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Ginger Soda (Lacto-Fermented)

10/7/2014

14 Comments

 
Picture
To make Ginger Soda, you will need an ongoing
Ginger Soda "starter" or "bug".  
You can drink the starter, 
but it tends to be very strongly flavored.

Ingredients:
1/2 Pound Fresh Ginger root
Ginger Bug
Cane Sugar
Sucanat/Rapadura
Himalayan Pink Salt
Juice and zest of 2 lemons or limes
Jar: 5 Liter
Brine: Not Applicable
Temperature: 68º-72ºF
Ferment: 7 Days

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Preparation:
1. Clean the ginger root. Trim the dried ends off of the fresh root, since this is where mold starts on ginger.  Wash the root, breaking pieces off where necessary to get in to trim the dried ends.
2. Slice the ginger root into thin slices, 1/4” or thinner. 
3. Add 1 cup of Ginger Bug, 2/3 cup of cane sugar, and 2/3 cup of Rapadura, and 10 grams of Himalayan Pink Salt, and the lemon or lime juice and zest to the Probiotic Jar, and stir with a non-metallic utensil.
4. Fill to just below the neck with filtered water.
5. Float the Brine Bowl on the water, and close the Jar.  
6. Fill the Airlock with water and twist into place.
7. Place Jar in 68º-72ºF dark spot for three or four days, and do not open the Jar.  
8. After three or four days, open the jar, remove three cups of liquid into a clean container, and slowly add a quarter cup of sugar and a quarter cup of Rapadura.  If the mixture bubbles while adding the sugar, then it is ready to bottle (mix the removed liquid back in and go to step 9).  If it does not bubble, then add another cup of ginger bug and another half cup of sugar, and another half cup of Rapadura and wait another three or four days (Remove additional liquid if necessary).  Pour the reserved liquid back into the Jar to just below the neck and replace the Brine Bowl after you're finished working with it. Discard the excess reserved liquid (or drink it).
9. After the mixture is bubbling when sugar is added, taste the mixture.  It should be quite sweet, as it continues to ferment, it will become less sweet as the lactic acid bacteria consumes the sugar.  Add enough sugar to make it too sweet, and stir to dissolve with a non-metallic utensil.
10. Strain through cheesecloth and pour into flip top bottles.  In this step, the bottles seal completely, causing carbonation to build (creates the delightful fizz), but also creates a safety hazard: if the soda creates too much pressure, the bottles can explode.  For this reason, I always place my bottles in a water bath in a tub with a lid to safely contain an explosion should it occur.  I never use Fido Jars for this purpose; they are made to withstand externally applied pressure.  The flip-top jars such as the Grolsch beer bottles are specifically designed to withstand internal pressure.
11. Burp the pressure each day (or every few hours if needed), and when the sweetness is just right (a day or two), move it to the refrigerator to chill and serve.  Continue to burp each day while in the refrigerator to prevent breakage.

Notes:
Liquid Stevia could be added to provide a non-nutritive (probiotic bacteria won't digest it) stable sweetener after it's ready to drink.

Here is a link to a description of what happened to someone who regularly seals jars without an airlock, to build carbonation:  Exploding Fido Jar
Please let us know if at some point this link no longer works.
14 Comments
Dorothy George
11/1/2014 05:53:49 am

Where/when do you add the ginger bug and how much? Step 8 says if it doesn't bubble, add another cup of ginger bug. However, the recipe doesn't mention adding any ginger bug before that--in the ingredients or in the instructions.

Reply
Probiotic Jar
11/1/2014 06:19:46 am

That is a great question! I'm not sure how that was overlooked, but we'll fix it right away!

The ginger bug, about a cup, would be added with the main ingredients before the water added to fill the Jar.

Reply
Tonnie Schroeder
5/3/2015 01:18:58 pm

Do you heat the ginger for this recipe? I bought Lisa's Counter culture and her recipe calls for heating the ginger and sugar then cooling before adding the lemons and the bug.

Reply
Karen Ross
5/4/2015 05:57:05 am

Hi Tonnie,

This recipe does not call for heating the ginger or the sugar. Lisa's recipe is a perfectly good one, and either one will produce a good gingery drink. Boiling as in Lisa's recipe will really extract the flavors, but will also not contribute anything (but the sugar) to the ferment. The recipe above is entirely raw and fermented.

Other differences you will note is the difference between the amounts of ginger bug to use (less is necessary when the main part isn't cooked). Choose one recipe or the other, following it exactly, and do not blend elements from each for best results. :)

Reply
Tonnie Schroeder
5/4/2015 11:05:35 am

Thanks for the great info! I have the soda going now since I started the bug about a month or so ago.

Carol Tonneman
7/18/2015 07:32:26 am

Is the ginger bug used in making ginger soda only the liquid or is it liquid and some of the solids?

Reply
Karen
7/18/2015 07:49:07 am

Just the liquid. The solids stay behind in the bug, and are occasionally partially removed and fresh ginger added to keep the bug fed. :)

Reply
Jan link
8/15/2015 02:09:41 pm

Can you use the airlock system instead of burping the bottle daily when you are ready to store your gingerbug in the frig to drink at a later date to prevent explosions of the jar? Or will you loose all the bubbles doing this. Can you recommend a system to prevent explosions?

Reply
Geez
8/28/2015 02:54:45 am

Jan if you use an airlock instead of a cap for storage it will not hold fizz. The drink would basically become flat quite quickly as it wont keep producing gas once the sugar runs out. It would only work for a very short time.

Reply
Sarah
3/25/2016 05:27:04 am

There is no way to entirely prevent explosions, but the closest we can get is to use a very heavy European glass such as the Grolsch bottles to put the ferment under pressure and keep an eye on it. To mitigate any explosions, I put the bottles into a tub with water in the fridge. Increased safety and less mess.

Reply
Greg
3/15/2016 07:43:40 am

I'm using a 3 liter jar and am having trouble figuring out the brine mixture. What percent should the brine be?

Reply
Sarah
3/25/2016 01:20:59 pm

In a 3 Liter Jar I would add 6 grams of salt; calculating 3/5 of the 10 grams of salt. This isn't really a brine calculation; the LAB are going to be so active, it doesn't need to be right on; they'll use it up.

Reply
Greg
3/26/2016 06:40:39 pm

Thank you Sarah,

I just wanted to be safe. Now, thanks to you, I'm confident to go forward.

Greg

Reply
Brenda Miller
1/21/2017 01:26:39 pm

Is it necessary to use salt in the Ginger Bug recipe? I noticed that a few other online recipes only use sugar and fresh ginger.

Reply



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  • HOME
  • Shop Now
    • PROBIOTIC JAR SYSTEMS
    • PACKAGE SPECIALS
    • SALT & ACCESSORIES
    • REPLACEMENT PARTS
    • International Delivery
  • How To Ferment
    • Quick Start Guide
    • Expanded Guide >
      • Introduction
      • Brine
      • Vegetables
      • Pack The Jar
      • Assembly
      • Light & Temperature
      • What's Happening In The Jar
      • Handling Finished Ferments
      • Detecting Spoilage
    • Free Videos
    • Fermenting I & II Classes
  • Recipes
    • Click to See Alphabetized Recipe List on Right Side of Page > > >
  • Subscribe
  • More
    • Events
    • About Us