Where do I get my ideas?
I suspect those who make kombucha at home love to experiment with different flavors. Drinking a few customized blends during the week is a fun way to use the fruits you love based on your tastes.
I regularly use hibiscus and lavender syrups in addition to fresh and frozen fruit. The easiest thing I regularly use is thawed, frozen organic fruit like cherries, blueberries. However, the best booch I’ve made uses all-natural, organic fruit available at your local natural grocery stores and co-ops like Basics Co-op in Janesville.
Make Your Own Seasonal Varieties
Pomegranates come into the stores in southern Wisconsin in the early winter. I’ve heard poms are called Nature’s Most Laborious fruit, which is true. But they are a treasured addition to your ferments. I like eating them at the end of a bottle. They make for a delicious little burst in your mouth and they are full of vitamin C and antioxidants
Fresh strawberries in June, along with a leaf of basil from your garden or pot is never a bad choice. Feeling frisky? Throw some cilantro in with a hunk of fresh tomato. And then, when you pop that bottle open, look to a shot of good-quality vodka for an adult version of your booch.
Have some leftover watermelon or honeydew from your family picnic? See a good special on pineapples or grapes? Buy a variety you’d like to copycat? Want to see what happens to a marshmallow? The fun of home-brew is that there truly are no limits to your creativity.
I’ll Be Making This Again!
But it isn’t just about the added fruit. Good booch has to be more complex than a straight single flavor. Like a little spice and zest? Throw a hunk of ginger into a bottle. Like some heat? Try a slice of fresh jalapeno with some pineapple. Feel cold season coming on? Use an orange, honey, lemon, and cayenne to your advantage. Miss soda? Throw in some vanilla bean with a tasty peach.
Some of the best mixtures my friends and I have enjoyed the most include:
- Ginger Cherry
- Peach Pear Honey
- Apple Mint
- Orange Rosemary
- Cranberry Orange Ginger
- Raspberry Chia
- Peppermint Mocha
- Blackberry Ginger
- Strawberry Lemon Mint
Have a question on a flavor or fruit? Would you like to share an idea or favorite recipe? Drop me a line!