jujatacular's Profile

Thank you for this article! I'm also brewing my first batch right now. I got the whole kit from Whole Foods. It's been over three weeks since I stuck it under my sink. I guess it IS just personal preference but mine still tastes sweet and I'd prefer more of a vinegary taste. I have a very sizeable "daughter" scoby on the surface like the one in your bigger jar pictures.

I'm glad to see that the canning jars worked for you. I talked to some people that brew their own beer and they said that canning jars wouldn't be good for something that has carbonation. They also said if it needs to be an airtight seal, canning jars don't accomplish airtightness unless you have something cooling from a higher temperature creating a vacuum seal. Can you provide any insight here?

I know it has been said multiple times but I have to second (or hundredth?) the cell phone comment. As a member of the demographic that is the worst offender of this (20-somethings glued to their technology), I was shocked when my friend pulled out his phone in the middle of dinner in a swanky restaurant the other night and proceeded to write a non-urgent email while we waited for food. Really? When I confront my friends about this issue, I'm met with joking hostility: "Who cares?"
It's a respect issue! Not just respect for your friends at the table but the other diners who are enjoying the atmosphere and don't want to be distracted from their own conversations by a bright cell phone screen across the restaurant. Hmph! That's all I've got to say about that!

At my last house, my kitchen was also without a sink window. My landlords didn't remove any cabinet doors but they did hang a window-paned mirror which reflected a window on the other side of the kitchen. So clever!

Made this tonight with Andouille sausage and without cider vinegar or hot sauce. My mouth was BURNING! It's delicious but I would definitely make it next time with the smoked sausage instead. Extremely intense with the Andouille sausage.

I've made goat cheese with my aunt for the past couple of summers and I know that they only use goat milk from a goat farm 20 miles away. Never heard of people passing off cow milk cheese as goat milk cheese! Michael Symon uses her cheese at Lola in Cleveland so she passed his test of preference!

The herbs add a lot of flavor! I might use less olive oil next time but that's just me. Definitely a repeat recipe!