How to Make a Ginger Bug
Oh this is gonna be fun, guys! I have so many exciting things to share with you. My kitchen has been busy and James has been one well-fed man. First up is how to make a ginger bug, which you can then use to make all types of delicious probiotic rich homemade soda!
Although, to be totally honest I’m not sure if I'm qualified to give a tutorial on making homemade ginger ale. I have flopped it three times.
Three times, people!
That is just slightly embarrassing to admit. All I know is that I finally made a successful batch of it. I'm just a little (okay super duper) proud of it. Basically I became interested in this because of how healthy and beneficial it is to have the good bacteria in our guts. But probiotic supplements are expensive, man! I wanted to amp up the little guys and fermented sauerkraut just wasn't calling my name— despite the fact that I'm full blooded German. Nastiness. (Sauerkraut. Not Germans.)
Then I came across lacto-fermented ginger ale. Wait.
Whaaaat?!
You mean I can get my good bacteria in my body in a yummy way?? Count me in!
Oh if only.
If only I knew the pain that this little bug would cause me.
I will spare you the dirty little details. Until the end of my post anyway. You wanna learn what not to do, right?! I think I'm pretty qualified for that part at least!
Many people these days seem to have lots of issues with digestion and it's really no wonder why. Most of the food we eat is not living. Alot of it has been genetically modified. A vast majority of it has been sprayed with pesticides, fungicides and herbicides. Then there's all the added hormones. Not to mention depleted soil levels which result in less nutritious foods. Our diets need some help!!!
Enter the ginger bug. :)
Before you can just hop right in and make ginger ale, your first step is to make "the bug" as it's called. Keep in mind that this looks complicated, but just follow this day by day and you will do peachy keen.
How to make a ginger bug for homemade soda
Day one
You will need
1 tablespoon fresh ginger (organic is ideal)
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups filtered water
Directions
Wash the ginger. No need to peel it. In fact, many of the beneficial buggers are on the peel.
Chop or grate the ginger into small pieces.
Add it to a quart mason jar, along with the sugar.
Pour in the water and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Cover with a breathable lid. I just use a towel and a rubber band.
If you make this in the morning be sure and stir it one or two more times during the day. Leave this concoction on your counter, out of the sun, for the next couple of days.
Day Two
You will need
2 teaspoons of chopped or grated ginger
2 teaspoons sugar
Directions
Add both the ginger and the sugar to yesterdays mixture. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Stir two to three times during the day. Stir briskly. This helps to incorporate bacteria from the air which helps create the culture. I do best if I feed it in the morning when I eat breakfast and then stir it at lunch and dinner when I'm preparing meals. It's like my little friend who needs to eat and be paid attention to. :)
Day Three
Same as day two. You may start to seem some bubbles form. This is very good!
Day 4
Same as day two. Hopefully bubbles are increasing every time you stir the bug.
Day 5
Same as day two. If you listen quietly to your little friend you just might hear him talk to you. :) Meaning, the bubbles should be getting quite vigorous!
Day 6
Same as day two. Hopefully you have a good strong bug by now!!!
Day 7
You are ready to make your ginger ale!!!! Congratulations! If you did this on your first try, you are amazing.
How to keep and maintain your ginger bug
On day 7 you can go ahead and make your first batch of soda. Otherwise, cover your bug with a lid and store him in the fridge. Once a week, to keep him alive, go ahead and add a little sugar. That will keep him fed and healthy. Every once in awhile, you might add a little extra ginger, and possibly even discard all the ginger and add completely fresh stuff.
When you ARE ready to make soda, go ahead and take the bug out of your fridge several hours before you plan on making it. (This tends to be the night before for me.) To wake your bug up from his cold sleep, add 2 teaspoons sugar. That will revive him and he should start getting bubbly again. Once you see active bubbles he’s ready to go!
Notice all those bubbles in the picture? That’s how your ginger bug should look by day 7.
Troubleshooting your ginger bug
Here are some of the mistakes I made when making my three failed batches of ginger bug.
You must use filtered water
I read that it needed to be de-chlorinated, but I tried boiling it and then cooling my water and it didn't work for me. In the end I bought a gallon of distilled water which worked great. Depending on your filtration system you might not have to buy anything special.
Use white sugar
I had also read that adding blackstrap molasses would beef up the nutrients, but when I did that it seemed to die a little. Not sure why. Some people have had success with sucanat, but I did not. My favorite sugar to use is simply organic white sugar.
Use ginger with the peel still on
Whether you use organic or not is up to you. In the end, my successful batch was not organic because it was not available at the time. Of course, organic would ultimately be best, but I'm all about using what you can afford or get your hands on! But the peel is what contains the beneficial bacteria. This also means you don’t want to “scrub” your ginger clean. Yes, rinse it, but scrubbing it clean can also get rid of the good bacteria on the peel.
Stir vigorously
I think my #1 mistake was not stirring it well enough. I felt like I was killing the bubbles but really it's what they like. Stirring 3 times a day helped it along nicely.
Keep it away from any other cultures you are creating
One time I had my sourdough starter nearby and I think they cross-contaminated because my ginger ale turned thick and gloppy. Very disturbing. It didn't smell bad, it just turned to gel.
Chop or grate your ginger in small pieces
Not sure if this added to the failure rate, but it did seem to do better when I chopped it smaller. More surface area perhaps?
Check the temperature of the room
If your ginger bug is still not producing bubbles after 7 days, check the room temperature. Lactobacilli prefer temperatures between 72-76 degrees F.
A note on the sugar
If you are worried about all the sugar in here, don't be. Basically it's the food for the little bacteria guys. How I understand it is, they pretty much eat it up so there really is not much sugar in the final product. They "digest" it so you don't have to.
As you see I went through a lot of trial and error on this one. But gosh it's so worth it when you finally succeed! And I really do know how difficult this sounds. I'm also pretty sure if you make it you won't flop it three times like a certain someone I know. Ahem.
Now get busy and make some delicious soda! Here are a few recipes to get you started:
If you have any suggestions for other flavors, or have concocted on your versions, I’d love to hear in the comments!!!