Cornucopia Home Remedy: Fermented Goodness

in #naturalmedicine6 years ago

Synchronicity has a funny way of pulling you into situations you never thought about!

I was clicking through Steemit the other day, making comments and getting inspired, when I came across a headling I couldn't pass up:

A Cornucopia of Goodness

Of course I had to click. Why, you ask? Because the I live in a house called Cornucopia--it is a nucleo community house in Damanhur, a spiritual ecocommunity in northern Italy. Cornucopia is one of about 25 nucleos in the federation of communities. Here is a little glimpse into our world:

Why are you talking about Cornucopia?

I wasn't really sure what the post was about, so I was pleasantly surprised to find it was a challenge for a great home remedy by @naturalmedicine! I like home remedies. While I love browsing drugstores and feel the urge to buy just about every product on the shelf, I don't do it because I would never use them. The truth is, I am a natural girl. A home is not a home unless it has a jar of coconut oil, kombucha brewing, and a large collection of essential oils!

My comment was met with an invitation by @riverflows to participate in the challenge. But what would I write about? Sure, I use home rememdies, but none of them are elaborate enough to merit a full post. I could talk about essential oils, since I use them for just about everything, but there is no real recipe there.

Then it hit me!

KOMBUCHA

Don't worry, I am not going to include your typical drinkable kombucha recipes. I want to talk about Kombucha Vinegar!

I started brewing Kombucha over 12 years ago. One day I saw a friend brewing it, and I was hooked! And while I love drinking Kombucha on a regular basis, it was the vinegar that really intrigued me.

I have always been a bit of a vinegar fanatic. When I used to cook on a regular basis, you could always find a wide selection of vinegars in my house: rice, apple cider, red wine, white wine, balsamic (only the good stuff!), plain white, and any exotic type I could find. I not only put it in my food, I also used it to clean the house, as fabric softner, and washed my hair with it. Vinegar is a natural medicine staple!

Knowing that Kombucha turns to vinegar when it brews for too long, you know I had to try to make some Kombucha Vinegar myself to see what I could do with it. I let the brew sit there for about 60 days before trying it. One taste, and it was quite obvious it had turned to vinegar. How could I use it?

Over the years, I have used it in just about all the ways I use traditional vinegar, including in my food. But here are two uses that I like the most:

Kombucha Hair Rinse

My hair is curly and colored (currently a cross between mauve and fucshia), so shampoo is overkill. It strips away all the good stuff! Since my hair doesn't get that greasy, I often wash with Kombucha vinegar. The best way is to get a spray bottle, but I never remember that. I start at the roots and make sure that I saturate everything really well. Given the lowish level of acetic acid concentration, you don't really have to worry about how much you use. I often use coconut oil the night before to untangle my hair--otherwise it would be a nightmare to comb through--so I use a fair amount as a wash. Then I rinse, and apply a smaller amount in the same way to leave in. This acts like a type of tonic for your hair. If you want, you can add aromatic herbs to the second round for a nice smell. If I have gardenia flowers, I use them.

next use...

Kombucha Vinegar Cleaner

I purposely chose a rather small room in my house, since I travel most of the time. But even though it is small, it does not mean it doesn't get dirty, especially with my cat going in and out all the time. We live in the mountains, which means dirt and dust get everywhere. To me, chemical products are a no go. Luckily, at Damanhur, we make our own cleaning products. That way you know exactly what is in them. Those I use for the hard to get out stuff. For day-to-day cleaning, I have a spray bottle with Kombucha vinegar and a few drops of essential oil for the anti-microbial properties. My personal favorites are orange, lemongrass, and clove (not all together). You can use this on pretty much any surface. Just spray and wipe, no need to rinse. For the floors, I spray it directly on the floor, then pass the damp mop.


So there you have it, my two favorite uses for Kombucha vinegar. If you have any uses for Kombucha or any other fermented foods you brew, I would love to hear them. So far, I have made homemade ginger ale (OMG, it is SO MUCH BETTER than what you buy) and kim chi (I couldn't get all the ingredients, so it was a big funky).

If you end up using Kombucha vinegar, let me know how it goes!

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Awesome post. Do you notice a difference between the ACV and Buch vinegar for your hair? I brew buch pretty much constantly. Can't wait to try it!
Also super intrigued by this Cornucopia living style.

I used to use apple cider vinegar for my hair, and still use it when I don't have any Kombucha vinegar. In my experience, ACV is stronger, so it is better for washing if you have oily hair. I have rather dry hair, though I do get product buildup. When I need clean something out, I go for the ACV. When I just need a shiny rinse, I go for the Kombucha. That is my experience. Hope it helps.

I absolutely LOVE this. I am a huge fan of make your own vinegars. Not least because I always leave boosh to overbrew. I never thought to use it for my hair but thats silly as Mum ALWAYS used to give us vinegar rinses as a kid!!! This is a great entry.. Ill switch accounts and resteem and upvote. I cant believe we connected with someone who lives in a place called Cornucopia... coincidence or fate??

I cant believe we connected with someone who lives in a place called Cornucopia... coincidence or fate??

Where I live, we call it "synchronicity!" ;)

I am happy you like the post. It took me a while to put together the pieces. You know when something is so automatic you don't even realize it is a thing? I was blind to it completely! Thank you for the encouragement!!

Woo! Love your post - we've given you a wee upvote and hope it helps you continue to write such amazing posts.

If you're a supporter of all things natural healing, and haven't already got on board our collective, you might like to read our introductory post here. We'd also love to welcome you on Discord here!!

We've resteemed this too. Would love to see you in the Discord, and please feel free to use the natural medicine banner on your posts. I'm including it below - just right click and copy and paste

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Super appreciative of this initiative. I use mainly preventative medicine and home remedies for everything. Where I live, spiritual and physical health are united. The best care is living a good life with ample self-care. We don't always achieve it, but we do our best to create a culture that supports it. If you are interested, here is some information about it.

I have to ask. I am not a huge fan of the smell of vinegar, although I will sometimes use a balsamic vinegar when cooking chicken. You mention that the acetic acid concentration is low. Does this lesson the strong smell normal vinegar emits?

I love ginger brew, but am stuck buying from the store. This is what I typically buy if I get some (I don't normally buy drinks, preferring coffee or lemon water).

http://reedsinc.com/product/reeds-original-ginger-brew/

I love the smell of lemon grass. My girlfriend puts some essential oils in the humidifier and it smells divine.

Thank you for sharing some of the alternative ways you have incorporated into your day to day life.

Great question about the smell! I should have included that in the post. In my experience, the smell is much less than normal vinegar. Not sure if it is because of the lower acetic acid concentration, could be. I don't really smell it at all once I have used it. If you do smell it, you can always add herbs to the tonic and essential oils to the cleaner. I would not use the essential oils to the tonic since that adds oil, which is what you are trying to wash out.

Ginger brew is pretty good, but nothing like the homemade stuff. Here is the recipe I use. Once you have the wart, the rest is pretty simple. I make it in 5L glass jugs, since my house drinks it up!

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