Have you made your ginger bug? Today, when you crack the lid, does it whisper an excited sigh that says you can now magically create sodas that are not just delightfully delicious but great health promoters for you and your family? Sodas that do not taste like health food but like….well, soda!
Let's try an easy one first and later we'll try more complex tasty creations. Time to have some fun!
Apple ginger soda ingredients
- 1/4 cup ginger bug from previous ginger bug recipe
- 1 1/2 teaspoon freshly juiced ginger (or to taste)
- 3 1/2 cups freshly juiced apple
Apple ginger soda method
In a quart size bottle (old apple cider vinegar bottles are a convenient choice), combine all ingredients. Place a tight lid on the jar and allow it to sit in a warm or room temperature spot in your home. If your home tends to be cool at night, consider getting a Seedling Heat Mat. Just sit the bottle on top of the mat and out of direct sun light. After 1-2 days of fermentation (watch for bubbles rising to the top of the bottle and if you are unsure your bevi is ready, give the lid a slight twist and listen for a gas release), you will have a lovely probiotic rich bevi.
Yield: 1 quart
This post was generously contributed by Monica Ford of Real Food Devotee. Monica's delicious recipes will make your mouth water and your tummy purr. If you're lucky enough to live in Los Angeles, Real Food Devotee can make your life easier by delivering nutrient dense goodies directly to your door.
nummy!
What is the care like for the ginger bug – keep feeding it daily? refrigerate and feed weekly?
Thanks! Great idea! Gonna get one started to practice making for my going to be 3 year olds bday party 🙂 She doesn’t even know what “soda” is but I think she will love this!
Yes, what do we do with the remaining ginger bug from here on out? Also, how do we care for the soda if we don’t drink it all on the first day it’s ready? Do we put it in the fridge, and how long can we store it?
I’m excited to try making this soda, but my ginger bug isn’t ready yet because I started it 2 days late. I am on day 5 now of adding ingredients daily and it’s just starting to get the slightest bit bubbly.
@Staci Great question! Once you’ve used some of your ginger bug liquid to make a soda, add some water to your ginger bug jar to come up to the shoulder of the jar. Now, you have to options. If you would like to use your ginger bug again within the next few days to make another soda, you can add water to the ginger bug jar up to the shoulder, the center and ginger as usual and screw on the lid tightly and leaving a warm place to continue to ferment. OR you can simply screw the lid back on your ginger bug and place it in the fridge until you’re ready to begin using again.
When your apple ginger soda is ready, you may simply story in the fridge. That is, if you and the kiddos don’t drink it up right on the spot.
Once you are storing your ginger bug for future use in the refrigerator, just remove it from the refrigerator 3 days before you would like to make soda again. Set it on the counter in a room temperature environment. See did as you normally would on the second day. On day 3, make delicious soda using the recipe above.
Hi! Just to clarify – you take your ginger bug out three days before you want to use it and only on the SECOND day you feed it? So once? And on the third day, use it? Just want to make sure I’ve got it! I just made this by the way – now it’s just got to ferment the 1-2 days and I will have my soda! Looking forward to it, it’s a slow process!
Thank you for the follow up. I’m looking forward to making the soda in a few days, when my ginger bug gets nice and bubbly!
My pleasure, @Staci Be sure to let us know how it turns out. xo
I am so going to make this, only in much larger quantities. Any thoughts on problems related to doubling or tripling the recipe?
no problem making a larger quantity @Anita
I do this all the time. I suggest you mix a large batch and ferment in bottles that are quart size or smaller. When you use larger bottles, the lovely effervescence can sometimes dissipate especially with a few of the more complex sodas. Enjoy!
So, today was day 7 since starting my ginger bug…and it doesn’t have any bubbles 🙁
I think I did everything right because I read your suggestions on the previous page. I used filtered water, a clean glass jar with a tight, screw-on lid, organic sugar and fresh ginger root, which I peeled and chopped myself. The ginger I used was very juicy inside, because it was very fresh, when I chopped it. On the first day, I chopped enough ginger for the entire week and put it in a glass, sealed container in the fridge, so that I could simply scoop out 2 teaspoons every day and add it to my bug. Could that be a problem? I tasted the “bug” today and it tastes like a delicous ginger juice, but it is totally flat. Should I wait longer and see if it gets bubbly, or will it spoil? I just can’t figure out what I did wrong. I stored it near my stove, so a few times a day it would get some heat that was eminating from the stove or oven , otherwise it was at room temp…around 71-75 degrees.
Hi @Staci
The delicate lactobacilli mostly reside in the peel of your ginger so, start anew and do not peel. Just chop the ginger. These bacteria are what will make your ginger bug probiotically rich and bubbly. xo
Oh, I wish I had known! I just assumed that I needed to peel it, and then chop it. Okay, I’ll start over!
You are two of my most favorite real foodies on earth. I am LOVING this collaboration!!!
just a couple questions 1. after a couple days my “bug” was nice and bubbly not on day 3 and 4 no bubbles, is that a problem? 2. I appolgize in advance for my lack of knowing =) how do you juice a ginger? I o not have a juicer. Thanks in advance for your knowlage =)
@Delia
1. Try fermenting your soda with the ginger bug anyway. Are you feeding it at approx the same time of day, each day? Try that. Also, keep it warm even when it gets colder at night. Once your ginger bug is up and going, you will not have to take such care:)
2. Though there are a few DIY ( http://www.thevelvetbird.com/2011/02/poor-mans-juicer.html )alternatives out there, In my opinion, you need a juicer to juice ginger. I got my first champion juicer off Craig’s List for $30. Well worth it, my friend! It’s a power house!
Just make an apple soda sans ginger for now. I promise, it will be utterly delicious!
As the late great Julia said “no apologies” We share, we learn. Thank you for sharing!
love ya right back, @Kristen
Would love to know how to make root beer? Love your site!
@Debra. Request noted:) watch out for naturally fermented Root Beer in the near future. Summer + Real Food Root Beer Floats = LOVE
Hi- I’m super excited to be trying this- I made the ginger bug, and as far as I can tell it worked well…. I was suprised at how thick it got when I poured it out, though. I acquired a juicer recently, and this was my first use of it. The ginger juice did what I expected, but I decided to do the apple juice too, and was rather suprised at how thick and foamy the juice was. A friend assured me that it was norma for a juicer, but after I combined all the ingredients together for the soda, it just looked…. thick. Just wondering if I’ve done something wrong?
Thanks so much for this- my fiance brews beer and mead, but I don’t really drink much, so this is something fun for us to work on together!
I agree about the thickeness thing! It does like rather thick in there. I guess the true test will come in a couple of days when I open the bottle to taste it. Did you use freshly juiced apples or a bottle organic juice from the store?
I originally used fresh juiced apples- while the taste was nice, if there was fizziness it didn’t show through the thickness. I also tried with store bought apple juice, and it turned out better. Next time I’m going to try either straining the fresh juiced apple juice through cheesecloth or something, or start with a fresh apple cider from the store. I think either will work well!
Could I replace the apple juice with orange juice?
@Heather and @Stephanie Yes, some juicers yield an apple juice that is almost like an apple puree instead of juice. If this is the case for your juicer, buy yourself a nice organic apple juice and use that or better yet, if your farmer’s market is like mine and features an orchard owner who sells RAW organic juice, purchase your juice there. Nice and easy:)
@Allyson I’m sorry but, I must advise against this. In my opinion, orange juice is not a delicious ferment. You could however choose almost any other juice that you feel would be a nice pairing with ginger. Note: citrus juices will require more sugar so go with another type of juice for this recipe:)
My kids and I have been diligently feeding our ginger bug each night, first feeling the top of the mason jar lid and getting all excited about the pressure from the fizzyness. It’s fizzy! It’s our first ferment and it is so very exciting. They are so fascinated by this “bug”, though my son thinks that it can’t be a very healthy bug, eating all that sugar. lol!
I bought some lemonade with one of those wire-stoppers just for the bottle. I’m hoping that bottle will be okay to use for this.
Is there a way to use the ginger bug to make a ginger “beer” as well? Gosh that sounds super yummy right now! I’d love to figure out other fermented “sodas” to use this bug for. Thanks so much for sharing your wealth of knowledge!
@Misha The different kinds of sodas we can make using a ginger bug indeed are endless! Isn’t it fun to be an alchemist!?!?!?
I love what your son said about the ginger bug. So cute. This is a great idea for us to address. We feed the bug whatever makes it as strong and healthy as it can be and in return it give us the exact same answer to our nutritional needs. I beautiful system!!!
Be ware of the gorgeous and alluring wire bottles. They pack in a LOT of pressure. I suggest screw on lids especially with little ones:)
Well, I am going to juice some apples and ginger tonight and get this puppy going. I am assuming that since I took the lid off my bug and it promptly fizzed up and all over the counter that it is ready and VERY happy! I think I started it a week ago, maybe 8 or 9 days. Did you say the grolsch bottles were not strong enough? I have some from when I was trying water kefir sodas.
Sounds like you fermented beautiful healthy ginger bug!! Well done, @Kelly
Juice away. Please remember that some juicers can leave a lot of pulp especially in apple juice so, you may need to send your apple juice through a fine mesh sieve as pulp is not too great in a soda.
No. Actually I said the grolsch bottles have lids that fit on TOO TIGHTLY. Safety first:) A great bottle to ferment in are old vinegar bottles or another bottle with a screw on lid. Thanks for checking in and Let us know how it goes!
To everyone who found juicing ginger a challenge:
on a trip recently I ran across an organic juiced ginger product from The Ginger People
http://www.gingerpeople.com/pantry-essentials/ginger-juice.html
Okay. so, I know this has nothing to do with the apple soda, but I’m making a blueverry soda, and it smells like cough syrup.. is that normal? It’s been fermenting for 3 days on my counter with a paper towel over the jar, and a rubber band to keep it in place. I did everything according to the blueberry soda recipe on learningherbs.com — any help anyone can give me would be very much appreciated. 🙂
Hi @Riniel
Eeeeks! You done made yourself some fruity moonshine, Darlin! I find its not a good idea to leave a great deal of pulp in your naturally fermented soda. That cough syrup smell is alcohol. Someone will love it im sure!
Try this apple soda recipe and if you’re tempted to not filter your juice or leave in lots of pulp, don’t! Instead take that pulp and make apple sauce:)
Also, use a lid when making soda. You will have better results. I promise!
Lets us know how it goes! Xo
I keep forgetting to ask if it’s okay to use store bought apple juice? I don’t have access to a cider press, or a juicer.. I already bought some apple juice that is 100% apple juice. It’s not from concentrate either. I also read some where to make sure there is no sodium phosphate in the juice, so I made sure it doesn’t have any of that, but it does have some sort of acid in it.. whatever acid is vitamin c. I don’t have the bottle of juice in front of me at the moment, so I’m going off memory.
please let me know if the store bought juice is okay to use. thanks!
-Riniel
@Riniel yes. Without seeing the juice I think it should work just fine. It is always a good idea to use organic apple juice:)
I’ve been feeding my ginger bug daily for a week now and no bubbles 🙁 P erhaps my home is too cold and I neeed a seeding mat- so bummed!
@lucy
what is the room temp like evening and day time in your kitchen? It should be around 75F
screw your lid on snug, use unpeeled organic ginger and organic sugar
I have organic apple juice from concentrate, will that work. And do I just add some of the ginger bug to it?
Hi @Lorraine
That should work. Maek sure it doesn’t have a lot of pulp as that just doesn’t work well in a soda. Follow the receipe above for amounts
Can I use quart size canning jars for the soda?
@Leslie
Yes. You can use the quart size mason canning jars to make this soda. My best suggestion is old apple cider vinegar bottles:)
Thank You for responding so quickly! I only have one ACV bottle but it’s not empty yet 😉
Do you think it’d be ok to use to pints? I have plenty of canning jars at the moment.
@Leslie
Sure thing, jelly bean! Use the pint jars
Me again! The apple ginger soda turned out GREAT!! Thank You SO much! I’m thinking about using pineapple juice next time…thoughts? I have some berries to use for the strawberry soda recipe too, can’t wait to try it!
Hi @Leslie
I’m so happy to hear you’re making your own soda! Wonderful!
Pineapple juice contains a great deal of sugar so, watch it closely or it will turn to alcohol quickly. You can catch it before though so…Let us know know it turns out!
YES!! Pineapple ginger ROCKS!! 24 hours and the lids were starting to buckle! But the soda is AMAZING!!!
That’s so awesome @Leslie Thanks for letting us know!
Hello! For my canning jars, I have one piece white plastic screw-on lids. Can I use those rather than the two piece rings and lids?
Can’t wait to try your ginger bug. I’ve tried one in the past but didn’t like the taste of the results, however, my husband did. Going to start my bug tomorrow and then try this ginger apple ale…yum! Thank you!
Monica, I have a question. If I let my ginger bug sit out too long and it gets a little sour, is it still okay to use?
Thanks!
Hi @Nancy
You can use the one piece white plastic screw-on lids to ferment your soda but not your ginger bug. Please use the two piece rings and lids to ferment your ginger bug.
@Denise There are so many different kinds and tastes of sodas you can make with the ginger bug. Experiment!!
@Janelle Go ahead and feed your ginger bug and leave it in a warm place for a day. Now check the smell and let me know how it goes. xo-Monica
Hello. Is it possible to “over-feed” a ginger bug, or let it get too old? The first time I made ginger ale with it, it was great! Now my last two attempts (using the same bug, refrigerated and re-fed between batches) have yielded soda that is booze-y and undrinkable. I did a raspberry cream and an orangeina and both had to go down the drain. I only let them ferment for 2 days at room temp, tightly lidded. Both were super fizzy (like explosively fizzy). I know the bubbles were there in less than 24 hours, but I followed the instructions for 48.
Do I need to start over with the bug?
Also, there is definitely alcohol in it. I had a few sips and can feel it! Eeeek!!
One final note – there is a layer of white sludge on the bottom of my ginger bug jar. Yeast, I’m assuming? (So sorry to bombard you!)
Thite sludge on the bottom of the jar should be yeast as you already said. 🙂
It sounds like your ginger bug is really really healthy, and it may not take 48 hours to get the soda/carbonation you want. Particularly if you are in a warm place. Your description sounds more like the fermentation has gone too far than like something is wrong with your ginger bug. If you want to go 48 hours, try adding a little less or moving it to a cooler location (which will be easier now that the weather is starting to change!).
Awesome, thank you so much. Do you think it’s safe to assume the soda is done as soon as I see bubbles?
I think it is a matter of taste. A lot of variables affect fermentation, the best suggestion I have is to try it! 🙂
@Heather
Nicely done, my friend!
Thank you! 🙂 Between your ginger bug info from last summer and marrying someone who is a brewer, I finally managed to pick up some fermentation knowledge info. 🙂 I realized after the fact that I might have stepped on your toes- glad you didn’t mind! 🙂
I have been making strawberry soda (from your blueberry soda recipe) for quite some time now. I didn’t know how to treat the ginger bug so just refrigerated it until I wanted to do a 2nd batch (each batch takes 1 cup) That left me some in the jar and I just filled it back to the starting point and added my ginger and sugar rail until it was ready again and then put back in the fridge. This usually is in 3-5 days). I have not taken it out of the fridge in advance.
My soda has been ready to bottle in a little over 1 day……. like it used to be on the 3rd day. Your original instructions say try to stir twice a day. I have been stirring 4 times…. each meal time and bed time. I wonder if the extra oxygen from stirring is speeding the process up.
All I can say is I love getting my soda so quickly.
Thanks again for the wonderful recipes.
Hiya @Dorsey
I actually haven’t posted my blueberry soda recipe.
here is a link to my strawberry soda recipe though
http://holisticsquid.com/cultured-strawberry-soda/
Sounds great. Sodas are usually ready in 1-2 days depending on the ingredients and temps. Sounds like yours are working great. Happy to hear it!
Also, no need to stir your bug. How great and easy is that. Without stirring it will still ferment your sodas nice and quick:)
Here’s my Ginger Bug Method
In a quart size jar combine all ingredients.
Place a tight lid on the jar, give it a shake and allow it to sit in a warm or room temperature spot (72-80F).
If your home tends to be cool at night, consider getting a seedling mat-. Place the jar on top of the mat and out of direct sun light.
Every day for the next week add 2 more teaspoons each of sugar and diced ginger. The liquid will begin to get bubbly towards the end of the week. If you’re using the classic mason jar lid, you will be able to feel the top of the lid for pressure or even a distended lid. Give that baby a little burp. Once bubbly, it’s ready to use.
OOPS! There are so many of you good foodies out there! I wrote your name on the recipe thinking that was where I got it. Oh well………….Sorry about that. 🙂 Bottom line is we are all out there to get our soda fix. LOL…..and healthy to boot. Keep the recipes coming. I have copied several of yours.
Hi! I got the Ginger Bug part right, it was lovely and fizzy & bubbly, but it has been 2 days since I added it to the apple juice and there is no fizz or bubbles now… do you think I mucked it up by straining all the ginger pieces out of my ginger bug and just adding the ginger bug liquid to the apple juice? Was I supposed to add a 1/4 cup of ginger bug with the pieces of ginger still in it? Thanks 🙂
i have been trying to make ginger bug sodas, and I get the hiss and the little bubbles, but I never get the fizz that I see in this picture and in other pictures. do i need to let them keep fermenting, or try a warmer spot?
Hi! I got the Ginger Bug part right, it was lovely and fizzy & bubbly, but it has been 2 days since I added it to the apple juice and there is no fizz or bubbles now… do you think I mucked it up by straining all the ginger pieces out of my ginger bug and just adding the ginger bug liquid to the apple juice? Was I supposed to add a 1/4 cup of ginger bug with the pieces of ginger still in it? Thanks 🙂
So…the original grated ginger is left…always? How long can it last? Or did I miss something? I’m thinking I should strain it all and use the liquid with fresh ginger and sugar? I made the Apple Ginger soda tonight. Sounds delicious!
Hi @Jill and @Serene
You very likely need a warmer spot to ferment your soda and possibly your ginger bug. I like to ferment both in the same friendly spot. If you want to up your consistancy, get yourself a gift of a seedling mat. It will help you to make many a soda and give you great consistant results http://tinyurl.com/mqfc27x
Hi @Mary
you may leave the original chopped ginger in your ginger bug until it begins to fill the jar too much. Then, you may remove some to the compost heap and continue using and adding/feeding as your needs dictate:)
The ginger bug is perfect but twice now the soda hasn’t worked. The first time when I added the ginger bug to the apple juice I strained out the ginger pieces so that was probably the mistake. This time I left the pieces in but it still didn’t work, I have been freshly juicing green granny smith apples, could I be using the wrong type of apples?
P.S. It has been verrry hot here, so the room temp is not the problem in my case. Thanks.
Hi @Serene
You should strain your ginger bug and use the liquid without the gigner bits when making a soda.
Are you using a tight fitting lid? what kind of bottles are you using?
Is the juice you are using filtered or does your juicer leave a lot of pulp? If there is a lot of pulp you might try either straining it or to determine if this might be the issue, you could buy an inexpensive bottle of organic apple juice and test with that. It would be simpler than re-juicing.
Hi Monica, I’ve been using mason jars with the metal lids so I can feel if there’s pressure in the jar by pressing on the lid. I used a Champion juicer to juice the apples so it wasn’t really pulpy… Yes I think the next step would be to try organic apple juice from the store… fingers crossed! Thanks for your help 🙂
@Serene
You might also try a bottle.
an old kombucha bottle or an old appl cidar vinegar bottle would work. 24 hrs should work well in a warm environment or on a seedling mat.
Good luck:)
I tried this; made our first finger bug, added the juice and waited. And waited. It’s now been a couple weeks and I opened the bottles, and nothing. No fizz. Totally flat. Though no mold or anything either. Is it safe to consume this still if it’s been unrefrigerated for weeks?
I know some of my question may sound redundant, but I am SO LOST!
I’ve made my ginger bug, it is beautiful, healthy, fizzy, and I feed it daily at approximately the same time. I juiced my ginger with a meat grinder, grinding it through 4 times and straining it through a flat diaper to get all the pulp out. When I combine the ginger juice, ginger bug, and apple juice into my quart jar and set it on top of my fridge with my other ferments, NOTHING HAPPENS. The ginger juice pools at the bottom, and no fizzies. I’m very sad about it. I have tried it twice, and both times the soda flopped. The juice is delicious, but I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong. My pomegranate soda made with k-tea is having the same problem. They ferment fine until I combine them into sodas, and then nothing… Any help you can give would be appreciated!
I’m very excited about making my first homemade sodas.
I was once told, in early pregnancy, that I should not try kombucha for the first time if I haven’t already been on probiotics.
Can you share with me if I can safely enjoy these lacto-fermented sodas, as I am now 35 weeks pregnant, but don’t have much of a fermented food diet (I know I should, & want to …but I haven’t yet figured out how to enter that whole DIY world yet). I’m otherwise very healthy, with no complications, no gestational diabetes/GBS, etc.
Thank you for your help & insight! : )
Can you just drink the Ginger Bug with some sparkling water mixed in and maybe a squeeze of fresh fruit? Does this have good probiotic benefits for your stomach? I try to keep the sweets down and thought that fermenting apple juice for a few days mixed with bug and ginger juice will still be fairly high carb/sugar? Thanks for your thoughts, Rob
Should the ginger bug be strained before using to make a soda, like root beer? Can I use a metal strainer or will it kill the bug? Thanks! 🙂