Ginger Bug Soda Starter

Who knew that there were delicious fizzy sodas that are easy to make and actually good for you and healthy to consume?! Culturing "sodas" with a ginger bug soda starter is a great way to enjoy a refreshing fizzy beverage while at the same time getting a dose of probiotics, B-vitamins and other good stuff.

How to cultivate your own soda culture

Bubbles indicate an activated culture!

You will need:

• Fresh unpeeled ginger
• Raw sugar (or any real sugar, no substitutes! Raw is preferred for it's nutrients to keep your culture thriving. Tip: if you only have white processed sugar add a dab of blackstrap molasses.)
• Water
• Mason jar or other glass container, quart sized
• Clean cloth to cover jar
• Rubber band to secure cloth to jar

Take 2 cups of water + 2 tablespoons of minced ginger (WITH THE SKIN ON!*) + 2 tablespoons raw sugar (if you don't have raw you can add a dollop of molasses for nutrients).

Note: it's important to leave the skin, because you are cultivating the yeast already present there.

1. Mix the above in a quart sized mason jar and cover with a clean cloth secured with a rubber band.

2. Set jar in a warmer spot but not in direct sunlight (at least 72 degrees for optimum results). Everyday add 1-2 teaspoons each of minced ginger and sugar, stirring, until it gets frothy, bubbly and obviously activated. This may take up to 2 weeks, but likely will happen faster, unless it's very cold, which retards growth and activity.

You will know it's activated when every time you feed it it gets very bubbly afterwards and you can hear it making little (crackling, popping,?) noises when you put it near your ear.

After the culture is really good and activated you can strain liquid out to culture any number of beverages. It takes 1/4 of a cup of starter to every quart of liquid you want to culture.

So if you make a gallon of ginger based drink, you'll use 1 cup of starter to culture it. Every time you remove liquid you'll want to replace it with fresh water and a good feeding (1-2 teaspoons of both ginger and sugar), continue to feed everyday until it has a chance to replenish it's population and gets activated again. If you know you will need more than 1.5 cups of starter (as in making multiple gallons of beverage) you may want to add more water ahead of time and get it ready, because after you replace the liquid starter removed with water it may take a couple days to get fully activated again).

Once it is good and activated (bubbly and happy) you can feed it one more time, then cap the jar and pop it in the fridge.. this way, in between needing it you don't have to keep feeding it daily. It will be fine in the fridge for months at a time in a dormant state, then when you need it again just take it out, feed it (ginger and sugar), replace cap with secured cloth and let it warm back up. Experience has demonstrated the cultures comes roaring back happily even after months in the fridge with no problems.

What to do with your soda culture

You can culture lots of delicious naturally fizzy drinks "lacto-sodas" with the ginger bug soda starter, and depending on how long you let it age (read: eat all the sugar in the drink) will give between trace amounts (basically no) alcohol content, up to a small alcohol content if allowed to eat all the sugar (for instance, if it gets lost in the back of your fridge for a couple months, then you drink it, it will probably have a small alcohol content, not very much, but some.)

• Ginger ale

• Fizzy Lemonade "lemon ale/beer"

• Turn store bought dead juice into something healthy and alive with the ginger bug!

The ginger bug eats the sugar in the juice, or other drink, and turns it into fizz and lactic acid with lots of b-vitamins, probiotics and other good stuff. No need to add sugar obviously with store bought juices.. just add 1/4 cup of gingerbug per quart of juice, cover with cloth, and wait for the magic, bottle or refrigerate after activated and sufficiently unsweetened according to your tastes.

Enjoy!

Health Benefits

Probiotics!!

“The proliferation of lactobacilli ... produce numerous helpful enzymes as well as antibiotic and anticarcinogenic substances. Their main by-product, lactic acid... promotes the growth of healthy flora throughout the intestine.”