I have not made a batch of kombucha in months; four months, to be exact.
The end of October saw the last batch of kombucha that I made. I was sure that we were back in the buch drinking way of life, but, alas, once again, I was wrong.
Every time we open the fridge, we see all of these on the bottom shelf, in the back. Taunting us; calling to us; being ignored by us. Shame on us.
So, this week, I decided to open one of the buggers, and taste it. You may recall me saying that the last one I opened was ceremoniously spread all over the underside of the cabinets, on the windows to the laundry area, all over the hood of the exhaust fan; well, you get the idea; everywhere except in my glass. It had so much natural carbonation, for which I was, and am, extremely grateful, but, I would never have imagined. It was under such pressure, that the slightest hint of the bottle top being opened, even a millimeter, caused the flip top to burst open, and the geyser to erupt, just like the Grand Canyon’s Old Faithful.
That said, oh, and yes, I have since cleaned it all up, I had to come up with a way to open a bottle, with as much precaution as I could prepare. Here is what I decided to do.
I have put a metal mixing bowl, with moderately sloping sides, in the sink, put the bottle in the bowl, then, put another mixing bowl with steeper sides over the top. Holding on to the metal cage of the flip top with my left hand, I have to rest the top bowl on my arm, hold on to the bottle with my right hand, then gently, and ever-so-slowly start to pry off the flip top. I stop when I hear it start to fizz, and watch it as it runs down the side of the upper bowl, being contained in the bottle bowl, and not all over the kitchen.
Sorry. I got a bit carried away there, for a moment. I am quite recovered now.
I knew there had to be a way of opening them without spraying the contents all over the kitchen, and I finally figured it out. Now, we can enjoy the contents, and do not have to throw them out. However, I would really like to make another batch soon.
So now we can drink these little buggers instead of pouring them down the drain. The mixture in the dark bottles is blueberries with black raspberries, and, pineapple, only, in the clear. The pineapple has a much better flavor than the berries. The berries taste like dish soap. As they have so many health benefits, I will drink the dish soap and know that it is going to help improve my gut health. How much? I have no idea. And, I do not care. Anything is better than nothing.
Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones. I am back to my puzzle. 😉
Post script: I ended up dumping all but one, which was made completely of pineapple. The others, all of them, had too much ginger, and were awful. Onward to a new batch with just pineapple.