Rejuvalac

[Nurse in the Raw]

Does anyone on the board drink rejuvalac? Hope I spelled it right.

Anywho, I soaked my wheat berries, most of them sprouted tails and then I added my 6 cups of water. Am I going to be able to drink this after it sits in my pantry for two days? Can anyone guarantee me that this won't make me sick? There's just something about a liquid sitting in a dark place that creeps me out. I shouldn't have taken Microbiology.

[alicemagooey]

funny that you mention that, Stacie..

i tried this stuff.. * rejuvelac..

i followed the instructions well and everything, but i ended up a couple of times ((one too many ) with a foul smelling brew..:eek:

( which i ended up throwing out quickly upon smelling it)

i researched it further and found that one of the Wigmore organizations
(Dr Ann Wigmore helped make rejuvelac popular and well known)
One of the retreat centers which follows most of her protocol and has a number of people who used to work with Dr Wigmore, does not use rejuvelac any more because some of the rejuvelacs for some reason end up producing something which is not wholesome..
not wholesome at all!!
no one is sure why.
They sent multiple samples to a lab for testing.
Some tested just fine.. others had harmful bacteria..
so , at least one particular Wigmore-philosophy based retreat center no longer makes or recommends it.

That was enough for me..
WHAT TO DO..? IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE GOOD FOR US:confused:
WELL>>>
MOST of today i have spent researching "making our own pickles, and how to do it, using natural fermentation,"( which makes a rejuvelac like liquid, rich in beneficial bacteria )
there are "starter cultures." good healthy starter bacteria..not noxious stuff..produced in our home laboratory...
here is one:
http://www.amazon.com/Culture-Starter-Body-Ecology-Diet/dp/B000RW4DKO/ref=pd_sim_hpc_2/103-9153905-2843837

you simply add your cucumbers or cabbage (or whatever) to water, add some culture and let it sit.
IT IS A BIT MORE COMPLICATED, BUT NOT MUCH MORE, BUT YOU NEED TO READ UP ON IT ..there are also a couple groups and books out there.on internet..
here is a group which deals with it... i found it today...
http://groups.google.com/group/Wild-Fermentation/

I think we should stick with working with professionals on this.!!

i am looking foreward to making some fermented foods which i know are wholesome and not smelly and foul..

for instance..
here is a pickled ginger recipe which i just found which i am going to try when i get some starter culture

Pickled Ginger:
Ingredients:

4 lbs fresh ginger root
1 tablespoon pickling salt (no iodine)
½ package of yogurt starter
1 cup Distilled Water (or filtered and non-chlorinated)

Peel and cut ginger into very thin slices. Pound ginger slices to expel juices.
Place juices and pounded ginger into a glass jar. Mix with salt and water.
Add yogurt starter and seal. Let sit at room temperature for 3 to 5 days.
Store in the refrigerator.

take care.. and do watch out for those "things which go bubble in the night"..
(:eek: creepy..:eek: )
alice

[Nurse in the Raw]

I saw the culture starter at my hfs but I didn't know what it was. I will look at the links you posted. Thanks :D

[yasi]

The way I make rejuvelac comes from Dr. Christopher. I have only had ONE batch go yuck on me and that was because I let it sit FAR too long and I used the wrong kind of water.

First, use organic wheat (or other grain but wheat works for me). Second- you MUST use distilled water and NOT tap water because tap water (or even brita type filtered water) can contain bacteria etc you don't want.

This is what I do:
Take a glass mason jar and fill 1/3 full with wheat berries. Fill the jar with distilled water. I do this at about 8-10pm. Soak over night. At about 8-10am, drain really well. Fill with distilled water. and leave on the counter (I never put mine in a dark cabinet) for 24 hrs. Strain off this liquid and use it. Fill again for 24 hrs, use this. Fill again for 24hrs and use this. You can get 3 batches of rejuvelac from the same batch of wheat. Personally I will only drink the first batch straight. The second and third are too strong for me. However, they should smell sweetish lemony, and fresh. I do taste them to make sure they aren't yuck. I then use 2nd and 3rd day rejuvelac for seed cheese or smoothies.

Marisa

[Nurse in the Raw]

Do you wait for all the little tails to sprout or just a few? I didn't use distilled water so I will throw out the batch. I used tap water and I don't want to take a chance. My smells a little stinky, not lemony or sweet the way you described. I will try the next batch as you have directed and see what happens.

[GoingtoRAW]

Stacie, I have been a Rejuvelac drinker on and off for about a year and a half. In my opinion the stuff does really stink. It has never really smelled lemony or sweet to me. In fact, if I had to go by the smell I would never be able to get it down. When I was first introduced to raw I was going through a detox class and drinking the Rejuvelac was required. So I just went for it! Once I got past the smell and took my first sip - I thought it actually tasted good.:p The flavor reminded me of Real Lemon Lemon Juice. Do they even still make that stuff??? Anyway, that's what it tastes like to me. So what I do when I drink it is I hold my breath with each sip because I can't stand the smell. Once I have it in my mouth I start breathing again so I can taste it. I really do like the taste of it.:D

[Eilene]

I make it all the time & I love it. I only had 1 batch go bad also (I let it sit too long). It really is very refreshing...lightly carbonated with a lemony taste. I also use it in my smoothies.

[GoingtoRAW]

I use it in my green smoothies sometimes too to cut the sweet flavor of the fruit in the smoothie.:)

[alicemagooey]

well, this is really interesting..

i did use organic wheat berries.. and i followed the directions for making good and true rejuvelac.. and i used distilled water..
everything people have said here was fairly true for me also..
The stuff stinks.. but does not taste too bad..

but i still had about one batch in four come up with a GROSS 'skin' of some kind of slime..

i did not know what it could have been..
Perhaps some of my wheat berries in that batch had broken and allowed more bad bacteria in..?? don't know.

anyway, i did go to the wigmore sites and e mailed people extensively, and as i mentioned, the people in one of these institutions sent away the cultures of successive batches to a lab for testing..
Some batches, for no apparent reason, came up with NON BENEFICIAL bacteria..
So the Institution ceased using or recommending rejuvelac.

just reporting what i found.

i stopped using it for this reason.

alice

[donna.miller]

The way I make rejuvelac comes from Dr. Christopher. I have only had ONE batch go yuck on me and that was because I let it sit FAR too long and I used the wrong kind of water.

First, use organic wheat (or other grain but wheat works for me). Second- you MUST use distilled water and NOT tap water because tap water (or even brita type filtered water) can contain bacteria etc you don't want.

This is what I do:
Take a glass mason jar and fill 1/3 full with wheat berries. Fill the jar with distilled water. I do this at about 8-10pm. Soak over night. At about 8-10am, drain really well. Fill with distilled water. and leave on the counter (I never put mine in a dark cabinet) for 24 hrs. Strain off this liquid and use it. Fill again for 24 hrs, use this. Fill again for 24hrs and use this. You can get 3 batches of rejuvelac from the same batch of wheat. Personally I will only drink the first batch straight. The second and third are too strong for me. However, they should smell sweetish lemony, and fresh. I do taste them to make sure they aren't yuck. I then use 2nd and 3rd day rejuvelac for seed cheese or smoothies.

Marisa

Ah, this is the recipe I used to use. I doesn't call for sprouting the wheat. It has been years since I made rejuvelac. I was searching for recipes when I came across this great forum! I'd forgotten about the distilled water.

Does anyone know if rainwater (also known as tank water) is ok? We don't have processed waste water out where I live. It's collected from our roof and pumped through a filter into the house. Rainwater is nature's version of distilled water. Although with pollution, the rain can absorb nasties as it falls through the atmosphere (acid rain). But there isn't much air pollution where I live in rural New Zealand (the cities are a different story).

So any guesses as to whether or not rain water might be ok to use instead of distilled?

Marisa, I'd love to know your seed cheese recipe if you don't mind sharing it. I worked in a raw food restaurant in Miami Beach Florida and we made seed cheeses - I loved them! I'd love to get back into eating them.

[raven]

I spoke with Dr. Clement of Hippocrates Institute about rejuveac. He told me they no longer use it at the Institute and it's a good way to promote candida. I did use it years ago when I studied with Dr. Ann.

[Stina]

I had a batch that turned out good, not corrupt and grossly stinky. I drank it, felt all manic, got flushed in the face........quit that.

[Ilse W.]

I've made 2 batches so far, one with organic wheat berries, one with rye berries. I'm still using the rye berry one. I poured the rest of the wheat berry rejuvelac out, when the next batch was ready. I think Ann Wigmore suggested not to keep it more than 4-5 days.
According to her recipe in The Blending Book, the grain is supposed to be sprouted for 2 days after soaking over night. Then fill the sprouting jar with distilled water and let sit 2 days, pour that water off for use, refill jar, let sit one day, pour off for use and do once more.
I use the rejuvelac in my GSs and in some recipes. So far I'm doing fine with it. I will research the candida question, but I don't think it will be an issue, if your food intake is alkaline.
I also like the dehydrated breads I can make with the berries after the last batch of rejuvelac is finished.

[Marin Mom]

My daughter loves it (go figure, we adopted her from eastern europe when she was 7) and we buy it at the HFS.

[coco]

hippocrates (where this drink originated) haven't used rejuvelac for many years. after having it tested extensively they proved that there is as much of a chance of bad bacteria developing (without it being apparent at all) as good bacteria. there are many other cultured foods (kraut etc) that are safer and more healthy. personally i wouldn't drink it though i do love raw pickles and kraut.

[donna.miller]

Really good to know about the downside to rejuvelac. Well, that keeps me from making one more stinky thing in my kitchen... my partner will be pleased ;)

So what about kombuchu? Does that make candida worse as well? I don't have candida that I know of but I really feel like I need to get my gut healthy, get rid of any yeast and bad bugs and stock up on the good ones in there. The idea of taking probiotic pills (or any pills) or anything in a packet just doesn't appeal to me. I also want to increase my B12... I remembered that rejuvelac was good for that, is kombuchu?

[Sugar Snap Pea]

Well, you guys have about convinced me not to try making this or my own Kombucha. I think I'll stick w the store-bought brand...

[coco]

i made some moldy kombucha once. i never did have any luck with that stuff!

[ltcartwright]

Those who've had success with making rejuvelac, should you cover the jars with the metal lids they come with when fermenting, or should it be covered with cheesecloth/ muslin?? I'm not clear on the instructions I got....


Thanks for replies....

I have a recipe for Cashew Cheeze (I guess you can substitute with seeds, I'm going to try both once I get this rejuvelac recipe straightened out). If you need the recipe, check out this link (http://www.rawfreedomcommunity.info/forum/showthread.php?t=3578).

[femaleuna]

I made a few batches of rejuvalac last year from rye berries. It turned out lemony, but it did smell different than anything i had ever smelled. I just started a batch today but now am debating on whether or not to continue with it. I don't want to get sick from bad bacteria.
As far as Kombucha-I love the stuff. I made it for about a year but it has been about 6 months now. My husband threw out my "baby" syaing it looked gross. I told him thats how it is supposed to look!haha.
who knows.......

[sprouting]

Hello,

I make and eat a fair bit of fermented foods - sourdough bread, sauerkraut, keffir (not much success with non dairy) etc...
However I have only recently heard about rejuvalac, but after reading a bit it seems that there is a risk involved and you are better off eating/drinking 'safer' fermented products.

What I was thinking - is it possible to successfully make a probiotic drink by adding water to a sourdough (dough) culture and then straining off any solids and drinking the liquid straight away?
Does anyone do this? Does it have a name? Any help or info on this would be appreciated.

Thanks Heaps!

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

Does anyone on the board drink rejuvalac? Hope I spelled it right.

Anywho, I soaked my wheat berries, most of them sprouted tails and then I added my 6 cups of water. Am I going to be able to drink this after it sits in my pantry for two days? Can anyone guarantee me that this won't make me sick? There's just something about a liquid sitting in a dark place that creeps me out. I shouldn't have taken Microbiology.

Best to ditch the rejuvalic completely!

l used to be the biggest rejuvalic fan for 15 years and sang it's praises to everyone until one sad day the Hippocrates Health lnstiutute advised me to stop drinking it. ln actual fact HHI stopped including it in their program 20 years ago because it was found scientifically that was loaded with bad bacteria. So not only did it have lots good bacteria, it also had lots of bad bacteria that was toxic.

Wigmore was the one who started it, but the science was lacking at the time.

[MysticTree]

l used to be the biggest rejuvalic fan for 15 years and sang it's praises to everyone until one sad day the Hippocrates Health lnstiutute advised me to stop drinking it. ln actual fact HHI stopped including it in their program 20 years ago because it was found scientifically that was loaded with bad bacteria. So not only did it have lots good bacteria, it also had lots of bad bacteria that was toxic.

Wigmore was the one who started it, but the science was lacking at the time.

I was surprised you gave it up when it made you feel so fantastic. Your method must have been a good one because it never made you sick. Also Ann Wigmore was never made ill by it as far as I am aware - but she did have a constitution of ox-like proportions!

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

I was surprised you gave it up when it made you feel so fantastic. Your method must have been a good one because it never made you sick. Also Ann Wigmore was never made ill by it as far as I am aware - but she did have a constitution of ox-like proportions!
lt was also one of Ann Wigmore's special things for killing off cancer and A.I.D.S in patients. l still would love to have it (delicious) but there is no point having it if there are some bad bacteria in it. lt was good for my health, but there is no point having it if l am introducing lots of toxins into my system...l need to find something even better, but l don't want to be paying money for it.

[MysticTree]

"bad bacteria" is what builds a healthy immune system and keeps your immune system healthy. It is too much "bad bacteria" that would be a problem.

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

"bad bacteria" is what builds a healthy immune system and keeps your immune system healthy. It is too much "bad bacteria" that would be a problem.
Maybe it is too much bad bacteria, that's why HHI have stopped using it. Alittle bit of bad bacteria is one thing, but apparently there is quite a bit of bad bacteria in the rejuvalic, + it is very difficult to get it right. lt still might be an o.k drink, but it is quite risky...besides, they obviously they have found better options. lf they find better proven methods/foods they always go onto better things.

[MysticTree]

Maybe it is too much bad bacteria, that's why HHI have stopped using it. Alittle bit of bad bacteria is one thing, but apparently there is quite a bit of bad bacteria in the rejuvalic, + it is very difficult to get it right. lt still might be an o.k drink, but it is quite risky...besides, they obviously they have found better options. lf they find better proven methods/foods they always go onto better things.

It can't be that very if millions of people were drinking it to no ill effect and it seems that this is the case. I agree it might be difficult to get it right. Luckily for me I don't have to sit on the horns of this dilema ... I don't like the fermented taste in general.

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

It can't be that very if millions of people were drinking it to no ill effect and it seems that this is the case. I agree it might be difficult to get it right. Luckily for me I don't have to sit on the horns of this dilema ... I don't like the fermented taste in general.

lt's probably o.k if it's done right, but there is obviously better things around, that why HHI dropped it. 2nd best is not good enough for HHI, they want to do the best possible.

[MysticTree]

good water is good enough

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

good water is good enough
You could well be right, but l am yet to extensively study Dr Jubb's view on things. Jubsy has lots to say on bacteria and knows ALOT, probably knows more than any other raw food person because of his background, entensive study and pioneering in this field.

[Non]

Hm.. i believe in rejuvelac. I think it's only wheat rejuvelac that was causing problems with the overgrowth of bad bacteria.

besides that... isn't the commercial wheat hybrid? If we cd do it with kamut or some ancient grains would that help?

Also.. if you tried your best to keep every batch as clean as possible by closely monitoring conditions or making sure that each batch comes out clean it could very well work. Maybe you can add probiotics, and/or you can disinfect the grains before making it?

[PunkRotten]

I tried making it 3 times and failed. First 2 times it smelled and looked foul. The 3rd time I think I got it almost right. It had the lemony smell and was fizzing. But I took a few sips and thought it did not taste right. But I didn't really know what it was supposed to taste like. I was so nervous about drinking it so I dumped it and never tried again. Especially after hearing it was not recommended to drink anymore.