This drink is so cool. I love the bright yellow, sparkling and not to sweet drink. But its not just refreshing, its also very good for you. It has lots of healthy probiotics and health properties that support your liver health, immune system and is also anti-inflammatory. What's not to love! This recipe can be made with ginger instead (just swap the turmeric for ginger in recipe below). Also very good.
The first step is to make a turmeric bug starter. Here is how:
TURMERIC BUG STARTER
Ingredients
1 large piece of fresh organic turmeric (enough to make 5 Tbsp grated)
5 Tbsp sugar (divided)
3 1/4 cups of water (filtered)
Instructions
Mix 3 1/4 cup of the water with 3 Tbsp of sugar in a glass 1 litre jar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Wash the turmeric root, then grate 3 Tbsp of turmeric into the quart jar. Don’t peel the turmeric because the skin helps with fermentation.
Cover with a cloth (cheesecloth or coffee filter) and secure in place with a rubber band or jar ring.
Place the jar somewhere warm and dark to ferment (a kitchen cupboard is ideal).
Give the turmeric bug a good stir once or twice a day.
After 3 to 7 days it should start to bubble. Once it’s started to bubble, feed it 1 Tbsp of sugar and 1 Tbsp of grated ginger each of the next two days.
Once it is really bubbly you are ready to make your turmeric soda. See the section below for information on how to maintain your turmeric bug starter.
FERMENTED SODA
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups water
3–6 Tbsp sugar. Note- don't use alternative sweeteners as it needs sucrose to thrive. All the sugar is eaten up in fermentation process so is a low sugar drink. You can add more sweeteners (eg maple syrup at end of process if like it sweeter).
1/4 cup turmeric bug starter
4 Tbsp of finely grated fresh turmeric
Instructions
Mix all of the ingredients in a 1 litre glass jar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Cover with a piece of cloth or coffee filter held in place with a rubber band or metal ring. Place the jar somewhere warm and dark to ferment for 3 to 7 days and give it a good stir each day. (A kitchen cupboard is perfect). Turmeric bug needs air for proper fermentation so don’t seal the jar during this initial ferment.
Once there are bubbles forming at the top of the jar, strain the mixture into a bottle. You will need to use a bottle that can handle the carbonation.
Allow the turmeric soda to ferment for a further 1 to 2 weeks to build up the carbonation. Check the carbonation 5 days after bottling.
Once it’s fizzy, store the turmeric soda in the refrigerator. Consume within four weeks of refrigeration.
MAINTAINING STARTER
If you want to continuously use the turmeric bug starter, then you’ll need to replenish it whenever you brew. Here’s how to feed and care for your starter.
Store the starter in the fridge, with an airtight lid, until you are ready to make soda. It will remain vigorous for at least 1 month without feeding.
When you make sodas (removing 1/4 cup of starter to brew the soda), feed the starter 1 Tbsp of turmeric, 1 Tbsp of sugar, and 1/4 cup of water.
Cover the starter with a cloth and leave it out at room temperature for 24 hours.
After 24 hours, give it a good stir, cap with an airtight lid, and put it back in the fridge.
If it starts to accumulate a lot of turmeric remove some. The spent turmeric is perfect for adding into cooking!
Happy Fermenting!