By Brian Barth
René Redzepi and David Zilber talk us through how to make a delicious Fall kombucha from their new release The Noma Guide to Fermentation.
Apple Kombucha
Juicing your own apples will allow you to use local varieties and create a blend to your liking, but feel free to use a good-quality store-bought unfiltered apple cider; farmstands often sell fresh-pressed cider in season. Because the juice is naturally sweet, you won't need to add sugar to this recipe. The in-depth instructions for Lemon Verbena Kombucha serve as a template for all the kombucha recipes in this chapter. We recommend you read that recipe before starting in on this one.
Ingredients
- 2 kilograms unfiltered apple juice
- 200 grams unpasteurized kombucha or the liquid that comes with a packaged SCOBY
- 1 SCOBY
Instructions
1. Pour the apple juice into the fermentation vessel. Backslop by stirring in the 200 grams unpasteurized kombucha. Wearing gloves, carefully place the SCOBY into the liquid. Cover the top of the fermentation vessel with cheesecloth or a breathable kitchen towel and secure it with a rubber band. Label the kombucha and set it in a warm place.
2. Leave the kombucha to ferment, tracking its progress each day. Make sure the top of the SCOBY doesn't dry out; use a ladle to moisten it with some of the liquid, if necessary. Once you're happy with the flavor of your kombucha—probably between 7 and 10 days from the start—transfer the SCOBY to a container for storage and strain the kombucha. Consume immediately or refrigerate, freeze, or bottle it.
Suggested Uses
Apple Kombucha Herb Tonic
Blending apple kombucha with fresh herbs infuses the liquid with ethereal aromatic qualities. In Copenhagen, we're fortunate to be able to take a walk around the neighborhood and find young Douglas fir branches to make a brisk apple-pine tonic. (Whir 25 grams fresh fir needles with 500 grams apple kombucha in a blender, strain, and serve.) But you can also find plenty of suitable dance partners for apple kombucha at your local market. Use a stand blender to whir half a bunch of basil or 10 grams picked rosemary needles with 500 grams apple kombucha. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve for an invigorating pick-me-up.
Apple-Vegetable Smoothie
Blending cooked vegetables with fruit kombuchas is an absolutely delicious way to get a little fiber (and also a great way to sneak more vegetables into your kids' diets). Good matches for apple kombucha include spinach, sorrel, cabbage, or baked beets (which also pair well with rose kombucha). Because the vegetables are so full of fiber, they will thicken up in a blender nicely. Aim for a 4:1 ratio of kombucha to vegetable, and blend for at least a minute before passing it through a fine-mesh sieve and serving.
Reposted with permission from our media associate Modern Farmer.
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The bright patterns and recognizable designs of Waterlust's activewear aren't just for show. In fact, they're meant to promote the conversation around sustainability and give back to the ocean science and conservation community.
Each design is paired with a research lab, nonprofit, or education organization that has high intellectual merit and the potential to move the needle in its respective field. For each product sold, Waterlust donates 10% of profits to these conservation partners.
Eye-Catching Designs Made from Recycled Plastic Bottles
waterlust.com / @abamabam
The company sells a range of eco-friendly items like leggings, rash guards, and board shorts that are made using recycled post-consumer plastic bottles. There are currently 16 causes represented by distinct marine-life patterns, from whale shark research and invasive lionfish removal to sockeye salmon monitoring and abalone restoration.
One such organization is Get Inspired, a nonprofit that specializes in ocean restoration and environmental education. Get Inspired founder, marine biologist Nancy Caruso, says supporting on-the-ground efforts is one thing that sets Waterlust apart, like their apparel line that supports Get Inspired abalone restoration programs.
"All of us [conservation partners] are doing something," Caruso said. "We're not putting up exhibits and talking about it — although that is important — we're in the field."
Waterlust not only helps its conservation partners financially so they can continue their important work. It also helps them get the word out about what they're doing, whether that's through social media spotlights, photo and video projects, or the informative note card that comes with each piece of apparel.
"They're doing their part for sure, pushing the information out across all of their channels, and I think that's what makes them so interesting," Caruso said.
And then there are the clothes, which speak for themselves.
Advocate Apparel to Start Conversations About Conservation
waterlust.com / @oceanraysphotography
Waterlust's concept of "advocate apparel" encourages people to see getting dressed every day as an opportunity to not only express their individuality and style, but also to advance the conversation around marine science. By infusing science into clothing, people can visually represent species and ecosystems in need of advocacy — something that, more often than not, leads to a teaching moment.
"When people wear Waterlust gear, it's just a matter of time before somebody asks them about the bright, funky designs," said Waterlust's CEO, Patrick Rynne. "That moment is incredibly special, because it creates an intimate opportunity for the wearer to share what they've learned with another."
The idea for the company came to Rynne when he was a Ph.D. student in marine science.
"I was surrounded by incredible people that were discovering fascinating things but noticed that often their work wasn't reaching the general public in creative and engaging ways," he said. "That seemed like a missed opportunity with big implications."
Waterlust initially focused on conventional media, like film and photography, to promote ocean science, but the team quickly realized engagement on social media didn't translate to action or even knowledge sharing offscreen.
Rynne also saw the "in one ear, out the other" issue in the classroom — if students didn't repeatedly engage with the topics they learned, they'd quickly forget them.
"We decided that if we truly wanted to achieve our goal of bringing science into people's lives and have it stick, it would need to be through a process that is frequently repeated, fun, and functional," Rynne said. "That's when we thought about clothing."
Support Marine Research and Sustainability in Style
To date, Waterlust has sold tens of thousands of pieces of apparel in over 100 countries, and the interactions its products have sparked have had clear implications for furthering science communication.
For Caruso alone, it's led to opportunities to share her abalone restoration methods with communities far and wide.
"It moves my small little world of what I'm doing here in Orange County, California, across the entire globe," she said. "That's one of the beautiful things about our partnership."
Check out all of the different eco-conscious apparel options available from Waterlust to help promote ocean conservation.
Melissa Smith is an avid writer, scuba diver, backpacker, and all-around outdoor enthusiast. She graduated from the University of Florida with degrees in journalism and sustainable studies. Before joining EcoWatch, Melissa worked as the managing editor of Scuba Diving magazine and the communications manager of The Ocean Agency, a non-profit that's featured in the Emmy award-winning documentary Chasing Coral.