We are always trying to find new uses for things that would otherwise be discarded to the compost pile, the animals or disposed of. I am constantly chanting in my head, waste is a mentality. Naturally, after making kombucha for a while I had a large accumulation of scoby’s that I hadn’t wanted to throw out but just couldn’t figure out what to do with them.
So…I started researching. Here are a few of the things you can do with a scoby;
- Give one to a friend and kick start their fermenting adventure
- Feed it to chickens, pigs, or dogs (they love ‘em)
- Dehydrate it to make scoby jerky (I have not yet tried this one)
- Cut it up and add it to a smoothie
- Puree it with fruit and make fruit leather
- Or…..MAKE GUMMIES!
Which is what I did this week…Here’s how it went…
First I cleaned of the scoby by rinsing it and removing the threads that accumulate around it.
Then, I sliced it into strips with a VERY sharp knife (those are tough little buggers).
Then I turned it and sliced into cubes.
I took one cup of honey and one cup of sugar and brought it to a gentle boil in a pot. Once boiling I added the scoby and let it simmer, stirring constantly and watching so it doesn’t scorch or boil over, for 8 minutes.
Then, I removed it from the heat, added some powdered cinnamon and ginger and spread it out on some dehydrator sheets (making sure they weren’t all piled up). I then set the dehydrator to 120 degrees F and dehydrated the scoby for about 36 hours.
It smelled heavenly in my house as the scobys dehydrated (like apple pie).
I tentatively popped one in my mouth. Oh. My. Goodness. They are soooooo good. I walked around giving one to each of my kids. One by one they each followed me to the kitchen and asked for more. They ate about half of them the first day (then I put the rest into a jar and put them up high). Candy isn’t something that commonly stays in my house…we are going to have to make these last until the next batch of scoby is ready.
These are soooooo easy and soooooo good. And…even after I told my kids what was in them…they wanted more. Mom win!
I’d love to hear more about what you do with your scobys!
From my home fire to yours, hai hai.
What are great way to use all those scobys! I hear all the time how people get overwelmed by all the scobys they aquire while making kombucha and just don't know what to do with them all...this is a perfect solution. I'm really excited to try this, thank you so much for sharing it.
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Well that sounds absolutely lovely! I thank you for the offer. Ill be on discord later and will connect with you. What is your discord number?
Perfect! llfarms#8837
That sounds delicious. One to write down and use in the summer when we are able to use the solar dehydrator. I have a hotel of scobies right now, I will keep feeding them until then.
I am feeling so silly for feeding soooooo many to the animals. However, they are healthy for them too :)
haha, that is funny.
Brilliant!!!
I wonder if you could boil in honey and apple juice (instead of sugar)?
I will have to dehydrate above the woodstove.
This is exciting! I have heard of jerky, but it's not overly appealing to me.
Hey there. I'm certainyou could use honey and apple juice...however you may simply have to reduce the apple juice a bit or dehydrate longer. I'm excited to hear how it goes for you!
I have 3 gallon jars of scobie hotels...lol getting excited.. will keep you posted!!
OMGosh!!! What a great way to be versatile with SCOBY! I never would have thought of such a recipe!
Imagine all the flavor possibilities!
Yes! I can't wait to try new flavours! Let me know if you try any!!!
Wow, I would've never though you could use scobys this way. As Charlie Mcgee says ,"There's no such thing as waste, only stuff in the wrong place." I imagine with a bit of experimenting, one could have so many wonderful flavours. I'm tempted to try but will first have to crank out that kombucha. Most of my fermenting adventures have involved kimchi, pickles and bio-ferments for the fields thus far.
Oh I love fizzy fermented pickles! I can't wait for summer to make some more. Yes...So many flavour possibilities!
Is the texture just like a gummy?
Yes! Just keep testing them as you dehydrate and stop when they are just right.