Should rejuvalac smell gross?!

[Eva]

I'm making it for the first time. It's day number 2 of soaking, I'm about ready to use it, but it smells so icky!!!

Does anyone make this? PLEASE share how it is supposed to smell!

[sport]

It does not smell nice but some people seem to like it. I am not one of those people.
Maybe it will grow on you.

[alicemagooey]

it does not have to smell gross..

at times, it can smell rather nice.

make sure you do not have any broken wheat kernels.
some one wrote me a detailed method of making rejuvelac which i may find and post here for everyone..

he says his does not smell disgusting ( i complained to him that mine did.)
the first thing he mentioned was the above..

i will go and try to find my methods. and post them in this thread if you want.

PS.. i have found other things to ferment..i have been experimenting with kefir, which is really fun, and can also smell disgusting if made incorrectly.
made correctly, it is a really nice drink.

I make water kefir, which is different from milk kefir.. Water kefir is made with fruit juice, honey and water , and kefir grains.

you can use the kefir grains freeze dried by Yogurmet for each batch.
it gets a bit expensive that way.
you can also purchase kefir grains which you keep going like a yeast culture..and they just go and go and go and multiply.
That is what i have been doing.
here is a group which has posts all about kefir making.. the lady(moderator of the group) also has milk kefir grains to sell, and posts refer to both kinds of kefir. They use raw goats milk.( do not tell the FDA )(shhhh)
it is a yahoo group..good_kefir_grains.. i think it is..
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Good_Kefir_Grains/

will post again about the rejuvelac
alice

[alicemagooey]

Hello again..

i got this from a man who i think is a professional rejuvelac maker. His name is mr gopal sharma and i found him at a fermentation group which i go to.. a google group..

he says that temperatures which are too high also cause a stink.


here is how he makes rejuvelac:

Let's come to the rejuvelac topic immediately. It is definitely the
temperature higher than 80F which causes stinking. I have established this
fact in my experiments on rejuvelac. I love rejuvelac for its taste and
nutrition value. I consume it daily about a cup an hour before two main
meals. Let me guide you how to make it.

1. Sprout a cup and a half (360 ml) wheat berries till the shoots are
about half an inch long. Be careful that the sprouts are very appetising in
flavour. This is very critical since any misstep will spoil the sprouts. The
sprouting machine is not essential and careful scientific handling will do
the magic. Let me know if you want to know how I do it.

2. Put the rinsed sprouts in a one gallon wide mouthed jar. This will occupy
slightly less than one fourth height (space) of the jar. Don't pound the
berries into small pieces.
You gave me the apt words "Integrity of the whole grains compromised, be a
possible cause of more foul fermentation". It is very true. Fermenting the
whole berries and not the broken pieces or say a coarse pulp is the secret.

3. Add further 1 inch piece of fresh ginger thinly sliced, a 1 inch piece of
onion with outer skin intact and two tablespoonfuls of sea salt or kosher
salt. Never use the iodised salt. It inhibits fermentation.

4. Fill the jar with cold water at about 65-70 F up to about an inch from
the top.

5. Cover the jar completely with a coloured cloth and put in a dark corner
of the room. The temperature of the room should be about 75 F but not
exceeding 80 F.

6. In case the room temperature can't be maintained at 75 F round the clock
or for some hours for non-availability of air conditioning, there is a very
simple way of achieving it still for the rejuvelac mass as follows.

Place the jar in a tray with a clear space of about 3 inches around. Take a
thick cloth napkin of size big enough to wrap around the jar its full
height. Drench it completely in water and squeeze to remove the extra
suspended water. Flutter it in the air a few times and it will be cooled by
water evaporation.Wrap the cool wet napkin around the jar it's full height
and to touch the tray. Fill the tray with water up to an inch depth. This
water in the tray will rise to the wet napkin by capillary action and keep
it wet and cool. The napkin and the jar will remain cool because of
evaporative cooling effect. This is the same principle on which the desert
cooler works for space cooling. As the water evaporates, it can be made up
at times. Now stir the entire mass gently and cover the mouth of the jar
with a small cloth. Secure it with a rubber band in position.

I may tell you that I use this quite often. It is very simple, cheap and
effective. I use this even in fruit wine making during primary as well as
secondary fermentation. The results are wonderful always.

I feel bad about the controversy on benefits of rejuvelac. I and my
friends have been using it for a long time with wonderful results. We are
hale and hearty, without any disease. We don't require any medicines. We
follow MACROBIOTIC cooking. When sprouts are good, when fermentation is
good, when fermented pickles are good, when wine (pomegranate wine
especially) is good then why not REJUVELAC.

[Eva]

That's really helpful info. I think the method was the problem. I got the info from a nutrition book rather than one specializing in sprouting or rejuvalac. I'm going to toss this (it's really gross smelling!) and try again. Unfortunately (well, not really), I'm traveling from Friday to Monday, so I will have to wait until I return to try this other method.

[sport]

The first time that I drank it I was at The UK Center for Living Foods and they have been making it there for years but I still thought that it was smelly.
Not everyone felt the same so I think that it is a matter of taste.
I do not like fermented foods but if you are in the habit of having them then I think that you should like the smell.
I have made it and the smell was the same but I am aware of how good it is for you so I am going to have to try it again. I could add it to smoothies.

[Eva]

I am not used to fermented foods, but I do not supplement at all, and I have read in several places that fermented foods and drinks may help my body to have more plentiful or healthier intestinal flora. Thus, help with B-12. I dunno for sure. I just want to be healthy even if I have to have smell food! :eek::D

[alicemagooey]

Yep, Eva.. that is what i have heard also.. and i believe it..

the flora in our intestines is really important, and apparently if one has an abundance of good flora ( usually found in fermented foods) that B12 is manufactured by the body.. The immune system is also helped.

I feel the same way you do.. i will go for fermented stuff if it helps.

By the way, i am a member of some three fermented food groups..
if iany ferment really smells vile, most of the experts say NOT TO TOUCH IT.

i think if we make the things correctly, they will not taste or smell vile.. or if they do, we should discard them.
We have a sense of smell for a reason. And one reason, i believe, is to help us distinguish what we should be consuming..

[Eva]

Yes, it definitely smells vile!!! I am tossing it. So sad. That's a waste of a whole pound of wheat berries, but a good lesson.

I'm considering getting a GOOD blender tomorrow so I can make green smoothies again (blender's broken). I'm starting up on growing more sprouts (like broccoli, not just buckwheat and things like alfalfa) and getting into the fermenting process.

All in the name of intestinal flora! LOL, it takes what it takes. :)

By the way -- sport -- great idea of adding it to a green smoothie!!! That's GENIUS!

[alicemagooey]

yes.!!!!

i add my own fermented water kefir.( mentioned in another thread about probiotics , think) to my daily smoothies.

it makes a great tasting drink.. also sometimes effervescent..!!

really cool.!
try it, you will LOVE it.

alice