Kombucha Dog Treats – What to Do With Extra Kombucha Scobys
Today I’d like to share with you a recent fun kitchen experiment making kombucha scoby dog treats. Our Morty really liked them so they must have turned out pretty good and I’m sure I’ll make them again. You might already know that several years ago I started brewing kombucha at home (if you don’t know what kombucha is or would like to learn how to make this drink you can check this post I wrote earlier). Brewing a homemade kombucha is an easy process, my family loves the results and we have been drinking it regularly. With every new batch of kombucha you get one new kombucha scoby – a symbiotic culture of (beneficial) bacteria and yeast. Even though scobys are full of beneficial stuff they are not really edible. I know because I tried to stir fry some with spices. 🙂 They tasted great but were more like a chewing gum than food. Now I usually save one or two, just in case a friend wants to start brewing ,and the rest ends up in our compost pile. Last month I felt like experimenting and decided to create dog treats out of my five extra cultures. If you want to learn how to make your own kombucha scoby dog treats keep reading…
Here is how my kombucha cultures (scobys) looked before the experiment:
First I put them into a dehydrator for several hours until they were drier and thinner but still pliable:
Then I rolled them up and dehydrated for a few more hours until they got really dry and stiff:
Finally I dipped three of the dried rolled up scobys in bacon grease to add some flavor and dehydrated a little more. I didn’t soak the rolled up treats completely in the grease. Just enough to add nice smell for the dog. I’m sure that roasted chicken, hamburger or whatever other meaty flavor would work as well, we just happened to have some bacon that day. When the rolls dried a little I gave one scoby dog treat to our dog and he immediately took it to another room and started working on it. Within a few moments it was all gone. Good that I had my camera ready to capture that!
Morty loved his bacon flavored kombucha dog treats, but didn’t care too much for the plain ones. I guess I’m not surprised as they are pretty bland and don’t have much flavor. Next time I make these probiotic treats I’ll experiment with different flavors and maybe also different shapes. If you have any other ideas what to do with extra kombucha scobys, please share in the comments below.
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Made these with beef broth and my minipinis gobbled them up!
That’s a great idea! I wouldn’t think about beef broth, but I’ll try it next time 🙂
i brew kombucha tea and i would feel so bad if i killed my scobies. ugh but they are starting to produce like those tribles from star trek. i think in a few months i will make my pups some scoby treats. its a wonderful idea i never would have thought of it on my own. thanks for sharing! 🙂
Kombucha cultures do multiply like crazy and at some point everybody runs out of people who want one to start brewing their own kombucha. Using extra scobys for dog treats is a great way to find a new purpose for them 🙂 I hope your dogs will like them :0
Hello! We got so excited when we saw this post! Seems to be a logical way to use up beautiful SCOBYs. We made those treats the same day for our two chihuahuas. We used only one SCOBY disk, flavored with super thin lamb meat that they love, then we split it in two for each dog. They loved it, but one dog pooped it out the next morning, the whole treat. The other dog threw it up about 30 hours after he ate it. Again, the whole thing. It didn’t digest even a little. And they took a while to eat it. Seemed like they were chewing it pretty good. I can’t find any more information about it. I saw only one comment from somebody saying their big dog swallowed the whole treat and pooped it out the next day.
Maybe we did it wrong? Too dry or too soft? Any recommendations or thoughts about it? Thanks for you attention.
Hmm, I’m not sure what to recommend… I don’t think there is a way of doing it right or wrong. Scobys are super hard to chew. I know because I tried to stir fry them for myself in garlic and oil and even though they tasted great there was no way for me to chew them up and swallow. They remind me of a chewing gum. Maybe they’re just too hard for chihuahuas? I haven’t noticed what came out of our dog after he had scobys, but I’ll do my best to pay attention next time 🙂
Hi
What type of dehydrator do you recommend for pet treats? do I need one with a timer ?
Thank you brandie
I think that any dehydrator will do, Brandie 🙂 I use one without a timer and just keep checking from time to time how dry the treats are. Good luck!
Do you know if it’s safe and healthy for dogs to eat?
I made these three times and our dog was totally fine after eating them but maybe others won’t like it.
Omg brilliant idea hoping to do this asap. I have years and years of Scoby’s thick and healthy ready to eat and use I have far to many now to keep as theu get thick and huge. Due to the pandemic I’m no longer selling or gifting any starter brew or scobys. Knowing and seeing your pup loves them is a plus THANK YOU FOR THE PICTURE PROOF. Hopefully it will help my pups gut and overall health as well as ours YAY.
Love me some kombucha
Thanks for your comment Angela!This post is several years old and I completely forgot about making scoby dog treats. Will have to go back to making them again.