Lacto-fermented Lemon Ginger Ale
Lacto-fermented Lemon Ginger Ale
Ingredients:
2 medium sized organic ginger roots
2 1/2 litres of filtered water
1/2 cup rapadura
1 cup of unrefined organic brown sugar
juice & rind of 3 organic lemons
1/2 cup of whey (from grass fed whole yogurt)
Most modern soft drinks do not contain ingredients that are good for health in any way, shape or form. They are often riddled with sugar, fructose rich sweeteners or in an attempt to be healthy many now contain damaging low calorie sweeteners like aspartame, saccharin or sucralose. This recipe will help you correct this, but still enjoy a home made lightly sparkling soft drink that actually has good health benefits.
I had previously heard of making lacto-fermented lemonade whilst attending the Weston A Price conference a couple of years back in Washington D.C. This really intrigued me and I had the chance to then purchase and try some made by a local expert selling his wares at the conference. I was pleasantly surprised and found myself going back several times before the conference ended. In each of the year's since I have sought out the lacto-fermented beverage bar and thoroughly enjoyed the different types and flavours. I had intended to make some myself several times but never got it together to buy the simple bits and pieces I would need to prepare my own. Well back in the new year I did so and was reasonably surprised that I made something drinkable, as backed up by my kids who quite liked it. So I thought I would tweak the recipe a little and offer my meager lemonade making skills up on the blog.
Preparation for this starts early by separating your whey from whole natural yoghurt. This is relatively simple to do. It is best to use a muslin cloth, but a clean tea towel will work just fine. Pull the ends of the cloth together and empty the yoghurt into the cloth. Tie the ends to a wooden spoon and hang the cloth in a tall glass jar. The liquid part of the yoghurt will start to drip out through the cloth. It will take a few hours to get enough whey. Ideally you should wait until it is clear that it has stopped dripping. The clear whey will be used to add beneficial lactobacilli bacteria to the lemonade and begin the fermentation process. The solids left behind in the cloth are like a slightly sour cream and can be kept and used in cooking or other food preparation.
Filter 2.5 litres of water into a large container or pot. Then add the rapadura and sugar and stir until it is dissolved. This may take a few moments. I had previously used only rapadura for this recipe as it is a much better sweetener from a health perspective, but found that the very dark colour and fairly strong molasses flavour made the end drink less desirable. So this time I have used a mixture with organic, unrefined sugar. My initial tase tests are much better.
Grate the lemon rinds and then squeeze the juice. Both of these should be added together, it adds a little more zest to the drink, something I really like about a good lemonade.
Peel the ginger and grate it over the mixture, this will ensure every drop of ginger juice gets into the mixture along with some of the root. The rind and the ginger root will of course provide a lot of sediment in the drink, but is necessary for essential flavour. Add the whey and stir the mixture thoroughly. Let it sit for about 10 to 15 minutes to let the flavours really improve.
The final step is to filter the juice through a fine sieve into screw top bottles. It is important that the bottles are designed to withstand some pressure. Glass bottles can be used but they need to be designed for storing carbonated drinks, not still beverages. I chose to use plastic. This is not very eco-friendly, but until I have mastered this skill and I can get the natural carbonation right I don't want to run the risk with glass. Be sure to date the bottles once they have been filled up.
The lemon ginger ale should then be left somewhere warm, but not hot for approximately 7-10 days. The time is not exact, as it really depends on the temperature of the environment. In a cold atmosphere it can take quite some time for the bacteria to build up enough carbon dioxide to help carbonate the drink. During the winter it took 2 weeks to even get a light level of carbonation. This time of year should make it easier if we can get any kind of consistent weather out of the summer! Another advantge of the plastic bottles is that when they carbonate well the bottles become very rigid when squeezed due to the internal pressure, a sign that things are working.
Once you feel enough time has elapsed and you are confident your drink has carbonated then trasfer your bottles to the fridge to cool. You can enjoy them when you like after this. A cool, refreshing and natural soft drink that will serve as a natural probiotic and aid digestion and immunity. Beautiful.
