The symbiosis of acetic acid bacteria and yeast, known as “medusomycete”, is used in folk medicine as a general tonic. Other names: Japanese, Manchu, Kombucha. Traditionally, it is grown at home on tea with added sugar. Sometimes other versions of the nutrient medium are also used, for example, based on pea flour, soy flour, coffee solution. Can honey be added to kombucha? It depends on where exactly the bee product is placed – in the nutrient medium or in a ready-made drink.
The content of the article
- 1 Appearance, reproduction
- 2 Requirements for capacity and nutrient solution
- 3 Preparation for breeding
- 4 Preparation of the culture medium
- 4.1 Other options for the culture medium
- 4.1.1 Apple infusion
- 4.1.2 Coffee, soy or pea flour
- 4.1 Other options for the culture medium
- 5 Proper care
- 6 Taste, beneficial properties
- 7 Противопоказания
- 8 Add or not add honey
- 8.1 The recipe for “tea kvass” on honey
- 9 In conclusion
Appearance, reproduction
The mushroom was brought to our country from the Far East. Outwardly, he really looks like a jellyfish. A symbiont colony is a whitish or slightly creamy multilayer structure resembling a film. The film floats on the surface of the nutrient solution.
To get a “sprout” for reproduction, the mushroom cannot be broken by pinching off the pieces. In this case, the recipient will be sick, like his donor.
Carefully peel off one of the layers of film, and then move the “sprout” into a suitable growing container.
Requirements for capacity and nutrient solution
Traditionally, to obtain “tea kvass” use glass containers with a wide neck. The mushroom needs light to grow. And the wide neck allows you to remove it for washing without damaging the structure.
Before use, the dishes are doused or poured with boiling water, keeping the hot water for several minutes. No chemical detergents are used for disinfection!
The symbiont is sensitive to chlorine. Therefore, you cannot take tap water for the culture medium. Will fit:
- water from a well;
- home filtered water;
- drinking water from the store;
- melted or distilled water (you can melt ice from the freezer).
The symbiont is washed with the same high-quality clean water when leaving during cultivation.
Requirements for growing conditions:
- room temperature (optimal for growth + 25 degrees);
- access to light (you cannot put on the windowsill under open sunlight!);
- normal air humidity.
Preparation for breeding
An adult mushroom is carefully removed from the vessel, washed with warm clean water. Then the upper, denser film is separated from it. This will be the “shoot”.
The “shoot” is kept in clean water at room temperature for XNUMX hours. The container is covered with two layers of gauze to exclude impurities from entering the water and to allow the symbiont to “breathe”.
The jar must not be covered with a lid or cellophane!
Preparation of the culture medium
To prepare the nutrient medium, take:
- one and a half liters of clean water;
- one to two teaspoons of green or black tea without additives or flavors;
- 70-100 grams of granulated sugar.
The water is boiled, removed from the fire. Tea is put into it, infused for 10-15 minutes. It is filtered, mixed with sugar, cooled to room temperature.
Sugar is thoroughly stirred until completely dissolved, so as not to damage the mushroom. When injured, it grows poorly.
The previously separated film of the “sprout” is placed in the finished solution.
Other options for the culture medium
Other solutions can also be used as a nutrient medium. But here it is important to consider that herbs from a pharmacy may have contraindications. In addition, the mushroom does not change the taste of the solution. Therefore, exotic culture media can have unpleasant taste characteristics.
As for the type of tea, it is selected in accordance with the state of health and the state of the cardiovascular system. With hypertension and a weak heart, it is better to choose a green variety, and with low blood pressure – black. With heartburn, exacerbation of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, you will have to give up green tea.
The usual dosage is 1-2 teaspoons of tea per 1,5-2 liters of water. More than one teaspoon of tea leaves should not be consumed per liter of nutrient medium.
Apple infusion
You can add apple infusion from fresh or dry apples to the tea. These fruits strengthen the immune system and serve as a rich source of ascorbic acid.
Dried fruits must first be soaked in warm water for a day, and then boiled for 10-15 minutes over low heat. Let cool and add to the container with the mushroom.
Coffee, soy or pea flour
Lovers of exotic flavors will appreciate this version of the nutrient solution.
Take one of the following ingredients per liter of boiling water:
- a tablespoon of instant coffee;
- half a teaspoon of soy flour;
- half a teaspoon of pea flour.
Brew with boiling water, let it brew for 10-15 minutes, strain, add sugar and stir it well.
The maximum dosage of sugar is 100-125 grams per liter of culture medium.
Proper care
The young “shoot” is at the bottom for the first day. Then, in the process of fermentation, it floats to the surface.
To speed up the fermentation process, the container is placed in a warm and sufficiently lit place (but not a windowsill!).
During the growth process, the nutrient medium remains transparent. The mushroom gradually turns into an elastic resilient mass. Its aging is indicated by delamination, darkening and the appearance of “filaments” in the lower part.
The lower layers can be removed during rinsing, and the upper ones can be used as “scions”.
In the summer, the mushroom is washed weekly! In winter, the procedure is carried out at intervals of two to three weeks. At the same time, a glass container is washed and poured with boiling water.
The drink of the first maturity is taken on the third or fourth day (later in winter). Instead of the sampled liquid, a new nutrient medium is added.
Taste, beneficial properties
“Tea kvass”, prepared in a traditional way on the basis of black or green tea, has a pleasant sweet and sour taste. In consistency, it resembles a carbonated drink.
During fermentation, the drink is enriched with organic acids, sugars (sucrose is processed into fructose and glucose, which are easier for the body to absorb).
If the process is delayed for any reason, an unpleasant vinegar smell appears. Such “tea kvass” should not be consumed!
The drink is completely ready to drink for 3-4 days in the summer, and for 5-7 in the winter. Kvass has a pleasant carbonated sweet and sour taste from three to six to seven days.
It must be diluted with clean water in a ratio of one to three or one to two, which will relieve the gastrointestinal tract from irritation..
Противопоказания
Note: Clinical studies have not yet been conducted. For this reason, the declared medicinal properties of the mushroom are questioned in official medicine.
“Tea kvass” can be dangerous:
- in case of accidental contamination of the fungus with pathogens;
- with prolonged fermentation (the acidity level of the drink becomes elevated).
His do not recommend taking:
- small children;
- pregnant women;
- persons suffering from exacerbation of gastrointestinal diseases.
Joint reception with some medications is prohibited! Before using the drink, a consultation with your doctor is required.
Add or not add honey
Does it make sense to add honey directly to the culture medium? The value of the mushroom lies in its ability to process sucrose by inverting it into simple sugars.
Honey consists mainly of simple sugars – fructose and glucose. Its healing properties are based on the ideal combination of all chemical elements. There is no point in additional processing of an already balanced product. Moreover, no one can predict exactly how the processing of a symbiont placed in a nutrient solution will affect the quality of a bee product.
It is much more useful to add honey to ready-made “tea kvass”. This will enrich the drink with valuable trace elements, biologically active substances, vitamins. A teaspoon of honey is taken in a glass of solution.
The recipe for “tea kvass” on honey
However, there is a popular recipe that requires the mushroom to be infused with sugar and honey (the solution should contain 5% honey product per liter of water and the same amount of sugar) with the addition of vitamins B and C.
After standing for five to seven days, “kvass” is poured off, diluted with pure water in a ratio of 1: 2 or 1: 3. It is taken to suppress putrefactive microflora in the intestines and normalize the stomach.
According to folk healers, this remedy is safe for both children and adults. And you can take it throughout your life. To what extent such recommendations are substantiated by the real facts of successful treatment of the gastrointestinal tract is unknown.
In conclusion
The infusion is not used undiluted, as well as in long courses.
The alcohol content released during fermentation makes it impossible to take the drug when treating with drugs incompatible with alcohol consumption.
Also, it should not be drunk by drivers planning to drive within the next XNUMX hours.
Interesting fact: The American Cancer Society believes that uncontrolled intake of the drink produced by “medusomycete” can have serious side effects. However, according to a systematic review conducted in 2003, such effects are unknown to the scientific community.
