Can You Freeze Kombucha?
In addition to being refreshing and delicious, kombucha is perhaps best known for containing gut health-boosting living cultures. The fermented beverage, made by brewing black tea or green tea with sugar and a SCOBY, is jam-packed with healthy living bacteria that can aid digestion.
However, making sure that the healthy bacteria created during fermentation continue to survive (and thrive!) in your bottle of RISE Kombucha involves proper storage.
Kombucha is usually stored in the fridge if it’s raw and unpasteurized (like RISE Kombucha) or at room temperature if pasteurised, but you may also want to store it in the freezer.
Not all kombuchas are created equally.
Pasteurization kills the good living cultures and bacteria, which is why you should always reach for a RISE Kombucha that contains living cultures, antioxidants and organic acids that all play an important part in gut health!
You can freeze kombucha, but there are some steps you must take to ensure that, when you freeze it, the living cultures, bacteria, and yeast that makes it so good for you stay, well, living!
Why You Might Want To Freeze Kombucha
Freezing kombucha is a good way to save it for future use. You may also want to create frozen kombucha treats, by adding it to a blender with frozen fruit to make kombucha slushies or pouring it into popsicle molds for a healthy frozen snack, both of which are wonderful, refreshing ways to enjoy kombucha during warmer weather! If you have a small fridge — or limited storage space in your fridge — storing your kombucha in the freezer is also a good way to free up space.
Things To Consider Before Freezing Kombucha
There are two main considerations to make before deciding to freeze your kombucha. First, you should know how long you intend to freeze it. Kombucha should not be kept frozen for longer than three months because, after this time, the beneficial live cultures in kombucha are more likely to die. In addition, you should be freezing your kombucha in an appropriate storage container. This is most important when freezing your own kombucha, brewed at home. Glass bottles or containers, not plastic containers, are recommended for freezing, meaning RISE Kombucha — which comes in glass bottles — can be put directly into your freezer.
How To Freeze Kombucha
How you freeze your kombucha is the key factor that will determine whether the microorganisms that make it so good for you remain alive.
Slow freezing, which involves gradually lowering the temperature of kombucha, will kill its beneficial bacteria. If you were to place a bottle of kombucha directly into your freezer, this would be slow-freezing. Flash freezing is necessary for the survival of the living culture.
But don’t worry: no special equipment is necessary! You can flash-freeze RISE Kombucha directly in its bottle. To do so, fill a large bowl with ice, and place your bottle of kombucha into the ice, to chill. Immediately add some water to the bowl and ¼ cup of salt. The salt will cause the ice and water to become extremely cold very quickly, which will chill your bottle of kombucha immediately. Then, you can put your kombucha in your freezer, which should be kept at 0 degrees. The living culture and yeast culture will become inactive or dormant, but will not die.
If you’re making kombucha popsicles, it may be best to use kombucha that has already been frozen and blended and then poured into moulds. This is because it is not likely you will be able to flash-freeze kombucha in plastic or silicone popsicle moulds, and slow-freezing kombucha within these moulds will kill the bacterial cultures.
How To Defrost Kombucha
Thawing kombucha is a very straightforward process. A day before you’re ready to drink your kombucha, simply remove the frozen bottle from your freezer and put it in the fridge until it’s completely defrosted and ready to drink. Slowly defrosting your kombucha will “wake” the living cultures from dormancy and will eliminate the risk that the glass bottle will crack or burst, which may happen if the bottle is defrosted too quickly.
After your kombucha is fully thawed, you should drink it within a day. And be patient when you’re thawing: You should always avoid using heat to defrost your kombucha, as heat can kill the living bacteria in the beverage!
Freezing Kombucha FAQ
Can You Refreeze Kombucha?
It is not recommended to refreeze your kombucha, as altering its temperature too many times increases the risk that you will kill the beverage’s healthy bacteria. If you refreeze your kombucha, these bacteria will likely die.
Does Freezing Kombucha Affect Its Taste?
In general, frozen kombucha will start to lose flavour after one or two weeks.
Is It Dangerous To Store Kombucha In The Freezer?
Kombucha may expand slightly as it freezes. However, because the living cultures in kombucha will be rendered inactive when you flash-freeze them, they won’t build up carbon dioxide within the bottle, as they would when left in the fridge or at room temperature. Therefore, the likelihood that your glass bottle of RISE Kombucha will explode in your freezer is very low!
Whether you’re making slushies or popsicles, our delicious kombuchas come in a variety of flavours sure to create tasty, refreshing, healthy summer treats. Click here to find out where to buy RISE Kombucha near you!
