Kombucha Vinegar - From fermented tea drink to delicious salad dressing

So you can use it to make sour kombucha

The step from a fermented tea drink to a delicious vinegar is really not complicated. If you have produced too much kombucha, it does not have to be disposed of immediately. With a little patience, your tea drink will turn into delicious vinegar in 4 to 10 weeks. This tastes similar to apple cider vinegar without any additional spices. Here, too, there are no limits when it comes to flavors.

How is kombucha vinegar made?

First, you simply set up a new approach to fermentation. How this works in detail is explained here again for fermentation newcomers .

The tea fungus now also becomes the mother of vinegar for yours. Kombucha is made from a so-called starter liquid, tea, sugar and with the help of a tea fungus (symbiosis of yeast and bacterial cultures). Acid is formed during fermentation. The longer the fermentation lasts, the more acid is produced. The added sugar ferments more and more over time. In order to make vinegar from it, it simply has to ferment much longer. Since this process can stretch over several weeks, you need a little more patience than with the usual fermentation of 7 to 14 days. Normal vinegar maturity is reached between 4 to 10 weeks.

When is your kombucha vinegar ready?

As with kombucha, this cannot be said in general terms. We recommend a fermentation of 4 weeks first. Then the finishing touches can be done. The liquid should be brought to a pH of around 2. For this you can add a tablespoon of sugar at an interval of 2 weeks in a period of 6 weeks. This helps the tea fungus ferment and you get the very acidic environment faster. In between you can of course always taste with a small spoon whether the vinegar tastes appealing to you.

Refine kombucha vinegar with spices

Bring even more flavor to your vinegar with spices! There are no limits to the flavors here. We recommend that you store the refined vinegar in a closed bottle in a cool and dark place for another 2-3 weeks.

Possible ingredients to refine:

• thyme
• mint
• oregano
• basil
• Garlic
• onions
• shallots
• Lemon peel

 

FAQs

Can the used Scoby be used for a new Kombucha batch after making Kombucha Vinegar?

The tea fungus can then continue to be used for the fermentation of further Kombucha without any problems.

How long does the bottled vinegar keep?

Similar to kombucha, the homemade vinegar will not go bad in the fridge. Nevertheless, we recommend not to store it for longer than 2 years and to use it up before then.