Ask Allie!
Ask Allie is our food-related advice column, where you can ask all your fermenting, cooking, baking, and pantry-related questions to get digestible answers! No question about food is off limits!
Most of you will receive an emailed reply prior to your question hitting the blog, since I frequently think you need a more immediate answer. You should anticipate 1-2 weeks between submitting your question and its appearance on blog. Although emailed replies normally take between 1-3 days, it can take up to a week.
To have your question answered in Ask Allie posts, please use the form on our website. If you prefer to be anonymous, just say so in the form and we’ll leave your name out when we answer it in the blog! Note that some submissions may be edited for clarity.
For troubleshooting active issues with a culture you’re working with, please check the FAQs or write us at support@positivelyprobiotic.com - you’ll get your answer faster that way! Please also take advantage of our Facebook group for troubleshooting, conversation, and getting to know more members of our community!
Hello Allie,
I just ordered a skyr culture and a hibiscus kombucha starter. Can you advise me on what to purchase next for bottles? Would the best be flip top amber bottles used for home beer?
Do I need a larger fermenting crock or something to make the initial batch in and then bottle it later?
When fermenting will the home made kombucha have carbonation? I like the 16 ounce flip top amber bottles online, but wanted to check with you first as this will be my first attempt in making it myself. I like it and drink it a lot. I was also wondering can I use raw local honey also instead of sugar?
I would like any other advice for a first timer. Like how do I know it’s good or if something went wrong, how long to ferment, etc.
— Patrick
I would not use anything other than swing top beer bottles. I’ve had one that wasn’t rated for beer explode before, and it was a bit of a nightmare. You don’t need a crock, but you do need SOMETHING to ferment your tea in. It won’t ferment at all in a sealed/closed container. I personally use mason jars, but I also ONLY make more kombucha if a friend needs a starter (so I’m never making much), because no one in my family enjoys drinking it.
No to honey. If you want to use honey, you need to go with jun instead of kombucha. They’re different cultures with different sugar source needs.
The kombucha shouldn’t be carbonated unless it’s done time in a swing-top. Definitely check out the activation page on our website so you can see how to properly activate, and also to have a handy reference for common troubleshooting issues.
I recently bought kefir grains from you guys. I was changing the milk from cow to goat and I ended up washing the grains under tap water. I just liked this up and realized I may have killed the grains. Will they be okay? Or should I discard the grains and milk I just used?
— Nicholas
While not ideal to do it regularly, it’s not going to be a problem if it happens every now and again. I would not expect it to alter the fermentation process, but it IS possible you’ll have a couple of batches that are less gelled while it restores any kefiran that may’ve been lost. I personally wouldn’t discard anything, but if the fermented milk isn’t to your taste, I vote mashed potatoes. I always vote potatoes for any dairy culture that didn’t do what we wanted.
I want to order the Egyptian Kombucha Starter (preferably with the scoby) and the Jun starter (preferably with the scoby). Since I live in Israel, I assume it would be best to get them both shipped together at the same time. Right now, you only have the Egyptian Kombucha starter available (without the scoby).
When do you think you will have the Jun available again (preferably with the scoby) and will the Egyptian Kombucha with the scoby be available at the same time?
— Yechezkel
I asked Sabrina about this, because she does everything with operations, and she said she expects the cultures to be back in stock in early November. The SCOBYs are usually the reason we have various kombuchas out of stock, because we have to grow them separately from our starter culture due to how long they take. All of that said, if you wind up seeing the starter only before the SCOBY versions are available, I’d get that. The SCOBY is a byproduct of fermentation rather than the part you need in order to ferment. The starter culture tea is what gets it all up and running.
So y’all know, there are a lot of you asking about kombucha, jun, and specifically those with SCOBYs. If the kind you’re looking for is in stock without the SCOBY, snag it. You’ll grow your own and be overrun by SCOBYs before you know it, and you do not need them for your brewing! We are working really hard to get all the kombuchas back in stock, and we are sorry for all the delays on those cultures y’all’re experiencing!
