Tangy, flavorful kombucha is quickly transformed to a “jello” or gelatin dish with just a few added ingredients. It is perfect for a light dessert or snack or, as the case for my kids this week, a gentle food for upset tummies.
Oh yes, one of the flus going around finally struck down our children – one last week, and one this week. One of the goals I have for us is to have such great immune systems that we hardly ever get sick. I haven’t quite managed that yet, though thankfully we generally have really mild versions of whatever we get, which is a great start. With our cod liver oil supplements already in place, I add in Oil of Oregano when something is going around and we have had amazing results with it. (Not the typical essential oils- I recommend this brand. It works well as it is both anti-bacterial as well as anti-viral
But upset tummies are no fun, even if you aren’t as sick as you could be. As soon as one of us are sick, if we don’t have broth on hand, I start a pot using frozen drumsticks, saved bones, or chicken feet (I have a recipe for chicken feet stock in my cookbook, Ladled: Nourishing Soups for All Seasons
Jell-O is something often served to those sick because it is so gentle on the stomach, but food dyes and lots of refined sugar? Not my first choice, plus my oldest gets bad stomaches from food dyes! But it is SO easy to make your own gelatins! I recommend buying a good brand of gelatin (such as Great Lakes Unflavored Gelatin
Since moving I have not gotten my kombucha up and running. So, once again, my husband had to run to the store to get kombucha for us this time. I know that I am not the only one with kombucha not ready made, so I purposely made this with the 16 ounce store-bought bottle in mind. However, you can also double or triple the amount easily.
- 16 ounces of kombucha (I used strawberry flavored - If using unflavored, you can also add some fruit puree to it).
- 3 teaspoons of quality gelatin (see note above about brand)
- 2 tablespoons of honey (the sweetness of kombucha varies greatly. I wanted my jello to be pretty sour, so I used only a small amount. Sweeten to taste).
- ¼ cup filtered cold water
- Pour the cold water in a small saucepan or pot. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Add the honey to the pan, and put the pan over medium-low heat on the stove-top. Heat just until the gelatin is dissolved, and you can stir the honey into the mixture.
- Remove from heat. If you pot isn't big enough to pour the kombucha into, pour into a heat safe bowl and stir in the kombucha.
- Pour into ramekins or any type of container that you’d like to serve from. Place in the refrigerator for at least several hours, or until set.
- Cover once cooled.
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First off, I am very excited to make this recipe! I’ll have to wait for a little while until I can find the Great Lakes Gelatin, but then will make to have with dinner. Fun! Also, I bought a bottle of Oregano Oil but am unsure what to do with it. How many drops do you use? Do you add to water…?
the best instruction I have ever seen and used for wild oil of oregano (which by the way is VERY powerful, so you don’t use very much and need to read up on it a little.) is at http://www.listentoyourgut.com/healing-resources/47/what-you-need-to-know-about-wild-oregano-oil-ebook.html She has a video on how to take it…her daughter does it, so kids can take it. I have taken it myself as part of a gut healing protocol….and never got sick while I was taking it at the 5 drops 3x a day dosage.
We do this protocol where we take two drops every hour when we are just starting to feel sick (we do that for maybe a couple of hours?), and we will, within the first hour, usually start feeling much better. It has been incredible to feel you start to reversing your cold/flu. 🙂 Then we will just take a couple drops a couple times a day until we are sure we are done fighting it off. I think the book I read (which recommended the brand linked to above), recommended two drops twice a day for daily use. The brand I get is in olive oil, so although strong, you can actually take it neat (straight). I find it too much that way, so I put it in a couple tablespoons of water.
Debbie,
I should also mention (and I just added this to my post), that I am sure there are other good brands of oil of oregano, but after my own personal research, I choose to only use the North American Herb and Spice Oil of Oregano (we’ve used their normal and their super strength). It has the “Oreganol P73” for sure, and that is what you want for full effect. We have had amazing results with it! It is expensive to buy, but it has been more then worth it has the bottle lasts a long time. I am not recommending to people to use their essential oil at home in the same way that we use this product.
Thank you Kimi and Christy! I appreciate the replies so much!
And thank you from me too, this is info I have been needing just now!!
doesn’t heating the kombucha destroy it?
Tammy,
The kombucha is never heated. I pour the whole thing into the 1/4 cup of heated mixture, as long as it doesn’t make the whole mixture above body temperature, the enzymes won’t be killed. 🙂
ps. love this post today! what a great way to serve it to kids!
I’ll be making this soon…I make my own kombucha and jello…I knew thought of combining the two. Great idea!
could you use only concentrated stevia powder to sweeten this instead of honey?
thanks!
Monika,
I don’t see why not! You could even just gel the kombucha unsweetened, though my husband found even my two tablespoons of honey version a little tart for his taste. 🙂
Nice! I make fruit juice gelatins all the time for my kids, and while we don’t brew kombucha, we do make water kefir. Now I just have to persuade everyone not to drink all the kefir so I can do some experimenting. I think my kids would insist on a special name, though. Gelafir? Kefatin? Lol, those sound like pharmaceutical drugs!
I bet water kefir would make a great gelatin! 🙂
I have been brewing my own kombucha and finding it really helpful with my Lyme symptoms …been drinking it every day since starting to make it again last November ..I used to make it when a friend gave me a culture in 1996 …I make it for my family my 2 adults sons are addicted to it just like me …I’ve just starting selling the cultures and liquid so others can make their own …so cheap to make,it costs about 15cents per litre to make…and so good for us …I have used it to make salad dressing with olive oil, garlic and kombucha and shake well in glass jar…I did a batch of garlic in a jar of kombucha, I’m not sure if it works or not I used all the garlic in 2 recipes I made which was delicious …I will share that recipe with you next time, its quick easy and tasty and low cost …I’ll share it now …fry up roughly chopped brown onion, zucchini, throw in some cooked F/R chicken add some water, celtic salt to taste and lots of grated ginger and garlic …it would kill any bugs I’m sure, here in Australia is summer and I’ve been making it because with Lyme sometimes I run very low on energy and it’s so quick if you have the garlic already peel ed. but even in summer it’s delicious and very nourishing …you could also use raw chicken ..I have also used home made chicken stock a few times if available if not water is fine …..
just wondering Kimi why you don’t make your own kombucha …one of the best, healthiest,cheapest drinks you could ever make …. 🙂
sorry Kimi I just read the end of your post…sily me …I skimmed through it but missed the end …I see you usually do make it ….
YUM! What a great idea, Kimi! We always have two gallons of bucha brewing and I had never thought about making jello with it. You are SO smart – and especially a great food for upset tummies! Thank you!
Blessings to you and prayers that your family stays well, Kelly
you could use psyllium, especially if vegetarian or vegan …healthier then gelatine …
or agar agar made from seaweed…
Hey Sherrie!
Thanks for pointing out that agar agar can be used for a vegan version. So true. I consider agar agar a great alternative. Gelatin is healthy too though! It has a lot of health benefits, actually. (www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/brothisbeautiful.html)
I also bought a bottle of Oregano Oil because I read it can cure Lyme …boy it’s strong I could smell it before I even opened the bottle ..I just took one drop in water ..only did it for a few days …had to go off every thing before having blood tests …
I thought honey was a “no-no” with kombucha as honey’s antibacterial properties would harm the microbes in the Kombucha…
Carrie,
I think that thought is mostly to do with actually culturing kombucha. However, I do know that there are different thoughts on that too. One company that sells kombucha mushrooms actually use 75% honey in their kombucha making and recommend it to others to do as well (they think it is superior).
What a wonderful idea!!!!! Totally love it!
Something to remember when using oregano oil…it is very strong and will kill off some good bacteria along with the bad. I read recently that it is a good idea to alternate with probiotics to help balance.
Thanks for bringing that up. That is why I only do it for short periods of time (that, and because it is so expensive!).
Hi, thanks for the post.
How much fruit puree should i add?
On a side note, we used a couple of drops of oregano oil (in olive oil) on a tick that my dog had on her neck. The tick just backed right off and came out without having to use tweezers. It’s pretty amazing stuff.
Thank you for this recipe. I meant to update my kombucha recipes with some new things I’ve been playing with– especially using a jun or honey-based kombucha (which needs a special scobie) and other kombucha styles. The oil of oregano can be harsh so I’d recommend a capsule form, which is way easier to get down. I use Puritan’s Pride & it’s been working really well. My husband works in a hospital & I’m a teacher, so regardless of our regimen, we get touches of things here & there. I had both of those nasty bugs, but they were cut radically short I think because of the regimen– herbs, supplements, herbal teas, & kombucha. Thanks again for the recipe!!
Could an 18 month old eat this? Or is that too young since kombucha has trace amounts of alcohol in it from fermenting? Thank you 🙂