How to make Lacto fermented soda

Concord Grape Soda–Lacto Fermented Concord Grape Soda

We took a short break/vacation to take Page up north. By north I mean northern California. We live in southern California, and don’t really travel up north often enough, as a matter of fact, my husband would love nothing more than to move up north. It’s where his roots are, where his soul speaks, and ultimately where I think he’d like us to retire. Up north people are much more liberal–I would venture to say that the people up north are the prototype for what people in other states consider Californians. Socially liberal, tree hugging, animal loving, free spirited Californians. Here in the south, we are still liberal, but much more superficial–I call it the Hollywood effect. People in the north are street friendly, meaning they stop and talk to you, and are truly interested in getting to know you. They know their neighbors, talk to them regularly even. Here in the south, you’d be lucky to see your neighbor once a week, and talk to them once a month. It’s a very different atmosphere. Everything is so green in the north–in spite of the drought–there are so many farms–yes I said farms–I know the image of our state is one of sunshine and beaches, but we grow a lot of food here in California. We visited the Muir Woods which Page LOVED! Page really enjoyed San Francisco, she was especially fond of the steep hills. We especially loved the food. I had so many restaurants on my list of must try restaurants but we only made it to a few. I really wanted to visit State Bird Provisions, and Bar Tartine, time just didn’t permit it. On the road trip up, I brought along my Bar Tartine Techniques & Recipes book. I came across a recipe for Grape Soda and knew it would be the first thing that I was going to make when we returned home. Luckily for me, concord grapes just so happen to be in season. I found them on sale at Whole Foods for $2.99/lb. Not bad for organic grapes! Since my ginger bug was active, this was a breeze to make. If you can find organic grape juice then it will be even more simple, If not take the time to juice the grapes like I did–so worth it!

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Ingredients:

2 cups of organic Concord grape juice

2 cups of water–filtered

1/2 cup of strained lacto soda starter–ginger bug

2-4 tablespoons of sugar–optional

Directions: Add the juice, water and lacto starter to a large mason jar. Make sure the jar is large enough to allow for some head space, cover with cheese cloth and place in a dark area–out of direct sun light.

Allow to ferment for 3-4 days or until the mixture is slightly foamy and releases bubbles when stirred. It’s hot here so my mixture was fizzy and bubbly by day 2.

Transfer the mixture to a flip top bottle or canning jar, making sure to leave at least 1 inch of head space–I’d say 2.5 inches just to be safe.

Let this stand at room temperature for no more than 24 hours, to allow for pressure/carbonation to build,–my suggestion is that you allow this to carbonate inside of a dark cabinet.

You do not want to run the risk of an explosion in an open environment–it’s dangerous! Once carbonated, transfer to a refrigerator. Once cool, serve over ice and enjoy! Tip: If using a glass flip top bottle, place the bottle in a tube sock, and then place that in a closed cabinet. If the bottle explodes it will confine the damage.

If you like this recipe,try my recipe for Lacto-fermented Strawberry Soda.

DIY Strawberry Soda–Lacto Fermented Strawberry Soda

So now that you know how to make a ginger bug, let’s put it to use. I’ve been wanting to make this soda specifically for Page for a long while now. The great thing about this soda is that it is full of beneficial bacteria, so it’s a soda that is actually good for you. The directions I had for making this soda said to leave it out of direct sun light for 24 hours, so that it naturally carbonates and then move it to the refrigerator to chill and slow the process down. I put the soda in a corner and left it to sit, about 15 hours later, I hear a loud explosion in my kitchen. The bottle had exploded and my entire bottle of soda was lost. There was glass everywhere! It made me so sad. So the moral of the story is, don’t leave this out to carbonate more than 12 hours. If you plan on doing that, then put this in a cabinet, close it so that the explosion is confined, and no one gets hurt. Or place this in a plastic sterilized water bottle, that way you can clearly tell when the soda has carbonated, the bottle will expand and harden once the soda has been carbonated. In the book The Art of Fermentation’ the author suggest placing a raisin in the bottle, once the raisin rises to the top that is a sign that the soda has been carbonated, and you can transfer it to the refrigerator. I juiced fresh strawberries in my juicer for this recipe. There are many recipes out there that boil the berries with sugar to make a syrup, and then use the syrup as a base to make this soda. I preferred to just use fresh juice–delicious! Also the sugar is an optional ingredient, if the strawberries you’re using are already sweet then you don’t really need to add more sugar.

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Ingredients:

2 cups of strawberry juice

2 cups of water

1/2 cup of ginger bug

1/4 cup -1/2 cup of organic raw sugar –optional

Equipment:

Close top bottles

Directions: Remove the stems from the strawberries–about 3 pints and juice them.

Strain 1/2 cup of the ginger bug.

To a large bowl add the strawberry juice, water, ginger bug, and sugar if using,

Stir well cover with cheesecloth and place out of direct sun light to allow the mixture to ferment over night. If you’d like you could ferment longer–up to 3 days, but the flavor of mine was just perfect after 24 hours. The bacteria eat the sugar, so the longer you leave it, the less sweet it becomes. But be careful, the bacteria will convert the sugar to alcohol so you don’t want to leave it too long–unless of course you want to make this a mead–a delicious alcoholic beverage, instead of a soda. Transfer the mixture to an air tight bottle or mason jar to carbonate, store in a dark cabinet–or a safe area where if it explodes it will not harm you or your family members.

Store for up to 12-15 hours before moving it to the refrigerator to chill. Once chilled open the bottle over a sink–natural carbonation is a powerful thing! Pour over ice and enjoy!

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Tag Archives: How to make Lacto fermented soda

DIY Concord Grape Soda–How to make Lacto-fermented Concord Grape Soda

DIY Strawberry Soda–Lacto Fermented Strawberry Soda