Kombucha - healthy tea or a refreshing glass of rotten champagne ?

A few weeks ago I had my very first experience with Kombucha - a fermented tea beverage that's naturally effervescent. My first impression  of this strange tasting beverage was that I wasn't sure If I liked the taste of it, or was grossed out. The only thing I can compare the flavor to is rotten champagne with a mild vinegar  aroma- sounds appetizing huh? It's definitely an acquired taste to say the least. 
I've since become totally obsessed with the drink since it's low in calories, and supposedly detoxifies the body and contains a plethora of other health benefits to boot. Kombucha is nothing new, it has been used all over Asia and Europe since the 19th century. Only recently has it become a trendy beverage in heath food stores across North America. 
It's kind of an expensive habit to get into most stores retail a bottle for 3+ dollars. To keep the cost down you can always brew it yourself. Although the process seems even more gross then the initial flavor of the tea. Basically you ferment a solid mass of yeast called the mushroom or mother for a month or so. The mass takes the shape of the container it's fermented in and is said to have a leathery calamari type texture. Ewww... When brewing your own Kombucha you must be very careful to keep everything clean and properly sealed to prevent mold. For now I'll just buy mine in the refrigerator section at Lady York and call it my guilty pleasure! 

Tales of Onions - Part Two

Hope everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving, I was deprived of my favorite turkey holiday this year, but with good reason. My dad got married to a super awesome lady, and it was a very beautiful night. Im pooped from a very long weekend of celebrations and house hunting. Today is the follow up to the Tale of Onions. 


Lots of times when we have stomach problems we don't know what to blame. Maybe it's the onions that are to blame. Onions absorb bacteria is the reason they are so good at preventing us from getting colds and flu's and is the very reason we shouldn't eat an onion that has been sitting for a time after it has been cut open!

LEFT OVER ONIONS ARE POISONOUS

I had the wonderful privilege of touring Mullins Food Products, Makers of Mayonnaise.. Mullins is huge, and is owned by 11 brothers and sisters in the Mullins family.  My friend, Jeanne, is the CEO. Questions about food poisoning came up, and I wanted to share what I learned  from a chemist. The guy who gave us our tour is named Ed. He's one of the brothers Ed is a chemistry expert and is involved in developing most of the sauce formula.
He's even developed sauce formula for McDonald's. Keep in mind that Ed is a food chemistry whiz. During the tour, someone asked if we really needed to worry about mayonnaise. People are always worried that mayonnaise will spoil. Ed's answer will surprise you. Ed said that all commercially- made Mayo is completely safe. "It doesn't even have to be refrigerated. No harm in refrigerating it, but it's not really necessary." He explained that the pH in mayonnaise is set at a  point that bacteria could not survive in that environment. He then talked about the quaint essential picnic, with the bowl of potato salad sitting on
the table and how everyone blames the mayonnaise when someone gets sick.

Ed says that  when food poisoning is reported, the first thing the officials
look for is when the 'victim' last ate ONIONS and where those onions came
from (in the potato salad?).   Ed says it's not the mayonnaise (as long as
it's not homemade Mayo) that spoils in the outdoors. It's probably the
Onions, and if not the onions, it's the POTATOES. 


He explained, onions are a huge magnet for bacteria, especially uncooked
onions. You should never plan to keep a portion of a sliced onion.. He says
it's not even safe if you put it in a zip-lock bag and put it in your refrigerator. 
It's already contaminated enough just by being cut open and out for a bit,
that it can be a danger to you (and doubly watch out for those onions you
put in your hotdogs at the baseball park!) Ed says if you take the leftover onion

and cook it like crazy you you'll probably be okay, but if you slice that leftover

onion and put on your sandwich, you're asking for trouble. Both the onions

and the moist potato in a potato salad, will attract and grow bacteria faster than

any commercial mayonnaise will even begin to break down.

Also, dogs should never eat onions. Their stomachs cannot metabolize onions.

Please remember it is dangerous to cut an onion and try to use it to cook
the next day, it becomes highly poisonous for even a single night and
creates toxic bacteria which may cause adverse stomach infections because of

excess bile secretions and even food poisoning.
          
There you have it folks. Believe it all or not!

Tales of Onions - Part One

This old wives tale was sent to me last week, and I couldn't wait to hare it all with you just in time for cold and flew season. 


In 1919, when the flu killed 40 million people, there was this Doctor that visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu. Many of the farmers and their family had contracted it, and many died. The doctor came upon this one farmer, and to his surprise, everyone was very healthy.   When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different, the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back then). The doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under the microscope. She gave him one and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.

- I heard this story from my hairdresser in AZ. She said that several years ago many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must work....Try it and see what happens. We did it last year and we never got the flu. 


Now there is a P. S. to this.... I sent it to a friend in Oregon who regularly contributes material to me on health issues. She replied with this most interesting experience about onions:
 Thanks for the reminder. I don't know about the farmers story.... But, I do know that I contacted pneumonia and needless to say I was very ill... I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion put it into an empty jar.....placing the jar next to the sick patient at night. It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs.... Sure enough it happened just like that.... The onion was a mess, and I began to feel better.
 
Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago. They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties.

Wow - pretty amazing tale. I'm a firm believer in the power of onions and garlic. I double dare all of you to try this old remedy out at some point this winter. Please share your finds. Stay posted for tomorrows follow up in Part Two of Tales of Onions.