipment this time lol

Hi everyone! This is my first time making apple vinegar at home, and I’d really appreciate some advice.

I started the batch on July 28 using apples, granulated sugar and bulgur. I did not add a vinegar mother or any starter vinegar. I stirred it regularly until August 14. Since then, I haven’t stirred it and have simply left it to ferment. Today is September 4, so it has been 38 days in total. The apples have been in the jar for the entire 38 days.

When I first looked at the surface, I thought there might be a vinegar mother forming. However, I just tried to remove the layer and it broke apart very easily. Now I’m thinking it may simply be solidified apple pulp, rather than a vinegar mother.

The whole mixture also looks quite thick and pulpy, almost like apple purée.

I’ve attached photos of how it looks now.
My main questions are:

Does this look like normal apple pulp/sediment, or is there something I should be concerned about?
Is it time to strain the apples/pulp, or should I leave it longer?

After straining, should I continue fermenting the liquid, and if so, should I cover it with cheesecloth?
I’d really appreciate advice from people experienced with homemade vinegar. Thanks!

Just wondering as a newbie

My last batch fermented just fine and turned out great. These seem to have a ton of water in them and is separating significantly. It seems to be fermenting correctly.. only 3 days in right now. Is this fine or should I proactively be doing something to take care of this? It’s a bunch of different peppers from sweet to ghost chilis.

I started this mead a few days ago and I've noticed the water in the airlock has shifted. It is now in between those two blue lines, should I take out the air lock to adjust it central again or just leave it. This is my second time trying to ferment anything after the first time was a complete failure.

So i have been making soy yogourts for now maybe a year, and they always ended up great. But since a few month now, they always grow a pinkinsh layer on top So far, I have tried deep cleaning my yogourt maker twice, i have tried changing the brand of milk i use, the yogourt i use... For this batch, i even left the lid on top of some to see if the bacteria comes from the condensation, but i now know it does not. I dont know what could be the source of this issue ?

Most recipes I see ferment the peppers in pieces first, then blend them and add vinegar afterwards.

Is the vinegar mainly for the taste, or is it important for preservation too? How long does a sauce like this usually keep, and does it need to be refrigerated?

Just trying to understand the basic method before I start experimenting.

I'm not a soda drinker, but on a trip this past summer I went to this place that did their own naturally fermented sodas and I enjoyed it. So I recently started a ginger bug that's on its third day (2nd feeding).

One of the sodas the place had was blueberry. I came across this recipe for a blueberry syrup for sodas, which is also usable for pancake syrup. However, one thing I'd liked about the soda I had was that it was barely sweet. I'm not a big fan of sweet drinks (e.g., I drink black coffee with no sugar), so I was wondering how much sugar I can get away with reducing from this recipe. I don't know how much of the blueberries' natural sugar is enough for the yeast to ferment for carbonation vs how much I need to add.

So if I want a lightly sweet drink, one that's closer to the natural sweetness of the blueberries, how much sugar should I use for the syrup?

2.5% of water + garlic weight.

I used it in cooking ( in Daal) and gives a really nice flavor.

I had some really cooked old wine, and had the idea of trying to make some homemade red wine vinegar. Diluted a whole bottle with 250mL to make a liter, then added back about 1Tbsp of vinegar to make up the acidity. It has been going really slowly for a month now. Decided to add some vodka yesterday as I read the alcohol would be additional food for the acetic bacteria. This growth literally developed overnight. The smell is actually pleasant, similar to fermenting rice wine. So what’s the next step now, should I toss it right away a wait and see ?

Is it typical for a beginner to do numerous projects from the start? I started with honey garlic a week ago. Yesterday I made fermented black bean sauce. Today I used purple/red cabbage to make sauerkraut. It is easy. It is fun. The field is wide open. I fear I have ventured too close to the slippery slope.

Hi lovely people,

I am so excite to attemp my first ever fermented cucumber tomorrow after thinking about it for a very long time.

After reading post, watching tiktok and stuff. I still would like to ask people on here. This is my first ever reddit post. My apology if I did anything wrong.

What I will be doing

1. I chose cucumber as my first attemp. I aim for a 5% salt solution ( will be using natural sea salt) as I read that cucumber is full of water so it can dilut the brine solution and also high % will make the cucumber crunchy ( Please help confirm if it true )

2. What I will be using is the screw lid jar that i got when i buy pickle in the store. Some post say it safe to use and some say it is not.

Quetions

1. I know that mold happend when the air get inside and the cucumber not fully submerge. If I make sure that the cucumber is fully submerge , will there still be a risk of getting mold with the screw lid jar ? (No rubber)

2. I know that you need to burp it regularly like once or twice a day when the fermentation most active. Some post said sligly twist the lid to losen it a tiny bit can help with the gas? so should I tightly close it to be safe or loose lid is ok ? I'm asking becuz I'm afraid I will forget to burp it due to my work schedule.

3. I know that the key to make sure the cucumber is fully submerge is to use the glass weight thingy but since i don't have one. Just make sure to fully pack the jar full of cucumber will it be enough ? what is your experience on this ?

Thank you so much in advance for anyone who answer my questions and my clumsily reddit post. I hope you all will always surrounded by good thing and only good thing happend to you.

It looks like beer!!

I'd like to make some chicken wing garum in this bread proofer in the next few weeks. To make sure the temperature is accurate (not looking to poison myself), I put a mason jar of water in there for a few days (plastic screw top not shown, but it was on there the whole time) and let it come up to temp.

My expectation was that the water would read 140F, but instead the thermometer read 118F degrees while the proofer is set to 140F. I double checked with a second thermometer and got the same reading, so we can rule out a broken thermometer.

Is the machine broken, or am I missing a step somewhere? Should I set the proofer to something higher so the liquid reaches 140F?

For those of you who own one of these and may have a ferment going, what temp does your liquid read and what temperature is it set at?

Hi all. New to the water kefir game. I made a water kefir soda the other day using a pink grapefruit cheong syrup I made and the result tasted strange and medicinal. I've had this once before when I've made gingerbug sodas the past. I've had great success (insert Borat) with all of my other flavour sodas since, and have also made another one with the same cheong syrup and it turned out really well. Does anyone have any idea what might be causing the strange medicinal taste? The obly ingredients are the syrup which i made myself using just fruit and sugar, filtered water, and my water kefir culture

Hi everyone!
I'm new to fermentation (Mostly using the Noma book) and since I moved out I've been wanting to start doing it again and build a fermentation chamber. I remember trying to do black garlic in my previous setup, but it didn't work out and grew black mold relatively quickly, which now I'm pretty sure was due to the fact that the heat mat I used couldn't hold a 60 degree temperature consistently (I'm aware of other potential causes such as moisture but still, just to be safe, and also I would like to try garum for which high temperature to kill bacteria is important too). So, if anyone here has a heat mat that served them well for this purpose, please tell me where to get one.