Fermented Grapefruit & Fennel Seed Soda with Wild Ginger Bug Starter

Wild Fermented Starter: The alchemy of Mother Nature. Three ingredients at the mercy of the winds of fate as inherent microbes are encouraged to grow and flourish. The beauty being that every time you make one, it will harness the power of slightly different microbial flora, giving each batch a distinctive ilk.

The Ginger Bug, once made can be stored in the fridge for 4 weeks, feeding the day before you wish to use it again. It is resilient and can be kept this way for years.

Don’t limit yourself to just this soda, experiment with any fruit, using the skin for the microbes. Traditional Ginger Beer and Lemonade are great starting points.

The Wild Starter is such a magical way to harness the power of nature

Feel free to switch the citrus for anything that takes your fancy, just maintain a sharp acidity to foil the sweet notes

The Magic Happens when you wait, patience is a virtue

Wild Ferments, nature does the magic so you don’t have to…..

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ferments, soda, grapefruit soda. homemade lemonade, ginger beer, ginger bug, wild ferment

Yield: 10+

Author: Suze Morrison

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Fermented Grapefruit & Fennel Seed Soda with Wild Ginger Bug Starter

Prep time: 30 MinTotal time: 30 Min

Don’t limit yourself to just this soda, experiment with any fruit, using the skin for the microbes. Traditional Ginger Beer and Lemonade are great starting points.

Ingredients

For the Ginger Bug

• 6tbsp Ginger, bark left on and grated.
• 4tbsp Caster Sugar
• 250ml Filtered Water

For the Grapefruit & Fennel Seed Soda

• 3 Lemons
• 2 Pink Grapefruits
• 120g Caster Sugar
• 60ml Ginger Bug (strained)
• 1tbsp Toasted Fennel Seeds

Instructions

1. Begin with the Ginger Bug. Add the water and 1tbsp of sugar to a sterile jar and stir to dissolve. Add in 1 ½ tbsp grated ginger.
2. Cover with muslin and secure with string then leave overnight. The next day add 1tbsp caster Sugar and 1 1/2tbsp grated ginger and combine. Cover and leave overnight again.
3. Repeat this for two more feeds, it should begin to get fizzy and appear active. It is now ready to use. If not using straight away, store in the fridge for up to 4 weeks, feeding the day before use. Any bug you use, replenish with the same quantity of filtered water.
4. For the soda, peel all the lemons and one pink grapefruit, leaving behind the pith which will make your drink bitter. Juice all the lemons and grapefruits.
5. Mix the sugar with 1.8 litres of filtered water and dissolve. Add the peel, juice, bug and fennel seeds.
6. Add these two one large sealable jars, or two bottles and leave somewhere ambient to ferment. This can take up to a week in cooler weather. Check the bottle each day (opening just a little to release any pressure) until fizzy.
7. When it is carbonated to your liking, strain and bottle and refrigerate. Open the bottles once every 2 days to prevent potential fridge explosions!

https://gourmetglow.co.uk/recipes/fermented-graepfuit-soda

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