Thanks to a book I picked up at our local library some time ago "Urban Pantry" by Amy Pennington, I found this amazing recipe that I've made a number of times now!
Note: Be careful during the fermentation process. I had a container explode on me once, and it made a sticky mess! Now, I make sure I check on it after about 7 days, and often it's ready then depending on the time of year (longer in winter).
Absolute cure for an ailing tummy!
From Amy's book:
This homemade version of ginger soda uses naturally occurring yeasts to ferment sugar into alcohol, which creates a light carbonation in the drink. Start to finish, this process takes about three weeks, possibly less time. The fermentation does create a small amount of alcohol in the final beverage, but not enough to get children loopy by any means.
Start:
1 cup water
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons ginger, freshly grated
Cheesecloth
Soda:
8 cups water
One (2- to 3-inch) piece of ginger, grated
1 ½ cups sugar
3 limes, grated outer peel and juice
Water
Begin with the ginger start. Combine 1 cup water, 2 teaspoons sugar, and 2 teaspoons ginger in a small bowl and stir well. Cover the bowl with a piece of cheesecloth, folded into several layers. This will keep gnats and insects out but allow air in. Hold the cheesecloth in place with a tight rubber band and store the bowl in a warm spot in your kitchen. Every two days, add another 2 teaspoons sugar and 2 teaspoons ginger. Stir and cover with each addition, leaving the mixture to sit for a total of 8 days.
After that, your start should be bubbly and fermenting. If not, continue adding sugar and ginger in equal proportions every 2 days, until bubbly and active.
Next make the soda. In a large saucepan, boil the water, ginger, and sugar. Once boiling, remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the grated lime peel. Set aside. Meanwhile, strain the liquid from your ginger start, passing through a cheesecloth until the liquid is fairly clean and clear. (Reserve the pulp from the ginger start—see Pantry Note below about restarting a batch of ginger soda.) Set aside the ginger start liquid. Once the soda water has completely cooled, strain out the ginger and lime peel.
Add the lime juice and the ginger start liquid. Add water to this mixture until it measures 1 gallon.
Bottle in a sealable jar or a recycled plastic soda bottle (any container that is sealable will suffice). If using large (or small) bail-top jars or jugs with a rubber gasket, clamp down the gasket fully to seal. (I use two half-gallon wide-mouth mason jars.) If reusing plastic bottles, screw on the lid but leave a bit of give in the torque, so air is able to move about some. Store in a warm, dark spot for 10 to 14 days before opening. This allows time for fermentation to occur. Cool your jars before opening. Cooling halts the fermentation process. Be careful when opening, as carbonation has built up and soda may escape from the bottle quickly.
Pantry Note: You can restart a batch of ginger soda by using the same start pulp you strained and adding 1 cup of water, 2 teaspoons of ginger, and 2 teaspoons of sugar. And speaking of sugar, if you double this batch, you’ll need to add a bit more sugar to your soda, otherwise the result is slightly sour. (I learned this the hard way.) Also, if carbonation is very strong, it’s possible that some bottles may explode during fermentation. Make sure to store in a cool place, away from other foodstuffs. I store my jars in my pots and pans cupboard. Craft-brewing supply stores carry 12-ounce “beer” bottles and caps, if you’d like to bottle your ginger soda individually.
The finished product:
