Wartime food preparation ideas:
CHINESE CAKE
1 and a half lb (pound — one is approx 455 grams) green beans
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 lb mashed potatoes
4 oz boiled bacon
2 teaspoons dried sage
1 teaspoon sugar
crisp bread crumbs
Soak the green beans for 24 hours, then simmer them for one and a half hours in enough water to keep them covered. Mash beans thoroughly, mix with potato, chopped bacon, sage, pepper and sugar. If the paste seems stiff, add a little bean water. Grease a cake tin, sprinkle the sides and bottom with the bread crumbs, press the mixture into the tin, cover with greased paper and bake in a moderate oven for 1 hour. Serve with cabbage or Brussels sprouts and brown gravy
CORNED BEEF RISSOLES
4 oz (ounce — 1 = aprox. 28 grams) corned beef
Half lb mashed potatoes
Half lb mixed vegetables
4 oz wholemeal breadcrumbs seasoning,
pinch herbs
4 tablespoons brown sauce or vegetable water
Flake the corned beef and mix with the mashed cooked vegetables and breadcrumbs. Season and add the mixed herbs. Bind the mixture with sauce or vegetable water, form into shapes. Bake in a hot oven
OATMEAL SAUSAGES
2 tablespoons of chopped onion
Half oz cooking fat
4 oz oatmeal
Half pint water
2 teaspoons salt
Quarter teaspoon pepper
2 chopped meat, sausage or bacon
Browned bread crumbs. Fry the onion in the fat until lightly browned. Work in the oatmeal, add the water gradually and bring to the boil, stirring all the time. Cook for 10-15 mins, stirring frequently. Add the seasoning and chopped meat, mix well and spread out to cool. Divide into 8 pieces and roll into sausage shapes. Coat with browned crumbs and fry or grill
FISH HOT POT
Cooking time: ¾ hour
Ingredients:
1 lb white fish, filleted,
little flour,
salt and pepper,
4 oz grated cheese,
1 ½ lb sliced potatoes,
vegetable stock or household milk or water,
chopped parsley.
4 Servings
Cut the fillets of fish into pieces. Roll in flour and put in a greased fireproof dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then with grated cheese, and cover with a layer of potatoes. Pour in vegetable stock, household milk or water to fill a quarter of the dish. Cook in moderate oven for three quarters of an hour. Sprinkle with plenty of chopped parsley
POTATO CUTLETS FOR BREAKFAST
These make an excellent start to the day; and one of the beauties of them is that you can prepare them the day before.
Scrub 1½ lb potatoes and boil in their skins.
When cooked, peel and mash them thoroughly.
Scrape ½ lb carrots, boil till tender and mash.
Mix the potatoes and carrots together, season with salt and pepper, then shape into cutlets. Dip in browned breadcrumbs, made by baking stale bread in the oven and crushing it. Next morning, place the cutlets in a greased tin and bake in a moderate oven for about 15 mins, or fry them in a very little hot fat
BACON TURNOVERS
Grill 4 oz bacon strips cook until browned and the fat is brown and well frizzled.
Pour off the liquid fat and set aside to get cold and congealed.
When quite cold treat as lard.
Rub it into 8 oz of self-raising flour.
Season with pepper.
Mix to a soft dough with the water. Roll out and cut into rounds.
Finely dice 8 oz of cooked mixed vegetables
Moisten with a little gravy. Put a spoonful of the mixture into the centre of each round,fold over and seal the edges, brush with the remains of the fat and bake in a moderate oven for 25-30 mins or until golden and appetising brown. These turnovers are delicious cold or hot
CARROT-CAP SALAD
Every woman who values her good complexion should have this salad regularly.
Cook two or three good-sized potatoes in their skins. When tender, strain without drying off to avoid making them floury. Slice and dice neatly; then dress in vinaigrette dressing (two parts of salad oil to one of vinegar, pepper and salt to taste) while they are still hot. Pile in a salad bowl lined with a few shredded lettuce leaves or water-cress. Sprinkle with a little chopped chives or rings of spring onion and pile high with grated carrot. To make a more substantial dish, add one or two boned sardines or fillets of smoked herring
SAGE AND MINCE PUDDING
Cooking time: 1 ½ hours
Ingredients:
Mix together 8 oz self- raising flour (or plain flour with 2 teaspoons baking powder),
1 lb grated raw carrots,
3 oz minced stewing steak,
2 tablespoons packet sage and onion stuffing,
1 finely chopped onion,
2 oz melted dripping or fat and seasoning to taste.
This should form a stiff dough, but if too dry a little water may be added.Grease a 2 pint basin, put in the mixture. Cover with a cloth or margarine papers and steam or boil for 1½ hours. Serve with green vegetables and a good gravy. Quantity: 4 Servings
MOCK APRICOT FLAN
Line a large 9 inch pie plate or flan dish with short crust pastry.
Bake without a filling in a hot oven for 20-26 mins until firm and golden.
Meanwhile grate 1 lb of young carrots.
Put into a saucepan with a few drops of almond essence,
4 tablespoons of water.
Cook gently until a thick pulp. Spoon into the cooked pastry.
Spread with a little plumb jam if this can be spared.
Note: carrots really do taste like apricots
EGGLESS SPONGE PUDDING
6 oz self raising flour
2 oz cooking butter
2 oz sugar
1 tablespoon brown rice syrup
Half teaspoon of baking soda
1 dessertspoon of vinegar
Milk to mix
Sift the flour,
rub in the butter add the sugar and golden brown rice syrup. Blend the b'soda with the vinegar add to the other ingredients with enough milk to make a sticky consistency. Put the mixture into a greased basin, allow room to rise. Cover with a plate or buttered paper. Steam for one and a half hours or until firm. Serve hot with fruit
MOCK CREAM
1oz margarine
1oz sugar
1tablespoon of powder milk
I tablespoon of milk
Cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the milk powder and liquid milk.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Incredible Dinner
I made the most incredible dinner lastnight. I stuffed chicken breasts with feta, basil and roasted garlic (I always keep roasted garlic in the freezer.) I felt inspired, plus I had to do something different besides roasting, grilling or baking. I was amazing. I stuffed the breast with the seasoned cheese and browned them in my pan deglazed the pan with red wine (I know I know, I didn't have white wine) and baked them in the oven until done. I removed the chicken and added butter to the juices in the pan and voilà what a work of art. I had some sautéed bok choy in the freezer ( I cook and freeze our harvest, it's a lot of work, but in the winter months it's a godsend!)
Friday, September 4, 2009
HUNZA DIET BREAD RECIPE
Hunza Diet Bread is a delicious, dense, chewy bread that's very nutritious and is almost impervious to spoilage. The following recipe makes a huge batch of approximately 60 (sixty) 2 inch squares, high in protein, vitamins and minerals. Keeps weeks at room temperature, even longer in the fridge and indefinitely in the freezer. The recipe for this wonderful bread is as follows:
* 4 cups of water
*3.5 to 4 pounds of organic buckwheat or millet flour
* 1.5 cups of canola oil
* 1.5 cups of natural unrefined sugar
* 16 ounces of honey
* 16 ounces of molasses
* 4 ounces of powdered milk
* 1 teaspoon sea salt
* 1 teaspoon organic cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon organic ground nutmeg
* 2 teaspoons baking powder (non aluminium)
Hunza Diet Bread has a taste that is very satisfying and chewy all on its own, but you may also add, chopped walnuts, almonds to the above ingredients.
Mix ingredients.
Grease and lightly flour cooking pan(s).
Ideally use baking trays with about 1 inch high sides.
Pour batter in pan(s) half an inch thick over the base.
Bake at about 300 degrees for 1 hour.
After cooking, dry the bread in the oven for two (2) hours at a very low heat - 90 degrees.
After it is cooled tip out and cut into approx 2 inch x 2 inch squares.
Store it wrapped in cloth in a container. Hunza Diet Bread is made from natural buckwheat or millet flour. It is rich in phosphorous, potassium, iron, calcium, manganese and other minerals, as nothing has been destroyed in the preparation from the organic wheat. Thus it contains the essential nourishment of the grain. This is why you must ONLY use organic buckwheat or millet flour to make your own Hunza Diet Bread.
Suggestions to lose weight with HUNZA DIET BREAD: Each piece of bread is thinly spread with butter for a total of approximately 100 calories.
Plan A: Eat 1 piece every 5 hours of the 16 hours you're awake. That's 3 pieces which total 300 calories. This is the fastest way to lose weight. It works faster than any high protein diet. Why? You have more energy and burn more calories. Second, the high fiber bread keeps your digestive system regular. Third, your body stays healthy. A healthy body means a properly functioning metabolic system.
Plan B: Really gorge yourself with the bread. Two pieces every four hours for a total of 8 pieces but only 800 calories. You'll feel full all day.
Plan C: Eat a piece in the morning for breakfast and a piece 3 hours before your dinner and you will eat a great deal less.
Plan D: Eat a piece of HUNZA DIET BREAD, 10 minutes before you eat your regular meal. When we do this we eat only a fraction, such as 1/4 of what we would normally eat.
Plan E: Eat the bread at the end of meals that don't fill you up enough, such as low calorie meals. This is a perfect way to use the bread. You eat a low calorie meal, enjoy it, then eat a piece or two of bread to fill you up. No urge to snack.
***I have not tried this one yet, but through the flu season I want more protein in my diet so I will be making this bread and freezing it for quick nutrition***
Hunza Diet Bread is a delicious, dense, chewy bread that's very nutritious and is almost impervious to spoilage. The following recipe makes a huge batch of approximately 60 (sixty) 2 inch squares, high in protein, vitamins and minerals. Keeps weeks at room temperature, even longer in the fridge and indefinitely in the freezer. The recipe for this wonderful bread is as follows:
* 4 cups of water
*3.5 to 4 pounds of organic buckwheat or millet flour
* 1.5 cups of canola oil
* 1.5 cups of natural unrefined sugar
* 16 ounces of honey
* 16 ounces of molasses
* 4 ounces of powdered milk
* 1 teaspoon sea salt
* 1 teaspoon organic cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon organic ground nutmeg
* 2 teaspoons baking powder (non aluminium)
Hunza Diet Bread has a taste that is very satisfying and chewy all on its own, but you may also add, chopped walnuts, almonds to the above ingredients.
Mix ingredients.
Grease and lightly flour cooking pan(s).
Ideally use baking trays with about 1 inch high sides.
Pour batter in pan(s) half an inch thick over the base.
Bake at about 300 degrees for 1 hour.
After cooking, dry the bread in the oven for two (2) hours at a very low heat - 90 degrees.
After it is cooled tip out and cut into approx 2 inch x 2 inch squares.
Store it wrapped in cloth in a container. Hunza Diet Bread is made from natural buckwheat or millet flour. It is rich in phosphorous, potassium, iron, calcium, manganese and other minerals, as nothing has been destroyed in the preparation from the organic wheat. Thus it contains the essential nourishment of the grain. This is why you must ONLY use organic buckwheat or millet flour to make your own Hunza Diet Bread.
Suggestions to lose weight with HUNZA DIET BREAD: Each piece of bread is thinly spread with butter for a total of approximately 100 calories.
Plan A: Eat 1 piece every 5 hours of the 16 hours you're awake. That's 3 pieces which total 300 calories. This is the fastest way to lose weight. It works faster than any high protein diet. Why? You have more energy and burn more calories. Second, the high fiber bread keeps your digestive system regular. Third, your body stays healthy. A healthy body means a properly functioning metabolic system.
Plan B: Really gorge yourself with the bread. Two pieces every four hours for a total of 8 pieces but only 800 calories. You'll feel full all day.
Plan C: Eat a piece in the morning for breakfast and a piece 3 hours before your dinner and you will eat a great deal less.
Plan D: Eat a piece of HUNZA DIET BREAD, 10 minutes before you eat your regular meal. When we do this we eat only a fraction, such as 1/4 of what we would normally eat.
Plan E: Eat the bread at the end of meals that don't fill you up enough, such as low calorie meals. This is a perfect way to use the bread. You eat a low calorie meal, enjoy it, then eat a piece or two of bread to fill you up. No urge to snack.
***I have not tried this one yet, but through the flu season I want more protein in my diet so I will be making this bread and freezing it for quick nutrition***
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Mastering the Art of Kombucha
The Basics
1 kombucha culture (or scoby)
2 litres of water
3 or 4 tea bags or 3 or 4 teaspoons of organic tea (green or white)
160 grams evportated cane juice
200 ml of kombucha from a previous batch as a starter or 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar if you don't have any kombucha.
The Equipment
A 3 litre glass Pyrex bowl
A tea towel for covering the bowl
A rubber band or piece of elastic to secure the tea towel
A teapot or saucepan to make the tea in
A measuring jug that can measure 2 litres
A scale to measure the sugar
A strainer
Some bottles for storing the finished drink
The Method
A Note on Cleanliness. Make sure everything is very clean when handling kombucha. It's a living culture, a complex system of bacteria and yeasts and you don't want risk contaminating it. Use freshly cleaned hands, clean jars and clean non metallic equipment.
Make the tea
Make a pot of tea with the tea bags and leave it to brew for 15 to 20 minutes. Alternatively add your tea to a saucepan and simmer it gently for 5 minutes.
Strain the tea into your measuring jug, add the sugar and stir it until it dissolves. Now add cold water to bring the tea up to 2 litres. Hot tea can kill the culture. It should be no more than blood heat before you add it to your culture, so if it’s still too warm then let it cool down before you add it to the bowl.
Making the brew
Add the starter. Into glass bowl put the starter liquid from the previous batch of kombucha. If this is your first batch then use 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar as your starter, (It adds the acid environment the culture likes) or some commercial kombucha if you have some. Once you’ve made your first batch you’ll have your own kombucha to use as a starter on the next batch.
Pour the cool tea into the bowl. Make sure your tea is cool before you add it to the kombucha culture! Hot tea can kill the culture. It should be no more than tempture before you add it to your starter.
Add the kombucha scoby. Pick up your scoby and slide it into the bowl. It will probably float but sometimes they sink. It will make no difference if it floats or sinks so don’t worry about it. If the scoby has a 'dirty' side where it's darker in colour and has beard like brown bits sticking to it then put that side facing down into the tea. The brown bits are yeasts.
Cover it and leave it to ferment.
Put your tea towel over the bowl and secure it with a rubber band or a piece of elastic. This keeps contamination out of your culture. Fruit flies especially like the smell of kombucha and can appear like magic out of thin air to lay their eggs in the scoby. So it’s important to cover it properly.
Put the bowl in a warm dark place 70°-86°F like a kitchen cupboard or near a heat source. And that’s it!
Checking The Brew
The fermentation will take 5-14 days depending on the temperature. If you check your brew after 2 or 3 days you’ll notice a scum forming on the surface. It’s not scum at all; it’s the first thin membrane of your new kombucha scoby.
Start tasting the brew after 4 or 5 days. Gently move the scoby aside and dip a wooden spoon in to the liquid. When the kombucha is ready it should be neither too sweet nor too sour. This is rather a personal taste and will depend on how much evaportated cane juice you want left in the brew. It’s up to you, so test it every day until its the way you like it.
The round creamy blob is the starter culture. All around it a thin new culture is developing and you can see bubbles under the surface.
In this close up the new scoby is lifted off the surface of the kombucha so you can see how thin and transparent it is compared to the starter scoby at the bottom of the photo. The yellow sediment floating in the brew are yeasts and quite natural.
Bottling
When the kombucha is ready, with clean hands gently lift the mother culture and it’s offspring out onto a clean plate.
Strain the kombucha into your measuring jug leaving behind about 200ml in the bowl as a starter for the next batch.
Now fill your clean bottles with the kombucha, label them and store them in a cupboard or the fridge. You can use any kinds of bottles but some batches will be a lot fizzier than others and it's a good idea to use pop bottles, that have rubber gaskets on them. This kind of bottle will let out any excess pressure and prevent explosions!
After bottling your kombucha make up a second batch of tea for the culture and set your second brew to ferment.
Kombucha is ready to drink immediately, but storing the bottled kombucha for a month or two will give you will give you an even better drink. This kind of bottle conditioning can improve the flavour as any home wine brewer will know. The sugar continues to ferment a little, giving you lighter, drier taste and producing more fizz.
The kombucha will often grow little scobys on the top of the liquid in the bottles. This is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about but look out for them when you take your first mouthful!
You are now ready to drink your first home made kombucha!
The Next Batch
Now you can make a second batch of sweet tea and when it’s cool add it to the bowl and the waiting starter. Then add your scoby and put the tea towel back over the bowl and put the bowl away to ferment.
For your first 2 or 3 batches it’s a good idea to use both the mother and the baby together until the new scoby thickens up. When they are new they can be paper thin. With each brewing a new layer will form on top and your scoby will get thicker. Then, when it's somewhere between a quarter and a half an inch thick, you can gently separate the mother and baby and use the mother to start off a second brew.
Each scoby will grow with each brew, gradually getting thicker. You can leave them like this and occasionally peel of a layer from the bottom and discard it. Or you can separate them and either pass new scobys on to friends or store them as spares in another jar of sweet tea which you can keep in the fridge to slow down fermentation. It’s useful to have spares in case your active culture becomes contaminated and you need to discard the kombucha and the scoby and start again.
Containers
The kombucha culture needs oxygen for the fermentation. A large glass bowl gives a large surface area and is an excellent brewing container. But you can use taller jars to brew the kombucha, it will simply take longer to brew because there's a smaller surface area exposed to oxygen. So 5-10 days in a bowl becomes more like 10-20 days in a jar.
Several brewing suppliers now carry kombucha fermenting jars. A large pickle or sweet jar will do very well too.
Temperature
Kombucha likes a steady temperature of 70°-86°F. A steady temperature gives a more consistent brew. In summer when the air is warm this isn't too difficult. Keeping the brew in an airing cupboard will keep it at a constant temperature too. But if you can't do that then in the winter as the temperature changes from cold to warm with the central heating in modern homes there will be a fluctuation in the brewing time and possibly in fizziness and taste too.
Tea
Kombucha requires tea for its fermentation. That's real tea (Camellia Sinensis) not herbal tea. Use oolong, green or white tea and look for organic tea as contaminants in some commercial teas can affect the culture.
Kombucha can be also be sensitive to strong aromatic oils. A tea like Earl Grey that contains Bergamot oil, can sometimes kill or badly affect the culture. So avoid these types of flavoured tea.
Sugar
Use orgainc evporated cane juice. Sugar is used by the yeasts during fermentation, and is broken down and transformed into acids, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and carbon dioxide. Sugar is also involved in the propagation of the Kombucha culture. It uses the sugar to build the scoby. At the end of the fermentation period, if done correctly, the sugar will have been virtually all converted and there should be little or no sugar left in the kombucha. Using raw brown sugars can give the brew a bad taste and result in poor culture formation.
Water
Chlorine added to water will kill the millions of friendly bacteria in Kombucha. That’s why the water you use for brewing your kombucha tea should be purified. USE ONLY PURE WATER
1 kombucha culture (or scoby)
2 litres of water
3 or 4 tea bags or 3 or 4 teaspoons of organic tea (green or white)
160 grams evportated cane juice
200 ml of kombucha from a previous batch as a starter or 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar if you don't have any kombucha.
The Equipment
A 3 litre glass Pyrex bowl
A tea towel for covering the bowl
A rubber band or piece of elastic to secure the tea towel
A teapot or saucepan to make the tea in
A measuring jug that can measure 2 litres
A scale to measure the sugar
A strainer
Some bottles for storing the finished drink
The Method
A Note on Cleanliness. Make sure everything is very clean when handling kombucha. It's a living culture, a complex system of bacteria and yeasts and you don't want risk contaminating it. Use freshly cleaned hands, clean jars and clean non metallic equipment.
Make the tea
Make a pot of tea with the tea bags and leave it to brew for 15 to 20 minutes. Alternatively add your tea to a saucepan and simmer it gently for 5 minutes.
Strain the tea into your measuring jug, add the sugar and stir it until it dissolves. Now add cold water to bring the tea up to 2 litres. Hot tea can kill the culture. It should be no more than blood heat before you add it to your culture, so if it’s still too warm then let it cool down before you add it to the bowl.
Making the brew
Add the starter. Into glass bowl put the starter liquid from the previous batch of kombucha. If this is your first batch then use 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar as your starter, (It adds the acid environment the culture likes) or some commercial kombucha if you have some. Once you’ve made your first batch you’ll have your own kombucha to use as a starter on the next batch.
Pour the cool tea into the bowl. Make sure your tea is cool before you add it to the kombucha culture! Hot tea can kill the culture. It should be no more than tempture before you add it to your starter.
Add the kombucha scoby. Pick up your scoby and slide it into the bowl. It will probably float but sometimes they sink. It will make no difference if it floats or sinks so don’t worry about it. If the scoby has a 'dirty' side where it's darker in colour and has beard like brown bits sticking to it then put that side facing down into the tea. The brown bits are yeasts.
Cover it and leave it to ferment.
Put your tea towel over the bowl and secure it with a rubber band or a piece of elastic. This keeps contamination out of your culture. Fruit flies especially like the smell of kombucha and can appear like magic out of thin air to lay their eggs in the scoby. So it’s important to cover it properly.
Put the bowl in a warm dark place 70°-86°F like a kitchen cupboard or near a heat source. And that’s it!
Checking The Brew
The fermentation will take 5-14 days depending on the temperature. If you check your brew after 2 or 3 days you’ll notice a scum forming on the surface. It’s not scum at all; it’s the first thin membrane of your new kombucha scoby.
Start tasting the brew after 4 or 5 days. Gently move the scoby aside and dip a wooden spoon in to the liquid. When the kombucha is ready it should be neither too sweet nor too sour. This is rather a personal taste and will depend on how much evaportated cane juice you want left in the brew. It’s up to you, so test it every day until its the way you like it.
The round creamy blob is the starter culture. All around it a thin new culture is developing and you can see bubbles under the surface.
In this close up the new scoby is lifted off the surface of the kombucha so you can see how thin and transparent it is compared to the starter scoby at the bottom of the photo. The yellow sediment floating in the brew are yeasts and quite natural.
Bottling
When the kombucha is ready, with clean hands gently lift the mother culture and it’s offspring out onto a clean plate.
Strain the kombucha into your measuring jug leaving behind about 200ml in the bowl as a starter for the next batch.
Now fill your clean bottles with the kombucha, label them and store them in a cupboard or the fridge. You can use any kinds of bottles but some batches will be a lot fizzier than others and it's a good idea to use pop bottles, that have rubber gaskets on them. This kind of bottle will let out any excess pressure and prevent explosions!
After bottling your kombucha make up a second batch of tea for the culture and set your second brew to ferment.
Kombucha is ready to drink immediately, but storing the bottled kombucha for a month or two will give you will give you an even better drink. This kind of bottle conditioning can improve the flavour as any home wine brewer will know. The sugar continues to ferment a little, giving you lighter, drier taste and producing more fizz.
The kombucha will often grow little scobys on the top of the liquid in the bottles. This is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about but look out for them when you take your first mouthful!
You are now ready to drink your first home made kombucha!
The Next Batch
Now you can make a second batch of sweet tea and when it’s cool add it to the bowl and the waiting starter. Then add your scoby and put the tea towel back over the bowl and put the bowl away to ferment.
For your first 2 or 3 batches it’s a good idea to use both the mother and the baby together until the new scoby thickens up. When they are new they can be paper thin. With each brewing a new layer will form on top and your scoby will get thicker. Then, when it's somewhere between a quarter and a half an inch thick, you can gently separate the mother and baby and use the mother to start off a second brew.
Each scoby will grow with each brew, gradually getting thicker. You can leave them like this and occasionally peel of a layer from the bottom and discard it. Or you can separate them and either pass new scobys on to friends or store them as spares in another jar of sweet tea which you can keep in the fridge to slow down fermentation. It’s useful to have spares in case your active culture becomes contaminated and you need to discard the kombucha and the scoby and start again.
Containers
The kombucha culture needs oxygen for the fermentation. A large glass bowl gives a large surface area and is an excellent brewing container. But you can use taller jars to brew the kombucha, it will simply take longer to brew because there's a smaller surface area exposed to oxygen. So 5-10 days in a bowl becomes more like 10-20 days in a jar.
Several brewing suppliers now carry kombucha fermenting jars. A large pickle or sweet jar will do very well too.
Temperature
Kombucha likes a steady temperature of 70°-86°F. A steady temperature gives a more consistent brew. In summer when the air is warm this isn't too difficult. Keeping the brew in an airing cupboard will keep it at a constant temperature too. But if you can't do that then in the winter as the temperature changes from cold to warm with the central heating in modern homes there will be a fluctuation in the brewing time and possibly in fizziness and taste too.
Tea
Kombucha requires tea for its fermentation. That's real tea (Camellia Sinensis) not herbal tea. Use oolong, green or white tea and look for organic tea as contaminants in some commercial teas can affect the culture.
Kombucha can be also be sensitive to strong aromatic oils. A tea like Earl Grey that contains Bergamot oil, can sometimes kill or badly affect the culture. So avoid these types of flavoured tea.
Sugar
Use orgainc evporated cane juice. Sugar is used by the yeasts during fermentation, and is broken down and transformed into acids, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and carbon dioxide. Sugar is also involved in the propagation of the Kombucha culture. It uses the sugar to build the scoby. At the end of the fermentation period, if done correctly, the sugar will have been virtually all converted and there should be little or no sugar left in the kombucha. Using raw brown sugars can give the brew a bad taste and result in poor culture formation.
Water
Chlorine added to water will kill the millions of friendly bacteria in Kombucha. That’s why the water you use for brewing your kombucha tea should be purified. USE ONLY PURE WATER
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