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Fire in the Kitchen: Acceptance of Slow Food lifestyle doesn't extend to kombucha, a tea made from bacteria

Kombucha is a fermented drink made from the waste of a bacteria-like organism. Some people drink the liquid, picture below, in tea for reported health benefits.

(Courtesy of Magnus Manske)

By Maryia Krivoruchko

Jan. 26, 2011 2:38 p.m.

This week, I checked out UCLA’s new Slow Food chapter, a club which promotes the Slow Food Movement’s national initiative for good, clean and fair food. The main force behind the Slow Food lifestyle is unprocessed, fresh, local ingredients, cooked simply and with love. I personally didn’t see much of a difference between this lifestyle and how I normally try to eat ““ healthily – but I made an organic, whole wheat, goat cheese pasta Slow Food-style anyway. Read about how it turned out here.

While getting information from the club members about this food trend, conversation turned to kombucha – a fermented tea made from a bacteria of a mushroom-like organism. My roommate had told me about this before, and my mom told me that my great-grandmother used to drink it all the time. This drink goes way back.

My qualm with kombucha is not that it tastes like vinegar or is made from the waste of bacteria. It is the fact that kombucha divides itself every month and you have to find a new home for the new growth. You could technically throw it away, but it is a living organism so that gets touchy. I am uncomfortable with having a constantly dividing bacterial growth living in a jar in my closet. But buying a bottle of kombucha tea is very expensive, so it’s a dilemma. I guess I’ll go without the reported health benefits of kombucha while I settle my feelings about kombucha instead.

Do you drink fermented tea? Do you keep a kombucha at your apartment? Leave a comment below.

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Maryia Krivoruchko
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