Make your own Ginger Bug

What is a “Ginger Bug” anyway? A ginger bug is a wild lacto-fermentation starter culture. This starter can activate other fermentations, or be used on its own to make Ginger Sodas. I love teaching my clients and students to make this because adding fermented foods into our diets in as many forms as possible is one way to support gut health and immunity. Ginger Bugs are a fun way to make natural sodas without using carbonation, that are also good for our bellies. So yes, you guessed it, kids love the stuff and this is a fun activity to do with children.  By incorporating lactofermented foods into our diets on a daily basis we can restore and balance our guts. Using probiotic drinks with a ginger bug can help with:

• Gas and indigestion
• Regulating bowel movements
• Restoring the gut after an illness
• Rebuidling the gut after taking antibiotics
• Relaxing spasms and pain in the gut
• Preventing future gut imbalances

The Recipe

To Start the Bug

1.5 cups of non-chlorinated water, warmed to allow sugar to dissolve

1 teaspoon of sugar(yes, white sugar, you are using this to activate and it has a certain amount of necessary sugars)

1 oz of diced or grated fresh organic ginger

Dissolve sugar in a pint sized jar with the warm water and let sit on top of a warm fridge–ambient air temperature should be above 65

To feed the bug:

After 24 hours- add 1 tblspn of sugar and .5 oz of fresh ginger each day for 6 more days.

After the 3rd or 4th day you should see bubbling starting to occur. This shows that the fermentation has begun. After a week, seal the container and leave on the counter. If you live in a particularly warm bioregion, you may need to “cool” the fermentation to keep it from popssibly exploding when opening. You can do this by keeping it in the fridge, or open it now and then to release the pressure. If you notice less fermentation, repeat the process adding ginger and sugar.

To use the bug, siphon off a quarter cup per quart of “juice”. Allow mixture to stand for a day with cheesecloth over it, then tightly seal for a week or two. The same fermentation should begin and you will get a bubbly soda, you can then store in the fridge.

The term “juice” for me can mean a variety of things, and oranges are some of the last things I think about.  I try to find fresh greens, or wild fruits from the garden or my land to include and make fermentations with. I have had fun making agarita berry juice, mulberry juice, and chickweed/cleavers juice.  The key is to make sure that the juice has enough sugar in it so that the fermentation can become active. This can be done by playing around with ratios. If this is is something that excites you, you can learn more with Sandor Katz’s book Wild Fermentation You can also take classes with me and the other teachers at the Wildflower School of Botanical Medicine–online and in person!