How to grow Kombucha at home: the specifics of care, reproduction and storage of Medusomycete

The world has long been aware of Kombucha. Now in the open spaces of Eurasia it is popular under very intricate names - kombucha (or kombucha), fango, and more understandable - tea jellyfish or tea kvass, sea mushroom, Japanese sponge. It is difficult to say whether he is able to get rid of all ailments. But the fact that the fungus has very valuable characteristics is an unambiguous and undeniable fact.

Medusomycet: who he is and where he comes from

At the first acquaintance with a mushroom, comfortably located in a jar, it is not easy to understand which natural environment it belongs to - the kingdom of plants or animals. By its appearance, it resembles a jellyfish. This visual similarity influenced the scientific name - jellyfish. A living creature is a light layered mucus up to several centimeters thick, with small processes on the body. Such a jellyfish lives in a sweet, liquid “atmosphere”.

According to the biological classification, Kombucha belongs to zoogley. This is a mucous mass formed by the accumulation of cells of beneficial bacteria and microorganisms.

Biography

The genealogy of Kombucha is entirely a mystery. According to some reports, his birthplace is Ceylon, according to other sources - Tibet. The first written evidence dates back to 250 BC. e., and the first biological description of this zoogley - 1913. Following the Chinese, the mushroom was considered the "elixir of immortality" in Japan, India. From the 19th century, he took root in Russia, and at the beginning of the next century conquered Europe. Modern Europeans buy mushrooms in pharmacies and order in restaurants. It is noteworthy that the chronicle of the occurrence of medusomycete is still being studied.

Kinds

For centuries, scientists have been working on the "clue" of a strange organism, trying to study its composition and species. Thus, the main three species were named that have a common body type - zoogley:

• Chinese tea mushroom - the mucous mass in its structure is heavy;
• marine indian rice - is a transparent ice-picture;
• milk (kefir) Tibetan rice- visually resembles cottage cheese, used for ripening milk.

Main components

Medusomycet is a “union” of active microorganisms: yeast and acetic acid bacteria. When a “magic” drink wanders, in addition to wine (ethyl) alcohol (about 2.5%) and acetic acid, a number of natural acids arise. By the way, in their quantity, as well as in taste, it looks like a classic bread kvass.

In the composition you can find the following components:

• organic acids (gluconic, lactic, pyruvic and others);
• vitamins (B1, “ascorbic acid”);
• lipids (fatty acids, phosphatines, stearins);
• pigments (chlorophyll);
• enzymes;
• mono- and polysaccharides;
• tannins, caffeine (come from tea);
• natural antibiotic substances.

How to grow Kombucha yourself from scratch: 4 ways

Where to get mushroom for drinking and how to grow it? The secret of the birth of a floating, jelly-like creature is quite simple: in addition to water, tea leaf and sugar, it must be fed, and this is heat, air, as well as quality care.

From sweet tea

Features The most common way is to get kombucha with tea. To do this, prepare a clean and dry jar (3 l), previously wash it with baking soda. We also arm ourselves with gauze, boiling water, granulated sugar (brown is also suitable), tea (medium or large leaf, not flavored).

Cooking procedure step by step

1. We make a couple of teaspoons of tea in boiling water (1 liter is enough).
2. We insist for at least 10-15 minutes.
3. We carefully filter the tea leaves.
4. Sugar (two to three tablespoons), stir.
5. Tea is cooled to a comfortable temperature.
6. Pour into a dry jar.
7. We cover the dishes wrapped in several layers with “gauze”, tighten the fabric along the rim of the can with an elastic band or thread.
8. We leave the jar warm and alone in a dark place. The optimum temperature is 25 ° C.
9. On about the third or fifth day, an oily film - the future adult mushroom - will begin to appear on the surface of the water.
10. In four to six weeks, the medusomycete will grow, its membrane will grow stronger to the point where it can transform simple tea into a wonderful drink with gas bubbles.

From rosehip berries

Features You can get tea kvass from rose hips. Known methods in a glass bottle and in a thermos. To do this, prepare the appropriate containers, tea leaves, rose hips, boiling water, granulated sugar.

Procedure for making potable mushroom in a jar

1. We prepare tea (a large spoonful of tea per 1 liter of water), after 10-15 minutes we filter.
2. We measure out two tablespoons of sugar and breed in tea.
3. When cooled, pour into a container with 15-25 rose hips.
4. We cover the jar with rolled gauze and put away in a warm place, protected from the sun.
5. The approximate time of birth and strengthening of tea jellyfish is from one to one and a half months.

Thermos Cooking Procedure

1. Pour wild rose berries (15-20 pieces) into a thermos.
2. Pour boiling water or filtered hot tea to the brim.
3. Close the cork for a long time (from six to eight weeks).
4. After this period, we remove from the container a thick, slimy “disk”, which for further growth in diameter is transferred to a regular jar.

From live beer (beer mushroom)

Features The method of growing jellyfish from beer is little known, but worthy of attention due to its lightness and 100% efficiency.

Cooking procedure

1. Pour 100 g of unpasteurized beer into a liter can.
2. There we add a teaspoon of sugar and a tablespoon of sour wine.
3. Mix, cover with “gauze” and send to a warm, darkened corner.
4. Carefully move the "newborn" jellyfish into sweet tea (at least in a week).

From apples

Features According to knowledgeable housewives, you can grow a mushroom at home from fresh apples or apple juice. In this case, you can get several useful products at once.

Cooking procedure

1. We chop the chopped apples on a grater or in a meat grinder.
2. We shift the resulting mass into a large jar.
3. Fill with water 3-4 cm above the level of apples.
4. We fall asleep with sugar: per kilogram of apples you need at least four tablespoons of granulated sugar.
5. Mix, cover the jar with gauze.
6. We remove the container in a secluded place for a couple of weeks, shake it daily or mix with a wooden spatula.
7. After 14-15 days, filter and leave for a couple of weeks in warmth and darkness.
8. Around the seventh to tenth day, a film of the fungus appears.
9. The mucous organism is transplanted into sweet tea.

What to feed

Infuse the mushroom is accepted by two methods. The classic way is to make a drink from a mild sweetened tea. No less popular is the herbal option.

1. Traditional tea. The dosage is as follows: three to four teaspoons of tea leaves, five tablespoons of sugar, 2 liters of water. The mushroom can be “seasoned” with both black and green tea. According to reviews, the latter tones more, contains more vitamins. Sugar is a good substitute for honey. It is bred in a cooled liquid.
2. Herbs. There are many recipes for making a drink based on herbal preparations. So, at your own discretion with green tea you can combine rose hips (chopped berries and leaves), linden flowers, birch leaves, raspberries, strawberries, currants, blackberries. No less useful will be a mushroom brewed on nettles, blackthorn, plantain. Herbs use two to three teaspoons of the collection per 1 liter of boiling water, insist for at least a couple of hours. In strained infusion, sugar is diluted, cooled and added to mushroom kvass. You can not use herbs that have essential oil in their composition: for "feeding" kombucha are not acceptable, for example, sage and chamomile.

How to propagate

On a mature mycelium, under favorable conditions, a light skin of a new mushroom will begin to appear in a few days. By the end of the second week he is ready for an independent life. The process of propagation of Kombucha is to divide the mucous body into interlayers. How to split and save it? This should be done very carefully, focusing on the following three points.

1. In the thickness of the body we find a cleft.
2. Peel off the upper transparent film.
3. We put the independent organism in a separate jar and fill it with nutrient liquid. You can put the jar on the windowsill.

7 rules for care and storage

Proper care of the kombucha in the jar will provide it with a traditional taste. Remember the seven fundamental requirements.

1. Microclimate. The fungus lives only in a liquid medium. It is forbidden to pour too warm tea into the jar. In a hot liquid, the body simply dies. The medusomycet must breathe, so the dishes should not be covered with a lid, but only with gauze or a thin cotton cloth. It is also a sure way to protect mushroom jellyfish from dust and various midges.
2. The location. The place for the jar should be warm and shaded, away from the windows.
3. Temperature mode. Observe temperature requirements. Under conditions below 17 ° C, the fungus will not develop.
4. Purity. Wash your hands before working with mushroom jellyfish. In addition, try to wash the mushroom in the summer every decade, in winter enough times a month. For bathing procedures, use boiled, bottled or spring water.
5. Security. Damaging grains of sugar or tea leaves are harmful. They will cause burns.
6. "Leaven". Always leave a glass of the previous mushroom, pour it into a fresh infusion for starter culture.
7. Exposure Do not lengthen the fermentation process, otherwise the nutritional qualities of the drink will be spoiled.

Possible problems and solutions

Kombucha should always float on the surface of the water. This symptom is the main indicator of his health. When the mushroom drowns, does not rise from the bottom, it is likely that a mistake was made in its content. So how to store kombucha? What problems can be expected in the preparation of tea kvass and by what symptoms can they be recognized? There are ten main signs that indicate that not everything is okay with the jellyfish.

1. Kombucha is moldy. Mold occurs only on the upper side of the fungus in contact with air. The reason is adverse conditions (the most common are cold air, cigarette smoke). Such a mushroom is advised to be replaced, but if you still decide to resuscitate it, first remove the mold. This is easy to do with two forks. Then wash the mushroom carefully. To disinfect and revitalize it, leave it overnight in apple cider vinegar. The next morning, transfer to a clean jar with a new tea solution and a tablespoon of fruit vinegar.
2. Not aerated. The most likely cause is Kombucha overripe. After washing it, “give it a drink” with new tea. In addition, such a reaction is possible in too hot weather. You need to remove the can further from the window or the hot battery.
3. Stopped wandering around. The temperature conditions have been violated, there is a shortage or excess of sugar.
4. Brown spots. These are burns that appeared from the addition of granulated sugar directly into a jellyfish tea jar. Brown traces are left by sugar granules that have fallen on the fungus's body.
5. It got dark. This happens if the liquid does not drain for a long time. The consistency of the nutrient solution due to the increased dose of acetic acid becomes stronger. The mushroom is washed and poured with fresh tea. You need to regularly take care of the tea mushroom so that it does not darken: it ripens on average three to five days, after which the finished carbonated infusion is drained, and the jar is filled with new tea.
6. Stratified. Zoogleya grows very quickly. Without waiting for your help, the overgrown mushroom begins to share on its own. It must be carefully peeled off and placed in prepared containers for further cultivation.
7. Dimmed. There can be several reasons, and all of them are associated with violations of the cooking technology, namely: poor-quality water was used, the can is in direct sunlight, the temperature is lower than recommended.
8. Worms crawl. To exclude such troubles, block access to insects in a jar. To this end, use strapping capacity gauze.
9. It has become dried. This option is possible if you completely forget about Kombucha. A jar of evaporated liquid is again poured with sweet tea.
10. Overturned. This is not a cause for concern. So the grown mushroom gets used to the new habitat, it forms surfaces that are different from each other. Turn it over so that there is a rough layer below with hanging filaments. The fungus feeds on this side. He contacts the air with a smooth and bright layer, that is, breathes.

Knowing how to grow Kombucha at home, you can get a healing and tonic drink. This does not require special investments and special efforts, but only strict adherence to all requirements for its content. Kombucha is a real laboratory behind glass. Watch how the thin mucus grown by your hands condenses, turning into an elastic “cover”. Raising it is a pleasure.Watch the video how people grow it. Experiment (only reasonably) with making nutritious teas. Each time you will receive a drink with different tastes. And an excellent tonic and cooling agent on hot days of summer will be the infusion of Kombucha, frozen in cubes. By the way, the finished drink is stored in the refrigerator for a serious period (a month and a half) without loss of taste and nutritional qualities.

Reviews: "In the summer does not have time to ripen: we all drink!"

For several years we have been standing with such a mushroom! We drink together with my wife, and in the summer he does not have time to ripen (It's hot - we drink a lot). I made a simple move - I put in not one but two cans and every day I pour a slightly sour drink from one can into another. There, the second mushroom is already bringing the drink to condition. Thus, almost always our mushroom from the second can is ready and tasty. The method of ripening the drink was advised to a young neighbor, She began to drink the Mushroom - and her blood sugar began to normalize. Now she is an avid supporter of the use of this drink!

Vladimir Pronkin, http://maxpark.com/community/5858/content/4789047

To add sugar - it makes no sense, because the fungus is useful precisely because it processes sucrose into other types of alcohols. How much sugar to put - everyone tastes to taste. I have been drinking an infusion of mushrooms for 4 years, I have 8 cans of them, and always put 10 tbsp. on a 3-liter jar - everything is just super, they grow perfectly, they also work great and there is no mold. And a very tasty drink is obtained! Tried less - terrible sour.

Irina Diricheva, https://vk.com/topic-4018735_22829193?offset=40

I also have kombucha) the films grow on top, the mushroom drowns after washing and when you put it in new water, but I was advised to pour about a glass from a ready-made liquid, then it’s easier to recover the mushroom) when you put the mushroom in a jar - the bright side - top)

Schalot is a local resident, http://foren.germany.ru/arch/haus/f/18428465.html