Ginger Bug

This instructable is about making a refreshing soda from orange juice and ginger. Originally I wanted to include this into my sourdough instructable to show people how to cultivate yeast, but the ible became too big. So here it is, my notable ginger bug. You can keep the culture alive by always giving a spoonful into your next fermenting soda. It is actually the first stage to make well-known Root Beer and Ginger Ale.

You need:

• ginger
• sugar
• 250ml water(1cup)

Equipment:

• ginger grater
• spoon
• kitchen scale
• glass container/bottle
• sieve & funnel
• carafe

Later you will need 1 liter of fresh orange juice or enough oranges to produce alike.

Grate roughly 2cm/1inch of ginger and put it into a glass container. To avoid having rind in the grated ginger, you can remove it with a spoon like in picture 2. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar and 250ml (1cup) of water. The glass container should have a wide mouth to add the grated ginger without smearing the sides. A tight bottleneck could hold a mesh of grated ginger on the sidewalls and enable mould. Cover the wide bottle opening with a paper towel and fix it with a rubber band.

The following days you always add 1 teaspoon of ginger (1cm or ¹/₂ inch) and 1 tablespoon sugar, then stir the mixture.

On the 4th or maybe tardyly on the 5th day you can see bubbles at the water surface. The yeast is now active and can be used to make the soda.

Take a bigger glass container or a carafe. Add freshly squeezed orange juice, I added bottled 100% orange juice with filets from blood oranges. If you need to know how to make filets, have a look at step 8 from another instructable.

Usually you have to add only 3 tablespoons from the ginger bug to the soda, I decided to pour everything into the mixture.

Then cover the glass container with a new paper towel and fix it with a rubber band. Let it ferment in a dark place, sun rays could kill the microorganisms. Now we have to wait at least 1 day, maybe 2 before the fruit flesh of the fresh squeezed oranges comes to the surface. That is the indicator the soda is ready. Don't wait another day or the flesh on the surface becomes a cultivation area for mould.

Sift out the grated ginger and orange fruit flesh, then fill the drink into a clean bottle with a funnel. Close the bottle and let the drink ferment at room temperature for a half day. Then store it in the fridge and consume it within the next days.

There it is, your selfmade soda drink; fizzing, sparkling and bubbling. A good refreshment on a hot day.