Orange Soda-Made Bubbly with Ginger Bug
Did you ever wonder if you could make a tangy orange soda with your ginger bug? If this is your first time seeing this funny (or maybe gross?) description for a soda, let me explain. With a ginger bug, you can make lacto fermented sodas that are good for you. You ferment fresh ginger, sugar and water together for a few days until bubbly. Then you add it to a “wort” (in this case an orange, lemon, ginger and turmeric concoction), and keep refeeding the original bug so you can continue to make more soda. You can learn how to make your own ginger bug by clicking here, along with its surprising health benefits.
Ginger Bug: Miracle Soda Maker
Since I started my ginger bug a few years ago, I have been experimenting with countless soda pop flavours. Ginger ale, lemon lime, strawberry and even cola are yielding favourable results. Another such flavour is this Sunshine Soda, an orange punch boosted with lemon, ginger and turmeric. The four flavours get along famously and though I am no dietician, it can’t be terrible for sipping when cold & flu season arrives.
When making a ginger bug soda, do not try to tweak the basic proportion of water to sugar to ginger bug. For one litre of Soda, add a half cup of sugar. If this seems like a lot, fear not as most of it is for the ginger bug to eat up. You will be left with a bubbly lacto fermented beverage crawling with helpful probiotics. These maximize the absorption of nutrients into your body from the foods you eat, among other things. Many other health benefits come from fermented foods that you can read about online.
How Do I Add Ginger Bug To Soda?
Always add the juice from any fruit after any serious simmering of your wort has happened. In this case, I simmered the ginger and turmeric together for several minutes. Once I felt I extracted enough flavour from the ginger, I removed it from the heat and added the citrus peels. I covered this and allowed it to steep. Only when the wort was cooled completely did I add the citrus juice and the ginger bug.
After you strain, bottle and ferment (burp the bottle each day to release any gas), chill your soda and enjoy within three days. Try it out and let me know what you think!
Sunshine Soda – Orange Ginger Bug Punch
Ingredients
- 1 quart water, chlorine free
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 oranges
- 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup active ginger bug
Instructions
- Combine 2 cups water with ginger and turmeric in a sauce pot. Cover and bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Add sugar and stir well to dissolve. Carefully peel the rinds off the oranges and lemon, leaving as much of the white pith behind as possible. Add to the wort and cover the pot. Steep for several minutes to release flavors from the peels.
- Add the remaining water and allow the wort to cool completely. Juice the oranges and lemon and add to the wort along with the ginger bug. Strain well.
- Transfer the wort to 2 cleaned & well rinsed 1-quart bottles with swing top lids, filling 2/3 full. Close bottles and allow soda to ferment in a warm place for 1-7 days, depending on temperature. Each day, open the bottles to release any gas that may have built up. When the soda is bubbling, it is ready. Chill and enjoy within 3 days.
At the end you say “enjoy within 3 days” .. Does this not stay good in the fridge for a few months?
It’s good for longer than 3 days. Maybe just my experience, but I feel after 3-5 days it’s not as sweet, but still delicious. A few months seems like a lot; I don’t think it would taste very good after a couple of weeks max, but maybe I am completely wrong? Mine has never lasted that long. I hope this helped:)
Alright, prepared and bottled. Next to a ginger beer. I’ll check them every day.
Hopefully, it’ll fizz this time, my first trial of ginger beer was flat, and flavor was off.
But the kitchen now smell of oranges and ginger, quite lovely!
Nice!! Hope it goes well!
I made the ginger ale and your sunshine soda Saturday. My ginger ale is starting to bubble, but the sunshine soda isn’t bubbling at all. I made the sunshine one first and let it cool completely. Why might this be?
Hello, thank you for your question. I experienced a few tech difficulties recently hence the late reply. Did your sunshine soda end up working? Quite often when sodas don’t bubble it’s because either the bottle was contaminated with something it didn’t agree with. Also, adding a little more sugar and keeping it in a warmer place to ferment can do the trick. I hope these tips helped.
I’ve started this tonight ,only diff i made was to change out turmeric for fresh grated turmeric.im looking forward to this thanks so much for this recipe
You’re very welcome, I hope it turns out great 🙂
Lovely website Paul!
Your recipes look quite enticing.
Am making your your ginger bug Sunshine Soda. Waiting for the wonderful finish.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share all of your creations with us!
Thanks so much! You’re in for a treat if you’re making sunshine soda! 🙂