As I live off grid, making jam is the perfect way to preserve fruit. However, I find my body does not like the sugar. This has meant I have been looking for different ways to use the jam and I think I have now come up with the perfect solution.

One day, after making a batch of elderberry jam and tincture, I poured myself a glass of kombucha and bing! The idea hit. I can use jam to flavour kombucha! The kombucha SCOBY will eat the sugar, resulting in me not only brewing my own probiotics, but making pop (what we call fizzy drinks here is Wales in the UK) that is good for me!

Now if you are thinking, kombucha, SCOBY, what on earth are you talking about Salena, then check out this video I made, which is all about kombucha:

Once you have your kombucha brewed, bottle it up, leaving a couple of inches from the top to make room for the jam. Now you are ready to do a second ferment with your jam. 

To make jam kombucha:

 

• Simply open your jam and open your already brewed bottle of kombucha, then use something like a chopstick to get the jam inside the bottle. You want to put in about four tablespoons. 
• It will start to fizz up. Once the fizz has settled, replace the lid and very gently turn the bottle back and fore. 
• Gently tilt every day and burp it. This simply means opening the bottle and letting the gas out – so letting the bottle have a good belch!
• The amount of time it needs to ferment depends on the temperature of the room in which the bottle is kept. I usually leave it between two and three days. Taste after two days, when it shouldn’t taste too sweet, but should be fizzy, or leave it longer until it’s more sour. 

The beauty about doing this yourself is that you can create a brew to tickle your taste buds. You can sieve the berries out, although I don’t always bother, as I like having the little berries in my glass as an extra gift.

So why not try making your own flavoured kombucha? It’s pop that’s good for you! If this has tickled your taste buds, share it and start the jam kombucha revolution!