Sourdough fermentation is a subset of "lacto fermentations" which led me to discover a whole world of fermented foods. One of these that I make regularly is probiotic sodas. Kombucha is currently the fashionable fermented drink but probiotic sodas are much broader than this drink and are the forgotten ancestors of the unhealthy modern "soda pops" we know of today. I'm a fan of "ginger bug" derived sodas since they are the easiest to make and accesible to everyone as the culture is based on ginger root and sugar.

The options for making a broad range of fermented probiotic sodas are endless and in time I will add to this page but for now I will include a basic fermented fruit juice recipe for easy reference

Probiotic Fruit Juice

Ginger Bug

Like a sourdough starter, to make a probiotic soda, one first needs to build a starter culture. To do this it's a simple matter of buying ginger root from the grocery store together with granulated sugar (white or brown) and completing the following steps:

1. Grate approx 70g of unpeeled ginger root into an empty glass jar (small honey jar size)

2. Add 4 tsp of granulated sugar

3. Add water to the jar until about 2 cm below the brim

4. Stir until sugar dissolves

5. Place lid on jar but don't screw more than 15 deg (just on)

6. Leave out of fridge until fermenting (about 4-5days)

The liquid should have a pleasant, yeasty smell and bubbles should be visible. At this point the starter culture is both in the liquid and on the grated ginger and can be used immediately or refrigerated. To use, pour liquid off and retain ginger in the jar. Repeat steps 2-6 above to regenerate the culture (fermentation should take 2-3 days now.

Probiotic Fruit Soda

The reason I make fruit soda is that it requires none of the "infusion extraction" steps that other sodas (like ginger beer, fermented iced teas etc.) require and therefore is an easy, healthy drink to make regularly. All it requires is a preservative free fruit juice (like Ceres or Liqui-Fruit in South Africa).

1. Pour off all liquid from ginger bug above (approx 250ml)

2. Add about 850ml of fruit juice (a berry juice or apple/ grape is my preference)

3. Top up with water to 2 liters (taste for sweetness based on preference)

4. Bottle as required (I use 4 x 500ml plastic sparkling water bottles - I squeeze some of the air out of the bottles and cap while squeezed so as to have a slight vaccuum in the bottles)

5. Ferment for 2-4 days (I use the pressure of the bottles as an indicator of fermentation progress)

6. Refrigerate and drink within 2 weeks (fermentation continues slowly in the fridge and although it's safe to drink, the sodas become dry and eventually become vinegar)