Archives
Reading List 2021 (PK’s pick of the year in bold)
Via Negativa - Daniel Hornsby
A Promised Land - Barack Obama
David and Goliath - Malcolm Gladwell
Flash Boys - Michael Lewis
The Souls of Black Folk - W.E.B. Dubois
Crying in H Mart - Michelle Zauner
My Year Abroad - Chang Rae Lee
Severence - Ling Ma
Underland - Robert Macfarlane
The Third Plate - Dan Barber
The Genius of Birds - Jennifer Ackerman
Braiding Sweetgrass - Robin Wall Kimmerer
Fermentation Diaries
April 2022
Over the past year the SCOBY hasn’t produced strong batches, and I attribute it to the reduced amount of sugar that I’ve been adding to feed the colony. I am now adding ~500 g of sugar for 2.5 gallon batches.
Favorite flavor of 2022: mango date
December 2020
The kombucha colony has been thriving since travelling across the states to the west coast. The DC bacteria+yeasts seem to be getting along with the LA natives fairly well. Fermentation duration has been a fair bit longer than normal due to the colder temperatures (perhaps decreased humidity plays a role as well...?) going from 2 weeks to maturity to approximately 3-4 weeks. Enjoying the mellower notes of the booch as a result.
March 2020
Instead of putting whole fruits as a source of sugar for my 2F, I have recently began to pulverize the fruits. While I miss chewing the soggy booch fruit, I now do not have to deal with a mess during bottling and the final product tastes just as good.
February 2020
Apple flavored booch for the first time. Used blended fuji? apples with honey for an extra sugar boost. May continue to blend up fruits for easier consumption.
January 2020
Two years into brewing kombucha, the flavor of tea continues to change over time as I continue to tinker with the sugar and tea content. I prefer brewing with green tea rather than black tea as I could taste the added fruit flavors more clearly.
Favorite flavors of 2019:
Asian Pear [current batch]
Persimmon
Golden dragonfruit
I enjoyed pickling a wide variety of vegetables this year. Favorites have been romanesco, a variety of radishes (was very very pungent), onion, garlic to name a few. I hope to experiment with brine content in the upcoming year (been consistently using 2.5%) and discuss my results in future entries.
Reading List 2020
How to Change Your Mind - Michael Pollan
Frankly in Love - David Yoon
Girl, Woman, Other - Bernadine Evaristo
American Catch: The Fight for our Local Seafood - Paul Greenberg
Free Food for Millionaires - Min Jin Lee
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous - Ocean Vuong
Trick Mirror - Jia Tolentino
Exhalation: Stories - Ted Chiang
Salt - Mark Kurlansky
Pizza Girl -Jean Kyoung Frazier
Her Body and Other Parties - Carmen Maria Machado
Via Negativa - Daniel Hornsby
Via Negativa - Daniel Hornsby
A Promised Land - Barack Obama
David and Goliath - Malcolm Gladwell
Flash Boys - Michael Lewis
The Souls of Black Folk - W.E.B. Dubois
Crying in H Mart - Michelle Zauner
My Year Abroad - Chang Rae Lee
Severence - Ling Ma
Underland - Robert Macfarlane
The Third Plate - Dan Barber
The Genius of Birds - Jennifer Ackerman
Braiding Sweetgrass - Robin Wall Kimmerer
Fermentation Diaries
April 2022
Over the past year the SCOBY hasn’t produced strong batches, and I attribute it to the reduced amount of sugar that I’ve been adding to feed the colony. I am now adding ~500 g of sugar for 2.5 gallon batches.
Favorite flavor of 2022: mango date
December 2020
The kombucha colony has been thriving since travelling across the states to the west coast. The DC bacteria+yeasts seem to be getting along with the LA natives fairly well. Fermentation duration has been a fair bit longer than normal due to the colder temperatures (perhaps decreased humidity plays a role as well...?) going from 2 weeks to maturity to approximately 3-4 weeks. Enjoying the mellower notes of the booch as a result.
March 2020
Instead of putting whole fruits as a source of sugar for my 2F, I have recently began to pulverize the fruits. While I miss chewing the soggy booch fruit, I now do not have to deal with a mess during bottling and the final product tastes just as good.
February 2020
Apple flavored booch for the first time. Used blended fuji? apples with honey for an extra sugar boost. May continue to blend up fruits for easier consumption.
January 2020
Two years into brewing kombucha, the flavor of tea continues to change over time as I continue to tinker with the sugar and tea content. I prefer brewing with green tea rather than black tea as I could taste the added fruit flavors more clearly.
Favorite flavors of 2019:
Asian Pear [current batch]
Persimmon
Golden dragonfruit
I enjoyed pickling a wide variety of vegetables this year. Favorites have been romanesco, a variety of radishes (was very very pungent), onion, garlic to name a few. I hope to experiment with brine content in the upcoming year (been consistently using 2.5%) and discuss my results in future entries.
Reading List 2020
How to Change Your Mind - Michael Pollan
Frankly in Love - David Yoon
Girl, Woman, Other - Bernadine Evaristo
American Catch: The Fight for our Local Seafood - Paul Greenberg
Free Food for Millionaires - Min Jin Lee
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous - Ocean Vuong
Trick Mirror - Jia Tolentino
Exhalation: Stories - Ted Chiang
Salt - Mark Kurlansky
Pizza Girl -Jean Kyoung Frazier
Her Body and Other Parties - Carmen Maria Machado
Via Negativa - Daniel Hornsby
1F hard at work
Photodiary
January 2020
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January 2020
Celebrating magnolia blooms with H in DC (4/2020