You don’t have to spend much time around me learn I love me some coke-a-cola although I know how awful it is for the body. Enter the need for a healthy yet delicious replacement. That replacement came in the form of a ginger bug.
What is a ginger bug? It is a ferment similar (yet very different) to your sourdough starter. The basic process is same, you catch and grow wild yeast by feeding it. A ginger bug does not grow in volume.
With a ginger bug you create carbonation by feeding the yeast on ginger root sugar. This sugar is necessary and is mostly consumed by the yeast.
Wild yeast is on the peel of the ginger andso I do not peel my ginger. You need to take this into consideration when purchasing or growing your ginger.
Day 1: add 3T each of sugar & freshly chopped (or grated) ginger to 2C filtered water. Cover loosely with a cloth and store out of direct sunlight.
Day 2-7: feed your bug 2T each sugar & fresh chopped ginger and stir well.
You may notice bubbles forming around the floating pieces of ginger in a couple days and by day 7 you should notice a good increase to the bubbling activity. Your bug is now ready to use.
Generally your soda recipes will call for 4-6C of juice or tea to 1/4-1/2C starter. You will mix these with a few tbsp of sugar (again to feed the yeast and create carbonation) and allow to ferment for 12-48hrs.
Pineapple ginger soda
- 1/4C ginger bug
- 48oz pineapple juice
- 3T sugar
I juiced a fresh pineapple but needed to add canned juice to reach the 48oz. It is best to use swing back jars to ferment your soda recipes but mason jars can be used so long as that band is screwed much less than finger tight.
Barley Branch Hollow 