I've been making my own homemade lacto-fermented soda for about 3 years now and made a post about my original method sometime during the first several months (see here: Lacto-Fermented Soda). I believe have perfected it since then and feel the need to revisit this topic to share my observations and alterations.
(6-30-15 For a video, please see this link: Ginger Soda)
You see, it started to not taste so good and I became less and less interested in making it. I gave it up for a few months but then decided that maybe I just needed a fresh starter. I made a new starter and that helped, however after several months it began having the same issues of not tasting quite right. It was then that I decided to change my method. In my previous method I would simply save back a cup or two from the last batch of soda to use as a starter for the next batch of soda. At the same time I had been maintaining a sourdough starter for quite a while - I would keep the same starter but feed it when it needed fed and that kept it fresh and good. I decided to do the same thing with the ginger soda - instead of saving back a cup or so from the last batch I just began maintaining a starter. This has proven to work so much better ... however I do make a fresh sourdough starter every year in the spring and I might do that with the ginger soda too. We'll see.
So, here's the way I do it now.
* Organic ingredients are always preferable but not absolutely necessary.
For the starter/bug
Fill a quart mason jar about 2/3 full. Add to it 1T FRESH grated ginger and 1T sugar. Mix well to incorporate the ingredients and air into the water. Cover with a coffee filter or cloth secured with a rubber band. This allows wild yeasts and bacteria into the jar but keeps the bugs out. If your house is cold try to set the jar in the warmest place.
Each day thereafter, around the same time each day, you will add 1T of FRESH grated ginger and 1T sugar. Mix well to incorporate the ingredients and air. Stir again approximately 12 hours later. (so you will be stirring it every 12 hours)
I like to taste my starter each time after adding the ginger and sugar. It should be pleasantly sweet and somewhat gingery. If it tastes too much like ginger (which makes me think of alcohol) it needs more sugar. Add what you think is needed ... a teaspoon? A few teaspoons? Another tablespoon? You might also need to skip adding the ginger (or only add a small bit) for one day but add the sugar. You'll learn what's right.
After about 3-7 days your starter should be ready - a warmer temperature in the home makes the starter go faster, a colder one makes it slower. You will see bubbles on top and when you stir it you will hear it fizzing like soda. If it only fizzes a little bit you might want to leave it another day or two.
Now you have what is called a 'bug'. You are ready to proceed to the next step.
For the soda base/wort - This is for one gallon of soda.
Ingredients:
1/3c packed grated fresh ginger
1 1/2c sugar
Approximately 1 gallon of distilled or filtered water
1/3c FRESH squeezed lemon juice
1c strained soda starter/bug (SAVE THE REST OF THE STARTER! see below)
Pay attention now! This is important. You do NOT want to heat your starter! You will KILL it!
Fill a pot with a half gallon of water and the 1/3c packed grated fresh ginger. Bring to a boil, cover and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove from heat, stir in the 1 1/2c sugar and allow to sit until it's at ROOM TEMPERATURE. You may cool it down quicker by putting it in a sink of cold water ... just be sure to not get the water into the pot.
Once the syrup is at ROOM TEMPERATURE add the 1/3c fresh squeezed lemon juice and the 1c soda starter/bug. Mix well.
Pour all into a glass gallon jug and add water to the shoulder. Taste it. It should be slightly sweet and gingery. Top with a coffee filter or cloth secured with a rubber band.
Leave on your counter. Stir every 12 hours and taste each time. You are looking for obvious bubbles and fizz. Also, it should be mildly sweet. If the sweetness goes away but you still do not see bubbles or fizz, add a little more sugar until it's mildly sweet again (I've never had to do this but I'm putting this in here just in case it happens to you).
This step usually only takes 1 to 2 days (24-48 hours or anywhere in between). If it's colder in your home it might take longer than 2 days. If for some reason you reach 3 full days and still do not see bubbles or fizz, you may try replacing some of the liquid with more starter (a half cup to a cup), adding more sugar if needed, and seeing what happens after another day or so. Again, this has never happened to me but it's possible.
Once you have fizz and bubbles you are ready to move on to the next step. Eventually you will learn how you like it to taste at this point too. I leave mine sit a little longer even after the fizz and bubbles start showing up.
Bottling your soda
This is the finishing stage that will really add carbonation to your soda and reduce the sweetness a little.
Strain off the ginger and discard or compost it. (I tried giving this to my chickens but they were not interested at all!).
You may add a little more sugar if you want it a little sweeter. Again, you will learn what you prefer. I never add more sugar but I do not like things so sweet.
Using a funnel, fill your bottles within 2" to the top (or if you are using plastic bottles you may fill a little fuller, but no more than 1" to the top). For the first few years I made this soda I was using plastic 'juicy juice-type' jugs. They are really air tight and work well enough, however I discovered a store in Rogers, AR, that had the fancy Grolsch-stole bottles (EZCap brand that are said to be the better ones) for a really good price so I went ahead and purchased a case of 16oz bottles (12 in a case). I did not regret this purchase at all and in fact just ordered the 32oz bottles for my beet kvass and for larger bottles of soda when we have company.
Anyway, fill your bottles and cap them with an AIR TIGHT LID.
Leave on your counter for a day or two or three to build up carbonation. The longer it sits out the less sweet it will be.
To check simply open the bottle and taste it, but be careful! It might spill out so open over the sink or outside. Each time you open a bottle to check it it will lose carbonation. To restore some of the lost carbonation simply put the lid back on and leave it out a little longer than the other ones.
When the soda is done, transfer it to the refrigerator. This will almost halt the fermentation process, however the organisms in the soda will continue to slowly eat the sugar ... the older it is the less sweet it will be, but it does keep indefinitely so do not be afraid to drink the old stuff!
Maintaining your starter
Now you still have this starter to think about; I will share what has worked very well for me.
Strain out the ginger bits and put the rest back into the quart mason jar. Add water until it's about 2/3-3/4 full. Add a tablespoon of fresh grated ginger and a tablespoon of sugar. This should sound familiar, right?! Just like before, you will add 1T of each grated ginger and sugar, mixing well twice a day, however this time you will only need to do it for about 2-3 days. Again, taste it to make sure it is mildly sweet and gingery. If it is too strong of ginger or alcohol, add more sugar and little to no ginger. If it is too sugary, leave off the extra sugar for a day or so.
Your starter should be bubbly and fizzy.
Now it is ready to be stored in the fridge until you need it next. I leave the cloth and rubber band on it and then I put a jar lid on top and put the ring on loosely. I do not keep it air tight.
A day before you are ready to make more soda take the starter out of the fridge, mix in 1T each ginger and sugar, stir again 12 hours later, and then 12 hours or so after that you are ready to make more soda. If it's really strong I leave off the ginger.
And the process repeats on and on.
Variations
You may wish to add a little concentrated fruit syrup before bottling it. This will give it different flavors but will also give the organisms more sugar to eat ... and might make the bottles super fizzy. If I make 2 gallons at a time I still have to use the plastic juice bottles for some of my soda because I do not have enough of the EZCap bottles. Occasionally I will add a handful of frozen strawberries, peaches or blueberries (or whatever) to the jug. This also makes it more fizzy. One time I opened a plastic bottle in front of company and I'm not joking at all, the soda shot clear to the ceiling and made quite the mess!! It was a good laugh.
Also, you do not HAVE to use ginger for the wort/syrup ... you may choose to use 6c of fruit like strawberries, grapes, blueberries or whatever. I have yet to find a fruit I like to use in place of the ginger; also, it just uses so much fruit that it seems a waste of fruit and money to me!!! I just stick with the ginger.
One final tip: When you make your first batch of soda I suggest you take notes so you'll have a better idea of what to do differently for the second batch.
Showing posts with label Make your own healthy soda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Make your own healthy soda. Show all posts
Friday, February 27, 2015
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Lacto-Fermented Soda (make your own healthy soda!)
(see my revisited ginger-soda post for how I do it now ... and a VIDEO: Ginger Soda) Recently I tried my hand at soda making ... and I must say ... a real big
YUM!
We really enjoyed our first batch of homemade soda (I made ginger-ale) and have made several more ever since. We tried using grapes one time instead of ginger. I did not care for that very much. I think we'll stick with the ginger!! But, if the boys have a chance to pick some sassafras and sarsaparilla, we'll look forward to homemade root beer.
So, how is it done? Well ... let me see if I remember. First you need the starter. This starter can be a few cups saved from your last batch of soda, or you can start the starter from scratch. Here's how to do that:
Have on hand FRESH ginger root, sugar, and filtered water. A rubber band, coffee filter and wide mouth quart jar are needed as well.
Chop up the ginger small, add 2T of that along with 2T sugar into a quart mason jar filled with about 3c of water. Stir well, cover with coffee filter, secure with rubber band, and let it sit for 1 week total. Each morning you will add 2t of fresh chopped ginger and 2t of sugar. Stir well. Each afternoon and evening you will stir well. It is good to incorporate air into the mix.
Your mixture will eventually start to get a little cloudy, but it will smell pretty good and have a mildly sweet ginger taste each day. At the end of 7 days, it should be bubbling a little ... it might even be fizzing a little. I've read a lot of different instructions on how to do this (including one that was a guest post on here about 2 years ago) and all have a little something different to say, so I guess this is not 100% set on how to do it. Some say it will fizz, some say you will hear the fizz, some say it will bubble a little, some say it will bubble a lot. I was somewhat concerned because I could not hear a fizz in my starter by the end of 7 days, nor was it really bubbling much. I saw small bubbles around the perimeter of the jar, but that's it. I used it anyway to go on to the next step ... and it ended up working just fine.
OK ... so the next step is called the "wort". You'll need fresh ginger, lemon, sugar, filtered water, a gallon glass mason jar and a coffee filter with a rubber band. Well ... you'll also need a pan and something to stir with.
Grate the ginger (you do not have to peel it) with a cheese grater until you have about 2oz. I should have measured the 2oz in a measuring cup as well, but it seems to be about 1/2c of unpacked grated ginger. I'm guessing here. Add the grated ginger and 1 1/2c sugar to a pan with half a gallon of water. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and pour into a clean glass gallon jug. I read somewhere that putting a butter knife into the glass jug helps prevent the jug from cracking. It must work because I have not cracked a jug yet. Add the juice of 2 lemons and some more water (but be sure to leave plenty of room for your starter!) and let it sit till it reaches room temperature. To hasten the cooling process, you can set the jug in a bigger container and fill the container with cold water. Stir occasionally and add more cool water as needed. Once it is cool, add the starter and more water to reach about an inch to the top. Here is a picture of my cooled mixture with the starter next to it (this is starter from my last batch):
Place a coffee filter over the top and secure it with a rubber band:
Let it sit for at least 2 days. Taste it. It should be fizzy and have a lightly sweet ginger taste. If it's too sweet, there is too much sugar in it. Leave it sit for another day and taste it again. The more you make, the more you'll know what to look (or taste!) for. It's all right if it's a little sweet - more sugar will be eaten up in the final process. Bottle the soda. Some like to get all fancy and use soda or beer bottles with special lids that look like this (or bottles with lids separate):
But, I don't have money for these bottles right now and found it works to just use old juice jugs with tight fitting lids. The discount store here sells organic juice for $1.50; sometimes we drink the juice with a special 'breakfast supper' or I will use the juice to make more soda (take out a cup of the juice and replace it with a cup of starter), and then use the jug for the finished product :) It works out well. The key is, the lid must fit (it must be air tight). The soda now needs to sit in the jug/bottle for a day or two out on the counter. Be sure to release the air whenever needed ... you don't want it exploding! Taste it once or twice a day and when it has the right amount of fizz and a good flavor, secure the lid and put it in the fridge. The stuff could sit there for months ... but we drink it up quick and have more going nearly all the time.
Let me know if you try it!
YUM!
We really enjoyed our first batch of homemade soda (I made ginger-ale) and have made several more ever since. We tried using grapes one time instead of ginger. I did not care for that very much. I think we'll stick with the ginger!! But, if the boys have a chance to pick some sassafras and sarsaparilla, we'll look forward to homemade root beer.
So, how is it done? Well ... let me see if I remember. First you need the starter. This starter can be a few cups saved from your last batch of soda, or you can start the starter from scratch. Here's how to do that:
Have on hand FRESH ginger root, sugar, and filtered water. A rubber band, coffee filter and wide mouth quart jar are needed as well.
Chop up the ginger small, add 2T of that along with 2T sugar into a quart mason jar filled with about 3c of water. Stir well, cover with coffee filter, secure with rubber band, and let it sit for 1 week total. Each morning you will add 2t of fresh chopped ginger and 2t of sugar. Stir well. Each afternoon and evening you will stir well. It is good to incorporate air into the mix.
Your mixture will eventually start to get a little cloudy, but it will smell pretty good and have a mildly sweet ginger taste each day. At the end of 7 days, it should be bubbling a little ... it might even be fizzing a little. I've read a lot of different instructions on how to do this (including one that was a guest post on here about 2 years ago) and all have a little something different to say, so I guess this is not 100% set on how to do it. Some say it will fizz, some say you will hear the fizz, some say it will bubble a little, some say it will bubble a lot. I was somewhat concerned because I could not hear a fizz in my starter by the end of 7 days, nor was it really bubbling much. I saw small bubbles around the perimeter of the jar, but that's it. I used it anyway to go on to the next step ... and it ended up working just fine.
OK ... so the next step is called the "wort". You'll need fresh ginger, lemon, sugar, filtered water, a gallon glass mason jar and a coffee filter with a rubber band. Well ... you'll also need a pan and something to stir with.
Grate the ginger (you do not have to peel it) with a cheese grater until you have about 2oz. I should have measured the 2oz in a measuring cup as well, but it seems to be about 1/2c of unpacked grated ginger. I'm guessing here. Add the grated ginger and 1 1/2c sugar to a pan with half a gallon of water. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and pour into a clean glass gallon jug. I read somewhere that putting a butter knife into the glass jug helps prevent the jug from cracking. It must work because I have not cracked a jug yet. Add the juice of 2 lemons and some more water (but be sure to leave plenty of room for your starter!) and let it sit till it reaches room temperature. To hasten the cooling process, you can set the jug in a bigger container and fill the container with cold water. Stir occasionally and add more cool water as needed. Once it is cool, add the starter and more water to reach about an inch to the top. Here is a picture of my cooled mixture with the starter next to it (this is starter from my last batch):
Place a coffee filter over the top and secure it with a rubber band:
Let it sit for at least 2 days. Taste it. It should be fizzy and have a lightly sweet ginger taste. If it's too sweet, there is too much sugar in it. Leave it sit for another day and taste it again. The more you make, the more you'll know what to look (or taste!) for. It's all right if it's a little sweet - more sugar will be eaten up in the final process. Bottle the soda. Some like to get all fancy and use soda or beer bottles with special lids that look like this (or bottles with lids separate):
But, I don't have money for these bottles right now and found it works to just use old juice jugs with tight fitting lids. The discount store here sells organic juice for $1.50; sometimes we drink the juice with a special 'breakfast supper' or I will use the juice to make more soda (take out a cup of the juice and replace it with a cup of starter), and then use the jug for the finished product :) It works out well. The key is, the lid must fit (it must be air tight). The soda now needs to sit in the jug/bottle for a day or two out on the counter. Be sure to release the air whenever needed ... you don't want it exploding! Taste it once or twice a day and when it has the right amount of fizz and a good flavor, secure the lid and put it in the fridge. The stuff could sit there for months ... but we drink it up quick and have more going nearly all the time.
Let me know if you try it!
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