DIY Homemade Citrus and Turmeric Ginger-ale
Ginger ale is an old love of mine, and we all know or should know that turmeric is good for you. So when put together, the results are out of this world!
To start out you are going to need to make a ginger bug or a live culture. It is super easy, so don’t worry; the only thing you will need are ginger, water, sugar and a little patience. It takes around 8 days to get nice and bubbly.
It is super easy to make and can be kept “alive” for a while in your fridge or on your countertop.
Ginger Bug
1-2 fresh ginger roots
½ cup white or unrefined sugar
2 cups filtered water ( chlorine-free, chlorine will harm the culture)
Method:
Grate 3 tbsp of ginger and place in a quart size jar, then add 3 tbsp of sugar and 2 cups of water. Stir with a wooden or plastic spoon and lightly cover with a coffee filter or cheesecloth and a rubber band.
For the next 5-8 days stir the mixture at least once a day and add 1 tbsp grated ginger and 1 tbsp sugar.
An active culture will form bubbles, become cloudy, smell yeasty, and fizz when stirred. If mold appears, scrape it off. When too much mold appears or the process takes longer that 8 days, start over.
Keep away from other cultures like scoby or sauerkraut to avoid contamination.
To reactivate the culture, bring it back to room temperature and feed daily again.
Once the ginger bug is done, let the fun begin! Let’s make the soda…
Ingredients:
½ gallon water
1/3 cup fresh turmeric root, grated
1 cup sugar
2 Cups ginger bug
2 oranges, juice only
4 limes, juice only
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Method:
In a pot, bring water, turmeric and sugar to boil. Boil for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool at room temperature.
Once the mixture has cooled, add the ginger bug, black pepper, orange juice, and lemon juice. Stir well.
Strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve to remove turmeric and ginger bug debris.
Pour the mixture into soda bottles that have swing tops or tight fitting screw top lids. Allow the bottles to sit for 2 to 4 days at room temperature. This will depend on the temperature. I live in a warmer climate do it only takes about 2 days to get a nice fizz into the beverage.
Regularly check the bottles by giving them a squeeze, they will get hard while the fizz or carbonation builds up. If not checking on them regularly they can explode and you will not like the yellow turmeric staining your kitchen walls.
Once a day open up the cap and they should make a fizzy sound. When you put the cap back on the carbonation will build up again.
Once you get a decent amount of fizz in it, refrigerate to stop the process.
Once cold, you have a ready to drink soda! You can store it in the fridge for up to a week or possible two weeks.
Lastly, enjoy your delicious beverage!