Ginger bug - grate organic ginger to make about 1/4 cup. Put in a quart jar, with 2TBSP sugar and water to make 2 cups. Each day, stir twice. Day 1 add one tsp sugar, day 2 add spoonful of sugar and spoonful of grated organic ginger. It will get fizzy - keep feeding once a day and stirring twice a day for a week.
Ginger beer-
Equipment
A gallon (4L) pitcher,
A pot, a grater, a citrus zester
Ingredients-
As much organic ginger as you can stand to grate
Six lemons
2 cups sugar
Active ginger bug.
Process-
Grate the ginger into the pot
Zest the lemons into the pot, set the fruit aside
Fill the pot with water, bring to a boil, simmer 5 minutes then add the sugar, dissolve, let it steep and cool. Because it’s just zest, not peels, you can leave this one for hours. Sometimes I start it on my lunch break and finish it after work. Cover the pot if you are leaving it for hours.
Once cool and infused, add the juice from the lemons and the ginger bug (save a little to help start your next batch) then strain this into the pitcher, adding water to make a gallon. Cover loosely and leave until fizzy - because this has no solid bits you don’t have to stir but it doesn’t hurt to.
Once fizzy, bottle and refrigerate.
Notes - Tap water is fine but yes the ginger needs to be organic - tepache works with conventionally grown pineapple but ginger beer has never worked for me with non-organic ginger. The ginger bug or finished ginger beer can be used to ferment fruit juice, it’s really good with grapefruit juice.
Ginger Beer - low alcohol ferment
Ginger bug - grate organic ginger to make about 1/4 cup. Put in a quart jar, with 2TBSP sugar and water to make 2 cups. Each day, stir twice. Day 1 add one tsp sugar, day 2 add spoonful of sugar and spoonful of grated organic ginger. It will get fizzy - keep feeding once a day and stirring twice a day for a week.
Ginger beer-
Equipment
A gallon (4L) pitcher, A pot, a grater, a citrus zester
Ingredients-
As much organic ginger as you can stand to grate
Six lemons
2 cups sugar
Active ginger bug.
Process-
Grate the ginger into the pot Zest the lemons into the pot, set the fruit aside
Fill the pot with water, bring to a boil, simmer 5 minutes then add the sugar, dissolve, let it steep and cool. Because it’s just zest, not peels, you can leave this one for hours. Sometimes I start it on my lunch break and finish it after work. Cover the pot if you are leaving it for hours.
Once cool and infused, add the juice from the lemons and the ginger bug (save a little to help start your next batch) then strain this into the pitcher, adding water to make a gallon. Cover loosely and leave until fizzy - because this has no solid bits you don’t have to stir but it doesn’t hurt to.
Once fizzy, bottle and refrigerate.
Notes - Tap water is fine but yes the ginger needs to be organic - tepache works with conventionally grown pineapple but ginger beer has never worked for me with non-organic ginger. The ginger bug or finished ginger beer can be used to ferment fruit juice, it’s really good with grapefruit juice.