I recently started a new ginger bug! It’s not really an insect ?, but rather a wild starter that’s made from water, sugar and fresh grated #ginger. Natural airborne yeasts and bacteria collect in the mixture over the next week and voilà!
After about a week of feeding, you’ll have a powerful microbe-rich starter that’ll be used to make wild fermented #probiotic sodas.
People have remarked that ginger bugs can be fickle. Sometimes, the bug never gets going and develops mold (throw it out!) Also that the carbonation times vary wildly. I have had that experience, too. With my first bug, it never bubbled wildly. And, it took about 3 weeks for the soda I made with it to get fizzy. That means it’s still a young bug, but with proper care and time, it will develop a healthy yeast colony eventually. Stick with it and you’ll start to understand the rhythm of the bug. Such is the way with wild fermentations (e.g. no starter) like this.
- fresh ginger
- raw organic cane sugar
- filtered water
- Kitchen scale
- Grate 20g (2 Tbsp./30 ml) of ginger and add to a pint- or quart-sized jar.
- Add 12g (1 Tbsp./15ml) sugar and 30g (2 Tbsp./30ml) water to jar. Stir together.
- Add 20g (2 Tbsp./30 ml) grated ginger to jar.
- Add 12g (1 Tbsp./15ml) sugar and 30g (2 Tbsp./30ml) water to jar. Stir together.
- Add 20g (2 Tbsp./30 ml) grated ginger to jar.
- Add 12g (1 Tbsp./15ml) sugar and 30g (2 Tbsp./30ml) water to jar. Stir together.
- Add 20g (2 Tbsp./30 ml) grated ginger to jar.
- Add 12g (1 Tbsp./15ml) sugar and 30g (2 Tbsp./30ml) water to jar. Stir together.
- Add 30g (3 Tbsp./45 ml) grated ginger to jar.
- Add 18g (1½ Tbsp./25ml) sugar and 45g (3 Tbsp./45ml) water to jar. Stir together.
- If not bubbly and active, keep feeding it daily a few more days.
- Dissolve 2 Tbsp (25g) sugar into 2 cups (16 fl. oz./450 ml) boiling water.
- Let cool, or add 16 oz./450 g ice or 16 oz./450 ml cold water to bring mixture temperature down to body temperature or below (98F/37C).
- Add cooled mixture and ¼ cup/60 ml of ginger bug to a sealable bottle/container.
- Seal lid tightly.
- Ferment 2 to 14 days (depends on season) at room temperature, checking on carbonation level daily by "burping" the jar.
- Move to refrigerator when it's got the right level of carbonation and sweetness for your taste.
- To replenish what you take for soda and to keep the culture going, you'll need to replenish the bug.
- Grate 20g (2 Tbsp./30 ml) of ginger and add to a pint- or quart-sized jar.
- Add 12g (1 Tbsp./15ml) sugar and 30g (2 Tbsp./30ml) water to jar. Stir together.
To give you and your bug a rest, store it in the refrigerator (with the lid on tightly) for up to a few weeks. To re-start, remove it from the fridge, feed it, and let it sit at least a day to regain its activity, before using it to make more soda.
Recipe references:
Bug (Nourished Kitchen)
Soda (Cultured Food Life)
What’s been your experience with ginger bugs? Please share in a comment!
Im growing my own first organic ginger beer starter. My first recipe called for peeling the ginger which I did however after 2 weeks and no bubbling I began to worry. I added some old bread yeast I had to see if that would inspire some bubbling then found the yeast I had had not been refrigerated and was 2 years old. SO I bought some new yeast and added a small quantity. Kept it on my furnace at around 70-75 degrees still no bubbling. But no black mold either. It smells mildly fermenty but no real bubbling. I read elsewhere I shouldve left the skin on and that for some folk its taken 3 weeks for the full ferment to happen. So I continue patiently. Wish me luck.
Keep at it! It sounds like you’re on the right track. I have trouble keeping a ginger beer starter going myself, I usually have water kefir grains or a kombucha scoby on hand to make probiotic beverages easier!