How to Make Naturally Fermented Raw Soda
On your way to the store for a soda? Stop right there! Your backyard has plenty of delicious ingredients to make an all-natural soda. Pick and choose your own herbs for a custom, fermented raw soda without all the unhealthy sugars and additives.
The following is an excerpt from Wildcrafted Fermentation by Pascal Baudar. It has been adapted for the web.
RECIPE: Naturally Fermented Raw Soda
This is a very simple raw soda. You can replace my local herbs with all kinds of aromatic and tasty herbs of your choice, foraged or not, such as mint, anise hyssop, sages, or elderflowers.
I’ve made similar ferments with herbs such as mugwort, California sagebrush, various wild mints, yarrow, elderflowers, pinyon pine branches, white fir (Abies concolor), spruce tips, and others.
Photo Credit: Pascal Baudar
Ingredients for a 32-ounce swing-top bottle (1 L)
- 1 sprig black sage
- 1 sprig yerba santa
- ¾ ounce (21 g) fresh gingerroot
- 1 lemon
- 3¼ cups (769 ml) water
- ⅓ cup (79 ml) maple syrup
- ¼ cup (59 ml) Culture Starter
Procedure
- There’s not much to do here. Place the fresh herbs in your bottle or jar; I like to bruise them gently with my fingers, just enough to facilitate flavor extraction. My next steps are to dice the ginger such that the pieces can go through the opening and then juice my lemon.
- Pour the water into the bottle, add the ginger pieces, lemon juice, maple syrup, and culture starter. You want the contents to reach up to the bottom of the bottle’s neck but no higher. Close the top.
- Ferment for 2 to 4 days at room temperature and check the carbonation by opening the top slightly. Usually I get enough carbonation on day 3 or 4.
If I decide to drink the soda at this point, there is no need to strain the contents, but if I’d like to keep it in the fridge for a few more days, I first strain the liquid into a new bottle and leave it at room temperature for another day. This is usually enough to get some decent carbonation going again. Then I place the bottle in the fridge. Every couple of days, I still check the bottle and burp it if necessary.
Recommended Reads
Read The Book
Wildcrafted Fermentation
Exploring, Transforming, and Preserving the Wild Flavors of Your Local Terroir
$14.97
You may like...
-
$14.97 -
$14.97
Recent Articles
Oh, honeysuckle…how we love thee. If only there was a way to capture the sweet essence of this plant so we could enjoy it more than just in passing. Luckily, foraging and some preparation can help make that happen! Here’s a springtime recipe that tastes exactly like honeysuckle smells. The following excerpt is from Forage,…
Read More
Introducing…your new favorite brunch dish! This whole broccoli frittata is packed with fresh, wildcrafted flavors that are bound to help you start your day off on the right foot. The following is an excerpt from The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora by Alan Bergo. It has been adapted for the web. RECIPE: Whole Broccoli Frittata…
Read More
Wondering where to forage for greens this spring? Look no further than hedges, which serve as natural havens for wild greens and herbs! The following is an excerpt from Hedgelands by Christopher Hart. It has been adapted for the web. Food from Hedges: Salads and Greens Let’s start by looking at all the wild foods…
Read More
There’s a whole new world out there when it comes to koji. It doesn’t matter if you’re making bread, cheese, or ice cream, koji helps you pump up the flavor! Growing Koji in Your Own Kitchen Koji, the microbe behind the delicious, umami flavors of soy sauce, miso, fermented bean sauce, and so many of…
Read More
Whether you’re looking to replace your end-of-the-day cocktail, relax before bed, or want something new to add to your tea, this non-alcoholic mocktail syrup base will do the trick. Delicious and all-natural, take a sip of this nightcap mocktail and feel your troubles melt away. The following is an excerpt from Herbal Formularies for Health…
Read More