Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
We’ve been brewing kombucha on our kitchen counter for years, long before it was available in grocery stores. It turns out you can do more with kombucha than just drink it… you can turn it into a favorite kids’ snack that they won’t even know is good for them!
This SCOBY fruit leather recipe doesn’t require any special equipment and gets all of its yummy flavor from fresh fruit.
SCOBY Fruit Leather Made From Kombucha
If you’ve brewed kombucha you know that with each new batch the brewing culture, called a SCOBY (which stands for Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast), creates a “baby” or daughter culture that can be used to brew its own batch.
While this is an awesome way to continue the procreation of the kombucha species, these baby SCOBYs can add up and a new kombucha brewer may wonder what to do with them all!
When I first started getting into making kombucha, I tried to pass on these baby SCOBYs to friends and family so they could brew their own kombucha as well. Truth be told, I only had a few friends who were interested in trying it, so I eventually ended up composting most of my SCOBYs because I didn’t have another use for them.
Fast forward a few years and I met Hannah and Alex (who my kids call “The Kombuchas”) at a health conference. They own Kombucha Kamp and are the authors of the fantastic book The Big Book of Kombucha, which is a gorgeous and informative encyclopedia of everything about this delicious fermented drink.
Hannah and Alex gave me a sample of a delicious treat that they make: fruit leather with leftover SCOBYs! I thought it was a brilliant way to use excess SCOBYs and get the benefits of the enzymes and probiotic cultures it contains.
SCOBY Fruit Leather Recipe
This recipe is similar to my original fruit leather recipe, but has the added benefits of the kombucha cultures. It is so simple to make and my kids love these as snacks or an after dinner treat.
You can easily make this in a dehydrator or oven and it is the perfect way to use up extra kombucha SCOBYs. If you brew kombucha, give these a try!
If you’ve never made kombucha… what are you waiting for? Use this simple tutorial to get started (or this one for a continuous brew) and save your extra baby cultures for this recipe.
SCOBY Fruit Leather Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
- Combine the fruit and sugar in a medium saucepan.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the fruit and sugar are thoroughly broken down and combined, about 10 minutes.
- Add the fruit mixture and SCOBY puree to a blender, along with the spices if using, and pulse until the mixture has the texture of applesauce and all the ingredients are combined.
- Spread the mixture onto wax paper, parchment paper, or silicone dehydrator sheets in a layer about ¼ inch thick.
- Dehydrate for 12 to 36 hours. If you’re using a dehydrator, use the lowest setting (95–110°F or 35– 43°C). If you’re dehydrating in an oven, set it to its lowest temperature and prop the door open.
- Once the mixture is dried and no longer sticky, gently remove from the wax paper. If the leather is difficult to remove from the wax paper, stick it in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes; then peel off.
- Cut the leather into strips. These can be rolled up or cut into bite-size pieces. Store in an airtight container at room temperature; they will keep indefinitely but might dry out over time.
Notes
Nutrition
Like this recipe? Check out my new cookbook, or get all my recipes (over 500!) in a personalized weekly meal planner here!
Do you brew kombucha? Will you start?
Recipe excerpted from The Big Book of Kombucha © Hannah Crum © Alex LaGory. Photographs by © Matt Armendariz. Used with permission of Storey Publishing.
Could you use scobys from water kefir to make this?
water kefir technically has “grains” not a leathery SCOBY like Kombucha so I’m not sure if this would work.
Do you think this is ok for kids to eat?
Is the sugar necessary to “feed” the SCOBY or do I have the option to omit this? I noticed a few people have asked, but I don’t see an answer yet.
This recipe isn’t fermenting, but the sugar helps it hold together. It will work without the sugar though.
I just found out about this wounderful tea from your new book. I’m getting my first SCOBY from a health food store here. Can’t wait to try making my first batch. Love your new book and thank you for sharing your gift with others.
Lucy
We neglected our Kombucha for a long time this winter and we ended up with a totally healthy, but gigantic 8 pound scoby. It was almost 5 inches thick and as large as a dinner plate. OOPS! Totally wish I had seen this article before we composted it!!!!
I so hear you!
Wish I’d seen this ealier. Mine was like something out of a hippy horror movie. Eventually, we went out of town, and the fruit flies got to it. I put it outside in the garden. It was like burying a beloved pet!
Katie,
I think this is a wonderful idea. I’ve been drying fruit for years and appreciate this recipe. One question: Do you have any idea of what remains in the prepared leather of probiotic culture? Does it at all survive the drying? I have found that drying at a fairly low temperature for a longer period preserves the enzymes, but I suspect the probiotics won’t survive. Any thoughts?
At this low of a temperature, a good amount should survive, though I haven’t tested it to be sure.
Really,really good idea. I hate to throw scobys out which feels like I’m throwing my own children away. I have a dehydrator and will try this although I think I may omit the extra sugar and see how it turns out.
What a great idea. I was brewing Kombucha about 20+ years ago for a while and couldn’t figure out what to do with all the babies. I gave some away, blended some up in smoothies wondering if they were healthy or not. Most of them got composted. There wasn’t too much info back then about kombucha. I thought scientists should maybe make artificial skin for burn victims with it or dollmakers or dry it for lampshades.
Hahaha!!! Or perhaps used for art canvas, or processed into a sustainable form of plastic…or is anyone up for a game of slippery frisbee??
Won’t the heat kill all of the beneficial prebiotic? We’re instructed to let the tea come to room temperature before adding the scoby so it doesn’t die
Wellness Mama instructed us to dehydrate it at lowest setting or use the oven with the door propped open. That will leave the temperature below 105F, which keeps all enzymes alive.
Could you add protein powder to the mix to make it a protein-rich snack as well?
Sure, or collagen…
Do you have to include the sugar? Seems like a no-no in fruit leather…
I am wondering the same. We have very ripe tropical fruits and never have to add sweetener khoney or sugar), so I’m also wondering the purpose it serves in this recipe other than sweetening. Which now that I’m thinking about it, when stuff is dehydrated or dried, it would concentrate the sweet or salty flavour. It just seems a bit excessive.