The heat (finally!) gets me craving a cool sparkling drink! Kombucha fits the bill and since I’ve been making my own kombucha I’ve settled on a favorite flavor. There are infinite varieties that you can think up and I’ve made many different flavors, but I always come back to one. Pomegranate flavored kombucha is by far my favorite for several reasons.
The Health Benefits of Pomegranate
Pomegranate is an ancient food that has been cultivated for over 4,000 years. From the Latin Punicum malum it means Phoenician apple. It is also known as a Chinese Apple.
Pomegranate is a powerful anti-oxidant — comparable to blueberries, red wine or green tea. It is rich in vitamins C, A and E as well as folic acid. The polyphenol anti-oxidants in pomegranate juice include punicalagin, which is unique to pomegranates. There are also anti-oxidants called anthocyanins, which are responsible for giving pomegranate juice its rich red color.
Anti-oxidants are very important because they protect us from free radical damage to cells, tissues and organs. Free radical damage is what drives inflammation. Current medical thinking is revolving around the concept that inflammation is at the bottom of many chronic illnesses. Read more about inflammation here.
There have also been small research studies that show pomegranate benefiting heart disease and cancer.
That said, there is a lot of sugar in any fruit juice. There are 32 grams of sugar in a cup of the juice. Even with all the excitement generated by the potential health findings, it is prudent to drink only a small amount of the juice (or the fruit) along with other foods to avoid the glycemic effects of the sugars.
Using pomegranate juice in small amounts as a flavoring for kombucha is perfect because the fermentation process eliminates much of the sugar. I usually leave the secondary ferment out for 1 – 2 days depending on how warm it is in the house. You should always taste it to be sure it is to your liking.
If this is the first time you are reading about kombucha here, you need to catch up by reading this post to find out what kombucha is and this post to get the basic kombucha recipe.
Read more about the benefits of kombucha here.
Pomegranate Flavored Kombucha
Ingredients
- 1 – 2 quarts of kombucha (see the basic recipe for making kombucha)
- Flavors such as fresh pomegranate, lemon, orange, ginger and unsweetened cranberry juice
Equipment
- Funnel
- 12 – 16 ounce bottles for the second ferment (like these) – I also use a quart mason jar for the secondary ferment
Instructions
- Add the seeds of about 1/4 of a fresh pomegranate to each quart. Add the kombucha, leaving just an inch at the top. Close the bottle and leave out in a dark cabinet for 1 – 3 days.
- Alternatively, if you cannot source pomegrantes, as they are seasonal, you can simply buy a jar of organic pomegranate juice (not from concentrate!) like this one and use about 1/4 cup for each quart of kombucha.
- You can do the second ferment in the grolsch style bottles or in the quart mason jar and then pour it into the grolsch bottles.
Tip
For fizzier kombucha, leave less room at the top of the bottle. I personnaly do not like too much fizz, so I typically do the second ferment in the quart mason jars and then pour it into the grolsch bottles just because they look so cool.
My family and friends are willing to try kombucha when it is flavored. I only allow them an ounce or two to sample it, because if you drink too much, too soon, you will get digestive perturbations.
As with any fermented food, you need to work up to having it in small increments to be sure you can tolerate it. As it is, I only have about 2 ounces with a meal. That is enough for me and it helps in the digestion of the meal.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Ferment Time: 1 – 2 days
Shared at: Allergy Free Wednesday, Hearth & Soul Hop
