Description
A ginger bug is a fermented mixture of sugar, ginger and water that you can grow in your kitchen, like kombucha, and feed regularly. Then use it to create delicious, healthy, and safe bubbly beverages that support gut health and taste great.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 1/2 cups filter water
- 5 tablespoons organic sugar, divided
- 5 tablespoons organic ginger, unpeeled
Instructions
- Mix water, 3 tablespoons of grated ginger, and sugar together in a wide mouth Mason jar, until all the sugar dissolves. Top up the jar with filtered water (about 3 1/2 cups). Cover the jar with a clean handkerchief and secure with a jar ring. Place in a warm room, like your kitchen, but protect the jar from direct sunlight. If you kitchen is cooler than 70F, your ginger bug may take longer to grow.
- Set the ginger bug aside for 3 days, stirring once a day to mix the yeast and bacteria together with the ginger. After 3 to 7 days the ginger bug will begin to bubble. Continue stirring once a day until you see bubbling or other signs of fermentation.
- Add 1 tablespoon of grated ginger and 1 tablespoon of sugar once a day for two days. Then remove the cloth cover and replace with a solid lid.
- Your ginger bug is now ready to use to ferment bubbly drinks, ginger beer, and other delicious ferments. To keep it growing feed it once a week with 1/4 cup of filtered water, 1 tablespoon of grated ginger, and 1 tablespoon of organic sugar.
Notes
The ginger bug can be refrigerated. Continue to feed it once a week to keep it vital and active.
To make ginger beer:
Use 1/4 cup of the ginger bug starter, 3 1/2 cups filtered water, 5 tablespoons organic sugar, 3 tablespoons grated ginger. Mix together in a glass Mason jar. Cover with a cloth and set aside for 3 days to ferment. Strain it and bottle it using a flip top bottle cap. Let it rest 24 to 48 hour for the bubbles to build up. Then refrigerate.
