Ginger Bug Time
04-10-2026, 05:52 AM
#1
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Location: Mendocino Coast, CA
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Ginger Bug Time
I know that I've posted about Ginger Bugs before, so please bear with me. Every year, I make a few Ginger Bugs to keep in the fridge. I like to mix them with various fruit juices for a sparkling fruit soda. They're healthier than store bought sodas and a great to drink in the hot summertime. There's all kinds of Ginger Bug recipes online. Here's a rough draft of what I do.
Ginger Bug is super easy to make. in a 1 qt. mason jar, add 2 or 3 Ts of plain, white sugar, a couple of Ts of finely chopped ginger root and fill the jar the rest of the way up with water. secure a thin cloth over the top and let it sit somewhere warm. (I put mine on the top of my griddle with a rag underneath it and the pilot light keeps it just the right temperature.) For the next few days, feed it with a T of sugar and a couple of Ts chopped ginger. After a few days, you should start to see some activity. The ginger will start slowly dancing in the water and you start to see tiny bubbles forming. At that point, put a solid lid on it and let it get super fizzy. Open the lid at least once a day so that the excess gas can escape. From there, you can add some fruit juice and let it continue to ferment in the sealed container. I like to bottle mine in a flip top bottle and keep them in the fridge to slow down the fermentation. You can also make ginger ale, or beer with it, if you want an alcoholic beverage. I like to make one every few days, in succession, so that I always have a supply.
Ginger Bug is super easy to make. in a 1 qt. mason jar, add 2 or 3 Ts of plain, white sugar, a couple of Ts of finely chopped ginger root and fill the jar the rest of the way up with water. secure a thin cloth over the top and let it sit somewhere warm. (I put mine on the top of my griddle with a rag underneath it and the pilot light keeps it just the right temperature.) For the next few days, feed it with a T of sugar and a couple of Ts chopped ginger. After a few days, you should start to see some activity. The ginger will start slowly dancing in the water and you start to see tiny bubbles forming. At that point, put a solid lid on it and let it get super fizzy. Open the lid at least once a day so that the excess gas can escape. From there, you can add some fruit juice and let it continue to ferment in the sealed container. I like to bottle mine in a flip top bottle and keep them in the fridge to slow down the fermentation. You can also make ginger ale, or beer with it, if you want an alcoholic beverage. I like to make one every few days, in succession, so that I always have a supply.
04-15-2026, 04:50 AM
#2
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Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Mendocino Coast, CA
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My ginger bugs are happy and bubbling away. It's time to add some flavorings. I have lots of lemons right now, so I'm going for a lemon-ginger soda. I need to find my swing top bottles. I've made it before in mason jars, but I had a big explosion one time, so I need a sturdier bottle with a good seal. I could also use my DH's beer bottles and cap them.
04-15-2026, 04:52 AM
#3
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My next fermentation drink is going to be Tapeche, which is made from pineapple skins. I have half a pineapple left in the fridge, so I'll make a mini batch and see how it tastes.
04-24-2026, 11:24 AM
#5
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I opened up my first soda made with Ginger Bug today. This one was a lemon-ginger flavor and was really good! It was fizzy, but could have gone a few days longer. I haven't tried the pineapple Tepache yet, but I think that it's ready.
04-28-2026, 05:43 AM
#6
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I tried the pineapple Tepache and it was really good! My DH loved it and asked for another glass. Alas, I had only made enough for 2 glasses of it, so he was out of luck.
I opened another lemon-ginger bug soda and it was fizzier and very good too. I have a few bottles left of that. I need to get more ginger for my next batch. I'm going to keep the ginger bug going throughout the summer and flavor the sodas with the various berries and fruits that we have in our gardens and orchard as they become ripe.
These drinks are very easy to make and taste like those fancy, expensive, gourmet sodas, or probiotic drinks that you find in the store, but these only cost pennies/bottle to make. The bottles, themselves, are probably the most costly, but they are reusable, so they are cost effective in the long run. You can use mason jars, but you run the risk of them exploding, since they are not as thick and sturdy as the bottles are. You can also use regular beer bottles if you have caps and a capper tool.
I opened another lemon-ginger bug soda and it was fizzier and very good too. I have a few bottles left of that. I need to get more ginger for my next batch. I'm going to keep the ginger bug going throughout the summer and flavor the sodas with the various berries and fruits that we have in our gardens and orchard as they become ripe.
These drinks are very easy to make and taste like those fancy, expensive, gourmet sodas, or probiotic drinks that you find in the store, but these only cost pennies/bottle to make. The bottles, themselves, are probably the most costly, but they are reusable, so they are cost effective in the long run. You can use mason jars, but you run the risk of them exploding, since they are not as thick and sturdy as the bottles are. You can also use regular beer bottles if you have caps and a capper tool.
