Re: Measuring Honey=Sugar?

[Guest guest]

In cooking, honey is used in equal measure with sugar, or possibly slightly

less. For KT I would just use an equal measure. When using liquid sugars

for KT, they take up room in the vessel, so for recipes that " just fill "

your vessel (leaving just enough airspace), you'll need to adjust your

overall measure of water to allow for the liquid of the honey. For

example, if you use a cup of honey, you should deduct one cup of water from

your overall water measure. Otherwise you'll wind up with too much

sweetened tea for your vessel size.

--V

>Question; Kefir Papa's page about trying Kombucha with honey but could

>not remember how much honey equals the sugar? Finaly found on his page

>said 2 Tbsp. but a friend had guessed at using 1/3 cup for the 1 qrt. I

>was trying it with an extra scoby.

>-Audrey

~~~ There is no way to peace; peace is the way ~~~~

--A.J. Muste

[Guest guest]

Ok, so wait, I was told that you have to use 'white sugar' to make kombucha! Are

you saying that indeed we can use other means of sugar? Can I use organic cane

juice(crystalized)? I would be so much happier using an organic product rather

than something I spent years getting my husband to stop using!!! Thanks so

much,Joan

We love Kombucha

Re: Measuring Honey=Sugar?

In cooking, honey is used in equal measure with sugar, or possibly slightly

less. For KT I would just use an equal measure. When using liquid sugars

for KT, they take up room in the vessel, so for recipes that " just fill "

your vessel (leaving just enough airspace), you'll need to adjust your

overall measure of water to allow for the liquid of the honey. For

example, if you use a cup of honey, you should deduct one cup of water from

your overall water measure. Otherwise you'll wind up with too much

sweetened tea for your vessel size.

--V

>Question; Kefir Papa's page about trying Kombucha with honey but could

>not remember how much honey equals the sugar? Finaly found on his page

>said 2 Tbsp. but a friend had guessed at using 1/3 cup for the 1 qrt. I

>was trying it with an extra scoby.

>-Audrey

~~~ There is no way to peace; peace is the way ~~~~

--A.J. Muste

[Guest guest]

>Ok, so wait, I was told that you have to use 'white sugar' to make

>kombucha! Are you saying that indeed we can use other means of sugar? Can

>I use organic cane juice(crystalized)? I would be so much happier using an

>organic product rather than something I spent years getting my husband to

>stop using!!! Thanks so much,Joan

exactly. People who claim that organic sugar (or tea) isn't appropriate

for KT are not in possession of the facts. I guarantee you that for most

of the thousands of years KT has been being brewed (2000+ years ago the

first written reference), white sugar was NOT AVAILABLE. And all tea was

organic. People used whatever they had as sweetener. This probably

included rice syrup in Asia, barley malt syrup in Russia and Eastern

Europe, honey when it could be gotten, and possibly cane or beet sugars,

I'm not sure when those came into use, etc. I personally use agave syrup

and still plan to try barley malt and brown rice syrup. My neighbor uses

honey exclusively. The only thing I would caution against would be to use

crystallized fructose exclusively, because the brew needs glucose and

refined fructose is 100% fructose. But even that could be a myth; someone

might want to try the fructose. So yes, organic crystallized cane juice is

perfectly wonderful if that is what you choose.

The KT flavor will reflect any flavors of the sweetener used. A lot of

people in the US are accustomed to white sugar which doesn't seem to have a

flavor of its own (but in fact does). So, it's a matter of taste, not one

of safety or health benefits, at all. In fact, I firmly believe that the

better the ingredients that go into the kombucha, the better the ultimate

benefits. Yes, you're feeding the culture and not yourself when you use

the sugar, but the fact is that there are residues left. If those residues

contain impurities, the KT has to detox those impurities before it can

detox you. Fewer toxins in the KT, more ability for the KT to detox

ourselves. Further, by using a sweetener that you are comfortable with, I

believe that you are customizing the KT to be even more healthy for

yourself on both energetic and material dimensions.

Beyond the questions of how sweeteners affect KT itself, I have long made

a practice of supporting the market for organic because if our world is to

survive with humans on it I believe that organic is mandatory. So again,

choosing a sweetener that supports that goal works on spirit and material

planes. You can be sure that your choice is supporting humane working

conditions for the farmers, fair trade practices, and sustainability for

the environment, as well as greater personal health. Those are spiritual

achievements, imo, as well as material.

hth

--V

~~~ There is no way to peace; peace is the way ~~~~

--A.J. Muste