Sima - Mead for May Day

Mead (sima) is an essential part of May Day celebrations in Finland. Mead and homemade donuts! That's what a good May Day is made of. We also used to go marching with labor unions and leftist political party people on May Day. It is like our Labor Day. It also is the celebration day of all students. May Day is the celebration of spring. Everyone is outside, celebrating, on the streets and in the parks, there are picnics and general happiness in the air.

Mead is fermented so it needs to be prepared a week in advance. I am usually late so I have to leave it in room temperature for longer to be able to have it ready in 4 days. That is about the time I usually have when I realize that May Day is coming up. Like now. 

My parents used to make mead before every May Day. They used sugar, brown sugar, oranges, lemons, yeast and water. Usually I prepare it in the same way they did but this year I made also a honey version without cane sugar. It must be the more traditional way to make mead anyway. The Finnish word "sima" is a synonym for the nectar bees collect to make honey (mesi). We buy lovely raw honey locally from Klausesbees. 

In Finland mead is fermented so little that it doesn't really have alcohol, or the amount is very small so it is served even for children. My parents made the mead in a 10 liter plastic bucket and we drank it for days, if not weeks. They boiled the water, poured it on the sugar in the bucket, added sliced lemons and oranges and a tiny piece of fresh yeast. After a day they bottled it with a teaspoon of sugar and a few raisins and put it in the fridge. Usually around after a week the raisins had plumped up and were floating on top. That is how you knew the mead was ready. You looked at the raisins. I went every day to the fridge to look if the raisins were already floating on the top. It was very festive when you finally were able to taste the ready ferments and sparkly mead that tickled your tongue. There was not much alcohol at all but a lot of sugar left so it was sweet. Sweet and tasty. I loved to eat the raisins that had been soaking in the mead for days.

Honey mead (recipe is from Finnish beekeepers' association)

4 liters or 17 cups of water (almost 4 quarts) 

2 lemons (I used Meyer lemons from our tree)

14 oz honey (450 grams) 

1/5 tsp dry yeast

• Boil about 1/4 of the water and pour it on the honey with the rest of the water cold to achieve slightly warm water. The honey will melt in it easily and it will be around the right temperature for the yeast. Dry yeast needs the water to be 105-110 Fahrenheit for it to start doing its job. 
• Add sliced lemons. You can use oranges instead too if you like. Some people add the juice of the citrus fruit and some peel separately. My parents sliced the fruit so that is what I usually do too. If I am feeling very fancy, I squeeze the juice out and grate the peel and add them separately. 
• Cover the container with a napkin or cheese cloth and rubber band, or even a lid, and keep in room temperature for 24 hours. Bottle it and add a few raisins to each bottle. If you have plenty of time, put the bottles in the fridge at this point and sima should be ready in 7 days. If you need your sima to be ready sooner, leave the bottles in room temperature for three days. To avoid the bottles from exploding as the mead ferments, you may want to "burp" them once a day (just open the bottle and close it back up).
• You know your sima is ready when the raisins float on top. Serve with homemade donuts - wait, I have to start working on a paleo version of those.

To compare I made mead with the kind of recipe I grew up with. 

Sugar Mead

2 liters water (almost two quarts or 8.5 cups)

2/3 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 lemon (or orange or half of both)

1/10 tsp dry yeast

Follow the method above. Enjoy your Finnish mead!

Kombucha - Becoming Friends With Your SCOBY

I confess. When I first got the kombucha scoby from my friend a few years ago the living slimey gooey mushroomey thing grossed me out and I asked my husband to make the kombucha for us. I wanted to drink it but didn't want to touch the scoby.

After some time (long time) I got used to the scoby hanging out at our house, got curious about it and became friends with it. I started making kombucha and it is probably my all time favorite ferment to make. Here are my instructions - you'll find several different instructions online, with some variation. It has been a journey. I have learnt a lot. And above all, I have become friends with my scoby.

What is Kombucha?
Basically it is a fermented drink made out of sweetened tea using a SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast). It has been consumed for thousands of years all over the world. Read more about it here and here.

What do you need to make your own kombucha?



A Kombucha SCOBY also called a kombucha mother or mushroom 
The SCOBY grows and can be cut in pieces so ask from a friend who makes kombucha or order one online (for instance from Cultures for Health, you can find a free ebook about kombucha making from the link as well). You can also grow your own (instructions in the end of this post).



A big glass jar
I use gallon jars. I have several as I have divided the growing scoby. You can order them online or sometimes find in department stores or thrift stores. If you buy food in big glass jars, save them. you don't even need the lids. The jar needs to be big enough for the amount of kombucha you are making, the scoby and some extra room for the growing scoby.

Cheese cloth, kitchen towel or a napkin
Instead of the lid you need something to cover the jar with. The scoby needs air so a cloth works well. It keeps bugs and debris out but let's the air circulate.

A rubber band or a piece of string
Use it to keep the cloth in place.

Tea
Black tea is used traditionally and is probably the best choice. Some flavored teas can damage the scoby. If you want you can mix in green tea or white tea. I often use a mix of about 2/3 black tea and 1/3 green or oolong tea. In my experience my scoby didn't like it when I used just green tea so I use mostly black. It is best to use organic tea to avoid pesticides from harming the scoby. I like to use fair trade tea so I know the people picking the tea have been fairly paid. If you want to avoid caffeine, you can try using decaffinated black tea. I use loose tea with reusable cotton tea bags or big stainless steel tea infuser mesh balls.

Sugar
I use organic fair trade cane sugar. Alternative sugars might not work very well. Unrefined sugar is best as it has minerals and nutrients left. Although some say some really raw unrefined sugars like turbinando might not be best as the scoby has hard time utilizing the nutrients from it. I am not sure but I know my scoby likes the organic cane sugar I use. The amount of sugar used is one cup per gallon. People warn against using less. I have to say though that over the years it seems to me that my scoby seems to prefer slightly less sugar. I have played around with it a little and I keep coming to the conclusion that the usual amount is too much for my scoby friend. I don't know why but listen to your scoby, that's all I am saying.

Water
The water should be clean. If your tap water is clean it works well, filtering it might be even better but not critical. The chlorine in the tap water might not be that great for the scoby but since you boil the water, it is not a problem as the chlorine evaporates.

Other things:
Bottles or jars
Funnel (you might not need it if you pour the ready kombucha in jars)
pH paper (optional)
Fruit juice, ginger etc. for secondary fermentation

The process of making kombucha

1 gallon water
1 cup sugar
About 5 tea bags or 2 tbsp loose tea
Starter liquid that came with the scoby (some kombucha from a previous batch) or vinegar

1. Bring the water to boil and let it boil for a few minutes to kill any unwanted bacteria and remove chlorine.
2. Add the sugar and mix until it has dissolved.
3. Put the tea bags in or the loose tea in reusable bags or mesh balls (or strain the tea later if you put loose tea directly in the water).
4. Steep for a few minutes and remove the tea bags or strain the tea.
5. Let cool to room temperature. Keep the lid on to avoid any extras from falling in (I had once a package of gum fall in my pot from the shelf above the stove...)
6. When it has cooled down, take your jar and add the sweet tea in it. Make sure there is space still for starter liquid and the scoby.
7. Add the scoby, the starter liquid or if you don't have any, add a splash or two of vinegar. If you bought the scoby dehydrated from online, follow their directions.
8. Cover with a cloth and rubber band and place in a dark place in room temperature. Dark is better as it discourages the growth of some unwanted organisms as light encourages it.
   
   
9. After a week check in with your scoby. Does it smell sour? Does it taste sour? You can even measure the pH with pH strips you can buy online. Make sure they go low enough (some stop at 7). Your kombucha is ready when the pH is 4 or under.
   
   
   
   
   
10. When you have determined it is ready, pour the kombucha in bottles or jars that close tightly. Close the bottles or jars tightly and leave them to room temperature for secondary fermentation for another day or two to create some carbonation. If you are making plain kombucha, add just a little bit (maybe 1/4 cup) of the sweet new tea to the bottles to give them a boost. You can also add fruit juice, pieces of fruit or ginger (or juiced ginger) to the bottles. After a day or two they are ready to drink or move them to the fridge for later. They keep for a long time.
11. 
    
    
    
12. Remember to leave some of the kombucha with the scoby in the jar for the next batch (1-2 cups should be enough, sometimes I leave more). I don't always even remove the scoby from the jar, I just pour carefully making sure the scoby doesn't fall out or touch anything. You can also lift the scoby out and put it back to the new liquid. If it has grown very big, you can cut it in half or quarters and give out with some of the kombucha as starter liquid to your friends. It is also a good idea to keep a piece as a backup if your scoby would go bad. I cut threw the layers, I don't separate the layers. Sometimes I might remove the bottom layer if it is getting loose or very dark and stringy. The new layer is on the top. But otherwise I leave it untouched. You might want to leave a piece to the fridge with some of the liquid from the batch as a backup.
    
    
13. Fill the jar with the new sweet tea, the starter liquid (kombucha from previous batch or a little bit of vinegar) and the scoby. Cover and repeat the process.
    
    
    

How to grow your own scoby?

1. Buy a bottle of raw plain kombucha from a health food store.
2. Pour it (including any bits there are, it is probably the baby scoby! Awww!) in a glass jar, leaving a little bit of space for growth.
3. Make a sweet tea following the kombucha making instructions above (you'll need less than a gallon now to start with, make let's say a quart with 1/4 cup sugar and one tea bag or half a quart with 2 tablespoons of sugar and a tea bag).
4. Let the tea cool down and pour it in the jar with the store bought kombucha.
5. Cover according the regular instructions above. 
6. Leave in room temperature in a dark place and check weekly. When the scoby on the surface of the liquid has grown to about 1/4 inch it is ready. Make then kombucha using the instructions above. Save the liquid for starter liquid. if you made a quart of tea, you can drink some of it, I know it is exciting to start drinking your own kombucha!
   
   

Remember: The scobys can look different. Sometimes they first sink to the bottom. It is ok. People often worry about their scobies. But unless there is hairy black or blue mold growing on it or it smells rotten or all the liquid has dried from it, it probably is ok.

Do you have any questions? I am more than happy to answer - just post your question in the comments below or use the contact form in the right side panel to send me an email. Or email me at info @ kaikulifestyle.com.

Enjoy the kombucha!

Sirpa

PS. Still want to know more about kombucha? Learn more, read, watch videos, browse recipes etc. from here.

Homemade Fermented Rootbeer

I tasted root beer for the first time I moved to the US. It was some store bought commercial root beer. I didn't like it much. Then I tasted fermented home made root beer and fell in love with it! The best part of it is that it is probiotic too due to the fermentation process!

I have tried two recipes for home made root beer. The one in this post I have learnt from a local culturing club (Culture Club 101) and the other I have used is from Nourished Kitchen. The main difference is the herbs used. You can use just a few different herbs, root and bark or several different kinds for a more complex flavor. It depends a lot on how many different kinds of herbs you want to buy. You can also play around with different sweeteners like maple syrup, sucanat or cane sugar. I would recommend though to use organic ingredients so the pesticides don't interfere with the fermentation process.

Home made Lacto-fermented Rootbeer

1 gallon of filtered water
2 tbsp wintergreen
2 tbsp sassafras bark
2 tbsp sarsaparilla root
1/2 vanilla bean cut in half
1 cup maple syrup, sucanat or cane sugar (I used maple syrup)
1 cup (or more if you have to spare, up to 2 cups) of ginger bug (see recipe here) - I read once people using water kefir grains too but haven't tried it myself

1. Put the herbs and vanilla on the bottom of a big pot (you can half this recipe if you don't have a big enough pot) and add water.

2. Bring to boil and simmer on low for about twenty minutes.

3. Add sweetener and let cool down to room temperature.

4. Add the ginger bug and pour the root beer to ferment in a 5 liter Picklit jar or some other big enough glass jar (or several smaller jars). Leave to ferment for one or two days in a warm place. Don't leave out for too long, it can get alcoholic.

5. Transfer to bottles and leave out for an extra day or two to get some carbonation in the root beer. Move to fridge. I find that it gets better after a while in the fridge but technically it is ready to drink now.

Strawberry Milkshake (Vegan)

I read on Facebook that an industrial milkshake from a fast food place contains 59 different ingredients! Holy strawberry! (I hope at least one of the ingredients is actually strawberry.)

Reading something like that makes me want to start a food revolution! I made this two ingredient strawberry shake (two ingredients with optional add ons) last weekend as my answer to the 59 ingredient shake. Here you go!

Strawberry Shake

1 small bag of frozen strawberries (I buy organic as strawberries absorb pesticides like crazy), let them thaw slightly if you have time
1 can of coconut milk or coconut milk kefir (I used full fat and it was pretty creamy, I might recommend light coconut milk for the first time in my life, or replacing some of the full fat milk with water)

If it is too thick, add water.

Other optional additions to try:
a pinch of salt (somehow it seems like a pinch of salt balances the coconutty flavor)
vanilla
maple syrup or honey to taste (a couple of tablespoons should do)

Mix in a blender until smooth.

Dairy Free Hot Chocolate

Hot Chocolate
Dairy Free, Vegan option, Paleo, Additive-free, Refined Sugar Free

1 cup water
1 cup additive free full fat coconut milk (like Natural Value or Aroy D)
1 tbsp raw unsweetened cacao powder
2 tbsp raw honey or maple syrup if you want to make it vegan
tiny pinch of sea salt
vanilla, optional

Put all ingredients in a sauce pan and heat. I don't let it boil because the kids don't want it that hot and I am thinking that maybe some of the goodness of the raw honey still stays alive (I have no evidence that it will).

Home made marshmallows make a nice addition. My kids love this recipe (not vegan but it is egg free, dairy free, corn free, nut free, gluten free etc.).

Make your own coconut milk

Yes, you can make it yourself! Never buy the canned (possibly with BPA in the lining) coconut milk with icky additives again. And save money. All you need is some shredded coconut, water, blender, a strainer and cheese cloth (or a kitchen towel or an old cloth diaper or a nut milk bag).

Home made coconut milk

1 cup shredded coconut
2 cups water
(amounts are not so crucial)

Follow these steps to make your own creamy and additive free coconut milk:

1. Boil some water. Turn it off just when it is about to boil.

2. Put the coconut in a blender and add the water. Let sit for a few minutes.

3. Put the lid on and - carefully, it is hot! - blend for a few minutes or as long as needed so it seems like there are no more solid parts and it looks creamy.

4. Strain it through a cheese cloth in a strainer. Squeeze the last part to get all the liquid through the cloth. That's it! Store in the fridge. It will separate so shake before using. Use for homemade icecreams or make your own coconut milk kefir. If you make kefir, make sure to blend and strain well, otherwise the solid parts sometimes become a mass of coconut on the top of the kefir and the kefir grains get stuck in there and you'll loose it while trying to dig them out (speaking from experience as you can tell).

Lemonade Stand Connecting People

My seven year old decided today to make lemonade from the lemons in our lemon tree and sell it to get money to buy legos.

It turned out to be a lovely afternoon chatting with neighbors, meeting new people and socializing. So many people came by. He sold four quarts of lemonade. Organic and sweetened with maple syrup. He asked for 25 cents a glass but people were so delighted that many paid much more. I paid attention how happy it made some people. It made me think how isolated we live these days, without much contact with people living close to us.

His almost three year old assistant wasn't very helpful as he tried to drink all of the lemonade and there was some irritation until the three year old was distracted indoors to do other stuff.

The recipe was something like this:

Lemonade for a lemonade stand
Refined sugar free

Juice of 4-5 lemons
2 quarts of water
1/4 cup-1/2 cup maple syrup (or to taste)

Fizzy Water Kefir – A Healthy Homemade Soda (Difficulty level: Easy!)

Water kefir is a caffeine free, probiotic and fizzy! Water kefir is made of water and sugar and additional fruit juices can be added. Water kefir is fermented only for a day or two. It is easy to make and don’t require a lot of effort or special skills.

Water kefir grains multiply quickly so you might find someone locally who is willing to share theirs. You can also order dehydrated water kefir grains online. Follow their instructions for rehydrating them – or you can also find instructions online.

How to make water kefir?

2-3 tbsps or more rehydrated water kefir grains
1 quart of water
2-4 tbsp organic sugar (do not used refined white sugar that is stripped of minerals, the grains will need the minerals for nourishment)
A pinch of baking soda – this is for pH
One inch piece of kombu sea weed (some use bone meal instead) – this is to feed the grains

You’ll also need a 1.5 quart ball jar or a jar with an airlock (I use Pickl-it) or a cheese cloth or kitchen towel and a rubber band or piece of string to cover it.

1.  Place your grains in the jar.

2. Add water, sugar, baking soda and the kombu. At this point some add dried fruit. I find that my kefir has gotten slimy if I add dried fruit now so I skip it. Leave space to your jar, don’t fill it to the rim.

3. Mix with a spoon (or don’t mix, I don’t think it is critical, I sometimes skip this step). Close the lid and attach airlock if using. If you close the lid completely and don’t have an airlock, some pressure can accumulate in the jar from the fermentation process. If you leave it out for a long time, burb the jar by opening it after a day or two to let the pressure out.

4. Let ferment in room temperature and in preferably a dark spot for 24-48 hours. When bubbles are forming it is ready. You can also taste the kefir before you start fermenting and after and it should be less sweet when it is ready as some of the sugar has been used in the process.

5. Strain the grains from the water kefir to make another batch. People say metal strainers aren't good for this purpose because they will weaken the culture. I am a rebel and I use a stainless steel strainer (never aluminum though, heard that is the worst). I don't leave them to sit in it though so they touch it just briefly. I don't like plastic so I don't want to use a plastic strainer and the bamboo strainer is hard to clean. But I put it on the photo as it should be a better option. I usually leave some of the liquid in the new batch to help it but I do not know if it is necessary.

6. Now you can either drink the kefir or bottle it for a secondary fermentation: Put the kefir in a bottle with a flip top lid or some other air tight seal top. You can add some fruit juice (or dried fruit) at this point to help make it bubblier. One of my favorite flavors is apricot-pomegranate.

TIP: Using high fructose juices like pear or

apricot make the best bubbles in my experience.

7. Leave the bottles out for another day or two and then move them to fridge. It is ready to be consumed anytime.

My favorite water kefir flavors:
- Water Kefir Lemonade: Add a juice of a lemon to the secondary fermentation to make a lemonade tasting water kefir!
- Apricot Pomegranate: Add about 5-10% apricot juice and just a splash of pomegranate juice for color to the secondary fermentation. Juice squeezed by you from fresh pomegranates is the best. I tried the store pomegranate juice but it didn’t taste as good.
- Pear Ginger: Add about 5-10% pear juice and just a hint of fresh juiced ginger (or a few pieces of fresh ginger) to the secondary fermentation.
-Lemon tangerine: For the secondary fermentation add a juice from one lemon and 1-2 tangerines to a little bit less than a liter of water kefir.

What are your favorites? Do you have any tips to share?

If you are new to fermenting and have any questions, feel free to ask them in comments or by sending me email from with the contact form in the right side panel.

Vegan "paleo" Bailey's

Before going on Autoimmune paleo diet it is time to celebrate ;) - we made for dessert some Irish Cream tonight - although this is not healthy and it sure is not what paleolithic people consumed, it is dairy free and delicious!

I boiled about 1.5 cans of coconut milk (full fat and most of it was the fatty part) for a few minutes. Added 3/4 cups evaporated maple syrup (any other sugar would work too) and 1/2-3/4 cup of whisky and one shot of espresso.

Drink warm or with ice. Delicious. (You might want to half this recipe if you want just a little something, this was way too much for one time consumption.)

Love,
Sirpa