DIY Probiotic Soda with Ginger Bug

DIY probiotic sodas | Did you know you can make homemade probiotic soda with a bug?
Not that kind of a bug, but a ginger bug. It's sort of like a sourdough starter but for sodas. The natural yeast and bacteria present on the surface of ginger will begin to ferment the sugar you add, allowing you to make fizzy and delicious probiotic sodas. The whole process takes about a week.

GINGER BUG:
Day 1: Combine 2 c water, 1/2 c of diced organic ginger, 1 tbsp sugar in a thoroughly cleaned container.
Be sure to use distilled or filtered water. Also be sure to use organic ginger, as non-organic ginger may be irradiated. You don't need to peel your ginger.
You can seal the jar tightly with a lid, or use cheesecloth and a rubber band.
Day 2-6: Each day, add 1 small diced piece of ginger & 1 tsp sugar
The temp of your kitchen will affect the speed at which your ginger bug ferments. If you have a colder kitchen, keep feeding the ginger bug for up to 10 days before using. Keep your bug out of direct sunlight. You'll know it's ready when it's frothy on top and produces bubbles without touching it.

SODA:
We'd recommend using 8 fl oz (236 mL) pressure safe swing top bottles.
When you're ready to bottle, sanitize your bottles in a large pot of boiling water for 5 min.
Next, strain your ginger bug with a fine mesh colander.
In the 8 fl oz bottle, combine .5 to 1.5 fl oz of ginger bug liquid, 4-5 fl oz of shelf-stable sweetened fruit juice, and fill the rest of the bottle with filtered water, leaving 1" of headroom.

Let sit at room temp for 2-3 days, then refrigerate before serving. If you see a bubbly ring forming at the top of your liquid, you know it's working.

BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN OPENING: keep a hand over the lid and point the bottle away from your face.
Use preservative-free juices that aren't sold refrigerated. Make sure your juices have sugar content, otherwise the fermentation won't work.
These sodas will have an alcohol content similar to kombucha, so they're not suitable for children, or people who can't drink.

Keep your bug in the fridge and feed once a week, or keep it at room temperature and feed daily.
If you see or smell anything strange, THROW IT OUT. #gingerbug #probiotics #soda #diy

[futasupastah]

Make sure to burp your bottles so that they don’t explode once pressure starts building up! VERY IMPORTANT — you don’t want exploding bottles ! Approx. every twelve hours until your happy with the fizziness then fridge them!

[lilliananderson]

Side note: If you love ginger like me. I buy it and toss it whole in the freezer! That way it doesn’t mold or dry out. You can also grow it in a pot (beautiful plant) and grow your own ginger.
I also love hot ginger tea. It’s great for the respiratory system!

[beniology]

Thank you to all the people leaving comments about the pressure in the bottles. That is vital info. I love ginger sm (sugar not sm), but I want to make this. I would've been scared if the bottle expoded. Not to mention, an injury can occur. All though it's common sense that pressure would build, I wouldn't have thought to the point of the bottle exploding.😨So thanks for saving me the shock.🫚🫶🏽I'm going to look into it further & have videos of people "burping" their bottles all over my feed.🍾😂

[melt]

In the Caribbean we call it ginger beer

[Mortimix]

Careful : don't underestimate the pressure that can build up ! Regularly open the bottle, every 12 hours, and use good quality bottles, ideally with "flip -tops" (those are made to resist the pressure), with a sanitized rubber lid (you don't want to grow bacterias, right ?). Also, you could very much make alcohol without knowing, so, yeah: now you know...

[bobby_naur]

I used demerara sugar for my ginger bug and fresh squeezed orange juice for the soda (pulp removed) and it was successful! My home is 19 C and I left my juice out for 2 days, burped it twice a day then refrigerated for another day. When I opened the bottle it shot open like a champagne!! It caught me off guard 😅 Delicous orange soda though 😋

[emilymartin]

It's also a good Idea to fill the bottles and burp them atleast daily to prevent explosions. They do loose some fizz once they are refrigerated so make sure they are a little too fizzy before refrigerating.

Thanks for this quick video, it has been years since I have made gingerbug and I just wanted to check how far in advance before Christmas I need to start by ginger bug so that my gingerbread beer will be ready by Christmas eve.

[seewkumarmahady]

Thanks for reminding me of this natural delicacy!

[MichelMawon]

So many great and helpful comments in addition to this cool video. Thanks everyone!

[treasacat]

0 seconds ago
This happens naturally with any acidic fruits. I've done this by accident by leaving water infused with pineapple and cantaloupe in an air-tight bottle in the fridge for a few days. I came back to drink it several days later and it tasted like a fruit soda. Fizzy and everything. It was delicious 👍

[qlku]

I madesoda with pine needles and it was surprisingly delicious. Ginger beer sounds good too. Might have to try it

[phyllisschaffer]

I've been making ginger root tea for many years now. I have shared a very simple recipe with chemo patients and I'm happy to say that drinking this tea (hot or iced) has really helped to alleviate some of their nausea. I like to brew a quart of it and keep in the fridge to have a little glass every day... sometimes I add it to cranberry juice with a lime or lemon wedge for a refreshing drink!

[bearclaw]

Just a word of caution:

Ginger bugs vary a little bit. I've had sodas carbonate in as much as five days and as little as less than 12 HRS! No joke, so be sure to keep an eye on your soda, and make sure you have glass wear rated for carbonation 😁

[nw]

I feel like I’ll some how mess this up 😂 I need a thorough video on how to make this not a short

[hadarahbatyah]

This happened to me by mistake when I mixed coconut water into my ginger tea and left it in the fridge for a few days lol 😂

[nativetexan]

An actual recioe attached to the video!!! Amazing!! You are the only one who has done that!!!

[starseedjourney]

This is awesome i love fermentation ❤❤❤

[LisetteMahoganyxo]

You made this really simplified. Thank you

[teresavera]

In Mexico City Tacos are eaten with Tepache which is a fermented drink made of pineapple skin and instead of sugar it’s use piloncillo or brown sugar is like kombucha but not too strong. Yes paired with Al pastor Tacos!😅

[QIKWIA]

"Ginger Bug"..🤭
SUBSCRIBED😂

Thank you!🙏🏿
Gonna give this a try!