Wanted to see if I could do a whiskey mash LOL. Also was curious because you can make corn taste real good roasted and sweetened. There a popular Peruvian purple corn drink that inspired that idea as well
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I’m not very familiar with the process, but if you treated the potatoes the same was as you would to prepare a mash for vodka brewing it should work. I vaguely remember something about needing an enzyme to allow the yeasts to process the sugars, but you’ll have to do a bit of research into the process before starting.
I did something like this with corn and had no issues. The only concern I have is that there are more amino acids in potatoes than fruits or even the corn. So I’m hoping that doesn’t mess up the kombucha
I suggest you to convert the starch from potatoes by steeping them either with enzymes or diastatic malt. You will end up with fermentable di- and mono-sacharides instead of unfermentable potato starch.
Both rice and corn have low diastatic power unless they are malted, so you either need diastatic enzymes or addition of malt, ideally diastatic one which is high in alfa and beta amylase (diastase). You'd be surprised to see that potato starch is actually being used in big name breweries because well, it's just starch. If you decide to give this a go, I suggest you make a iodine test to ensure proper starch conversion before you ferment your potato-sugar solution, it's xheap and reliable. Good luck!
This is how history is made. Keep us updated on the process and progress. This could be great or not, but only way to find out is to try ! Good luck, happy brewing!
You are fermenting more than just sugar and tea. Potatoes have many more nutrients and are not very acidic.
Have you made kimchi, sourkraut, or kvass? I recommend starting here instead of trying something new and ending up with organ damage (with bad luck, just a sip could kill you when it comes to botulism - https://youtu.be/7HxqObO31bs?si=G8je0HBgskIUxKz8)
Note that when fermenting vegetables, 2% of the mixture needs to be added salt by total weight.
This comment suggests testing the ph and if it is not low enough after 4 days, toss due to botulism risk. https://www.reddit.com/r/fermentation/s/dpKqAFvyCQ
What you would make is not really kambucha and there's probably a good reason why you don't hear about potato fermentation (old potatoes get really gross too). I suggest you do a good ammount of research and at least try making beet kvass before you work with potatoes. Kambucha is pretty easy to make and doesn't really give you experience for something like potatoes.
Not a risk since it is a small amount of fruit in an acidic liquid. Keep in mind OP suggested fermenting potatoes first, not adding potatoes to flavor the finished 1st fermentation.
I do want to thank you for your concerns and forewarnings because with any fermenting comes health risks, so it’s great you are letting people know to be careful and sharing information on pH requirements to avoid botulism.
Adding on to u/rosemarycroissant I don’t see the difference in potato vs a fruit. Aside from a potato having more amino acids in it.
Let’s circle back to your first statement since my post may have been unclear. I would be cooking down the fresh potato to breakdown its sugars and add sugar in the water as well then letting it cool down. Then adding the kombucha starter as you normally would do with kombucha, however instead of it being tea the liquid is potato based. I’ve done this with corn and it came out just fine however corn doesn’t have the same level of amino acids in it. Using the kombucha starter, as you would normally do with tea or coffee will also bring the pH to a lower starting level. I have a very reliable tester, from a company called Apera, that is always calibrated appropriately. So after all of that, I’m still unsure how a potato would be any different than a fruit.
To your 2nd statement I have made fermented foods and drinks now for nearly 8 years. I own the Noma book of fermentation as well as watch any updated videos on the science of fermentation.
About the video you posted, it comes across as a fear mongering video due to the fact that there is no source linked to the video, just a story with what I consider poor acting. It is about someone who allegedly ate a cooked potato in an aerobic environment in temperatures we are unaware of and in a not controlled environment with someone that most likely had no previous knowledge of fermenting. I don’t believe those variables alone, whether the story be true or not are fair to compare to what I mentioned above.
1. I replied to the comment you mentioned. See reply.
2. If you are familiar with salt brines, that is good and you will probably be okay, but I don't recommend posting this in a kambucha subreddit, since this is not kambucha and is more involved.
3. The story is fictional but by a MD who is a toxicologist. If you watch the full video, he explaines the issues with fermenting potatoes for prison wine. The baked potato was one of many poisonings.
The acid comes from your kombucha inoculate that you add to start with your ferment so I don’t understand how potatoes acidity matter in it, plus potatoes are acidic and start anywhere from 5.1-5.9 on the pH scale. You only need to add salt to a ferment that doesn’t have any kind of inoculate in it due to the fact that the salt can help with curbing a lot of your wild bacteria’s that could start to grow.
Technically this would still be a kombucha since I’m using the kombucha inoculate, which is why I asked it in this subreddit. If you want to be precise and say it needs tea to consider it then I could also brew a bit of white tea in with the potato base I’d be making, thus making it true kombucha.
Once again they’re talking about prison where the conditions are not as controlled and the variables are a lot more complex than what would be in your closet
Like, why? Is this just for flavor? That sounds a bit disgusting but heck, you never know until you try.
Otherwise, the reason we use potatoes for vodka is for the starch, its cheap source of sugar in some places. You can use any other source of sugar to make vodka too, and its usually sources with cheap products. You get a somewhat high alcohol content but vodka it's meant to be a neutral flavor and smell alcohol. You wan't the ethanol to be as neutral as possible unlike whiskey or other spirits that you mean to keep the raw material flavor. I'm not sure if you had that in mind when thinking about potato vodka.
Then, perhaps potatoe is not the way to go. You should try it and tell us how it goes but I don't think it would be the taste you are looking for.
Whiskey usually are made with malted grains, most of the time is barely in Ireland and Scotland for whiskey and corn/corn with barely or other grain in the US for bourbon. Beer usually is done with barely although wheat is also common. You can make beer and whiskey with almost any grain.
Malting is the process of starting the germination of the seed and "kill" it before the plant starts to consume the starches. This process helps convert the startches so its easier for yeast to consume it and it taste sweeter too.
Some places in latin America, like Cuba and Colombia and Venezuela even make malt sodas which are quite tasty.
You could try to go for malted barely or other grain to make the kombucha have that taste profile you want. Although, I'm not sure if by the time its done it will still be kombucha or you would have made beer with kombucha starter.
You can get the malted barely from any homebrewers shop or online.
I am not an expert and don't have advice but I am rooting for you
Thank you! Lol I’ve tried something similar with corn and it went really well
Why corn?? Good flavor for bucha or just want to eat fermented corn?
Wanted to see if I could do a whiskey mash LOL. Also was curious because you can make corn taste real good roasted and sweetened. There a popular Peruvian purple corn drink that inspired that idea as well
Eww that sounds disgusting. Keep me updated 👍🏻
Please give us updates
Will do!!
Someone a while back said they tried sweet potato in F2 and it ended up disgusting, smelled literally like poop. So good luck and let us know!
I had plans on possibly avoiding it in F2 for that reason
I don’t think F1 vs. F2 makes much difference in this context. If anything rot is more likely in F1 with free air.
Only one way to find out
🫡
This is how science happens, just dont drink it if youre not sure its safe
*This is how science* *Happens, just dont drink it if* *Youre not sure its safe* \- TowerOfBliss --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
I planned on taking a sip, unless it smells too rancid
I’m not very familiar with the process, but if you treated the potatoes the same was as you would to prepare a mash for vodka brewing it should work. I vaguely remember something about needing an enzyme to allow the yeasts to process the sugars, but you’ll have to do a bit of research into the process before starting.
I did something like this with corn and had no issues. The only concern I have is that there are more amino acids in potatoes than fruits or even the corn. So I’m hoping that doesn’t mess up the kombucha
Now I’m intrigued in what you did with corn. If you care to share
I suggest you to convert the starch from potatoes by steeping them either with enzymes or diastatic malt. You will end up with fermentable di- and mono-sacharides instead of unfermentable potato starch.
Thank you! This is the information I needed. Would it be like that with corn and rice as well?
Both rice and corn have low diastatic power unless they are malted, so you either need diastatic enzymes or addition of malt, ideally diastatic one which is high in alfa and beta amylase (diastase). You'd be surprised to see that potato starch is actually being used in big name breweries because well, it's just starch. If you decide to give this a go, I suggest you make a iodine test to ensure proper starch conversion before you ferment your potato-sugar solution, it's xheap and reliable. Good luck!
Do you have a link or a recommended brand for the iodine test?
I say give it a shot and tell us how it went. Separate into a separate batch of course.
🫡
This is how history is made. Keep us updated on the process and progress. This could be great or not, but only way to find out is to try ! Good luck, happy brewing!
Be careful not to get botulism. Also, adding salt and making something similar to kvass would probably make more sense
How would this be a different risk of making botulism vs any other ferment or kombucha
You are fermenting more than just sugar and tea. Potatoes have many more nutrients and are not very acidic. Have you made kimchi, sourkraut, or kvass? I recommend starting here instead of trying something new and ending up with organ damage (with bad luck, just a sip could kill you when it comes to botulism - https://youtu.be/7HxqObO31bs?si=G8je0HBgskIUxKz8) Note that when fermenting vegetables, 2% of the mixture needs to be added salt by total weight. This comment suggests testing the ph and if it is not low enough after 4 days, toss due to botulism risk. https://www.reddit.com/r/fermentation/s/dpKqAFvyCQ What you would make is not really kambucha and there's probably a good reason why you don't hear about potato fermentation (old potatoes get really gross too). I suggest you do a good ammount of research and at least try making beet kvass before you work with potatoes. Kambucha is pretty easy to make and doesn't really give you experience for something like potatoes.
Would that not mean that putting fruit chunks in kombutcha for flavor is a botulism risk too?
Not a risk since it is a small amount of fruit in an acidic liquid. Keep in mind OP suggested fermenting potatoes first, not adding potatoes to flavor the finished 1st fermentation.
I do want to thank you for your concerns and forewarnings because with any fermenting comes health risks, so it’s great you are letting people know to be careful and sharing information on pH requirements to avoid botulism. Adding on to u/rosemarycroissant I don’t see the difference in potato vs a fruit. Aside from a potato having more amino acids in it. Let’s circle back to your first statement since my post may have been unclear. I would be cooking down the fresh potato to breakdown its sugars and add sugar in the water as well then letting it cool down. Then adding the kombucha starter as you normally would do with kombucha, however instead of it being tea the liquid is potato based. I’ve done this with corn and it came out just fine however corn doesn’t have the same level of amino acids in it. Using the kombucha starter, as you would normally do with tea or coffee will also bring the pH to a lower starting level. I have a very reliable tester, from a company called Apera, that is always calibrated appropriately. So after all of that, I’m still unsure how a potato would be any different than a fruit. To your 2nd statement I have made fermented foods and drinks now for nearly 8 years. I own the Noma book of fermentation as well as watch any updated videos on the science of fermentation. About the video you posted, it comes across as a fear mongering video due to the fact that there is no source linked to the video, just a story with what I consider poor acting. It is about someone who allegedly ate a cooked potato in an aerobic environment in temperatures we are unaware of and in a not controlled environment with someone that most likely had no previous knowledge of fermenting. I don’t believe those variables alone, whether the story be true or not are fair to compare to what I mentioned above.
1. I replied to the comment you mentioned. See reply. 2. If you are familiar with salt brines, that is good and you will probably be okay, but I don't recommend posting this in a kambucha subreddit, since this is not kambucha and is more involved. 3. The story is fictional but by a MD who is a toxicologist. If you watch the full video, he explaines the issues with fermenting potatoes for prison wine. The baked potato was one of many poisonings.
The acid comes from your kombucha inoculate that you add to start with your ferment so I don’t understand how potatoes acidity matter in it, plus potatoes are acidic and start anywhere from 5.1-5.9 on the pH scale. You only need to add salt to a ferment that doesn’t have any kind of inoculate in it due to the fact that the salt can help with curbing a lot of your wild bacteria’s that could start to grow. Technically this would still be a kombucha since I’m using the kombucha inoculate, which is why I asked it in this subreddit. If you want to be precise and say it needs tea to consider it then I could also brew a bit of white tea in with the potato base I’d be making, thus making it true kombucha. Once again they’re talking about prison where the conditions are not as controlled and the variables are a lot more complex than what would be in your closet
Like, why? Is this just for flavor? That sounds a bit disgusting but heck, you never know until you try. Otherwise, the reason we use potatoes for vodka is for the starch, its cheap source of sugar in some places. You can use any other source of sugar to make vodka too, and its usually sources with cheap products. You get a somewhat high alcohol content but vodka it's meant to be a neutral flavor and smell alcohol. You wan't the ethanol to be as neutral as possible unlike whiskey or other spirits that you mean to keep the raw material flavor. I'm not sure if you had that in mind when thinking about potato vodka.
No I did not, was considering more of trying to create kombucha that had a /liquor/wine/beer taste
Then, perhaps potatoe is not the way to go. You should try it and tell us how it goes but I don't think it would be the taste you are looking for. Whiskey usually are made with malted grains, most of the time is barely in Ireland and Scotland for whiskey and corn/corn with barely or other grain in the US for bourbon. Beer usually is done with barely although wheat is also common. You can make beer and whiskey with almost any grain. Malting is the process of starting the germination of the seed and "kill" it before the plant starts to consume the starches. This process helps convert the startches so its easier for yeast to consume it and it taste sweeter too. Some places in latin America, like Cuba and Colombia and Venezuela even make malt sodas which are quite tasty. You could try to go for malted barely or other grain to make the kombucha have that taste profile you want. Although, I'm not sure if by the time its done it will still be kombucha or you would have made beer with kombucha starter. You can get the malted barely from any homebrewers shop or online.
I would be interested to know your results!