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For the love of fermentation!

A few months ago, I rekindled my love for kefir and restarted giving grains to anyone who wants. Given that I am a frustrated microbiologist–yes, at one point in my life I enveloped myself in the smell of working autoclaves and the scent of formalin–taking up love-based fermentation naturally became second nature.

Choosing the raw living foods lifestyle made me appreciate food preparation and fermented food, these I took for granted for many years as I mostly prepared food unconsciously, without gratitude. Fermentation allowed me to sentiently understand and respect the lives and processes (aka hard work) of plants, bees, animals and microbes in order to feed me. There’s so much dedication and energy that goes to each ounce of kefir and kombucha, a forkful of sauerkraut, a drop of honey.Experiencing all this contributed to my, let me say, “above average” state of health and well-being. Fermentation coupled with raw food and energy consciousness, I am completely healed of my GERD, obesity and high blood cholesterol levels, my blood sugar level found stability. Unsurprisingly, I became resistant to flu, cough, cold seasons.

To share my love of fermentation, I improved and systematized the way I give kefir grains to their loving recipients. Before, I would put live activated grains with fermenting kefir water in small jars and post the dates when I can deliver in my kefir share calendar. Since then, I quadrupled my production–my household’s consumption excluded–due to the significant increase of requests and the way I was giving them away is not working as well as I initially thought it would. I always run out of jars and there’s the chronic spillage concern which made transport bothersome for both giver and recipient.

Dehydrated Kefir Grains

dehydrated and inactive kefir grains which plump up to 400% more in volume upon activation

To make this entire love-share process sustainable and easier, I started dehydrating kefir grains and kombucha mothers–otherwise known as SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast), I started giving these away since December 2011–and packing them in zip lock bags. Also, I prepared kefir and kombucha activation instructions, recipes, FAQs and other reference material for its recipients, all to be sent via e-mail because I commit to love our planet by minimizing usage of paper and plastic. On top of this, I provide online support to all recipients. On a regular basis, I give kefir + fermentation talks and demos in Asha Peri’s The Lighter Side of Raw living foods workshops at Dahon Kusina.

Dehydrated Kombucha Mother

dehydrated and inactive kombucha mothers which plump up to 800% in volume upon activation

If you’re interested in getting either sugar kefir grains or kombucha mother or both, please get in touch with me (click contact on the right side of the home page) for details and I will get back to you as soon as I can. The grains/mothers will be shipped . True to the code of kefir and kombucha ferment-ators, I share and do not intend sell or make a profit out of these miraculous microbes, only a minimal energy exchange for the sugar, tea leaves, packaging, energy consumed in dehydration and shipping.

Want to know more about kefir and kombucha while you’re making up your mind to commit to fermentation? Below are some links to read up:

 

P.S.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Ineng and her family behind Kefir2Share who generously gave me my first kefir grains and Marie of Kitchen Revolution for giving me my first kombucha mothers. Such generosity can only be paid forward.

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