Persimmon + Ginger Kombucha

This honey-gold brew is especially delicious this time of year. 

It combines the taste of a ginger beer with that of the buttery-sweet persimmons

to make a slightly fizzy, balanced beverage that is neither too sweet nor too tart. 

Finally, a good use for overripe persimmons; in fact, the softer the better for this recipe.

The ducks are always interested in what we're eating, even kombucha!

Depending on how ripe your persimmons are, you may be able to just remove the stem at the top and put the soft fruit into the kombucha to infuse as is. 

[Below: Ducky was very interested in the bag of persimmons, and persisted his begging until we gave him a piece of one, which he wasn't thrilled with. The girls were more interested in the delights the flat of calendulas had to offer them.

  

Coco's big eyes widen at the sighting of a particularly juicy-looking slug: ]
Aren't her petite little tootsies just adorable!?

This was my first attempt at infusing kombucha, using my very first home-brewed batch. 

It turned out so much better than I'd hoped - a raging success. I can't really believe it!

Quality ginger-root is key here.

Look for the smaller, golden-fleshed roots that have been showing up recently in health food markets; these are grown in Peru and are far more potent than their larger, grown-in-China counterparts. Of course, homegrown would be far superior to any roots you could buy.  

Persimmon + Ginger Kombucha
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You will need 1 1/2 cups of diced fruit and a roughly 1-inch length of thinly-sliced, unpeeled fresh ginger root for every half-gallon of kombucha you plan to infuse.

Start with plain homebrewed kombucha that is finished fermenting to your taste.

Brew a fresh batch of sweetened tea for your SCOBY.

Set aside one cup plain finished tea for inocculating the new tea.

The rest of the finished kombucha can be infused.

To infuse, place the kombucha into a clean jar and add the diced fruit and ginger.

    Let this infuse for about three days, or to taste. The finished brew should be slightly effervescent and a beautiful deep golden-orange color.

This can be sipped as is, or, for more carbonation, bottle and refrigerate for a day or two, until the desired amount of bubbles is reached.