RE: Ginger Ale advice needed?

November 1, 2005

> > I followed the recipe for ginger ale in the book and the

> end result was

> > very salty. Thoughts?

Use less or no salt. I make this stuff every week and I use zero salt. As

long as you have enough whey starter the ferment works really well and I've

never had a bad batch in well over a year.

My current recipe:

10 to 16 ounces ginger, shredded

1/4 cup raw honey or some kind of sugar

2 to 3 limes or lemons, juiced

1/4 cup live whey

enough water to almost fill a gallon container

Mix. Leave on counter for 4-6 days with a loose lid. Shake a couple of

times a day. (Or tighten the lid and release once or twice a day so the jar

does not explode. Will sometimes make a nice fizzy drink if the gods are

smiling.) Strain. Refrigerate.

This makes a very strong drink that I dilute about 50/50 with sparkling

water.

Ron

November 2, 2005

I think I read in the Weston Price article that it is hard to make soda like

this with raw honey because the enzymes in it inhibit the lacto fermentation

process and its best to add it last. What is your experience with this? I really

really want to try this, but I need to make sure the end product i'm drinking is

low in sugar, I'm hoping if I let it ferment long enough, most of the sugar will

be eaten up by the fermentation process (and if the honey is going to slow that

down, then the end product may be too sweet for my candida issues).

Also, just so i'm clear, the live whey is attained by straining yogurt through

cheesecloth (the remaining liquid is the whey, right?). How much yogurt do you

have to use to extract 1/4 cup of whey? Do you think whey from yogurt fermented

for a longer amount of time is more beneficial than whey from plain, store

bought yogurt (I don't want to waste my precious homemade raw goat milk yogurt

if I dont have too).

Thanks!

<<My current recipe:

<<10 to 16 ounces ginger, shredded

<<1/4 cup raw honey or some kind of sugar

<<2 to 3 limes or lemons, juiced

<<1/4 cup live whey

<<enough water to almost fill a gallon container

<<Mix. Leave on counter for 4-6 days with a loose lid. Shake a couple

<<of

<<times a day. (Or tighten the lid and release once or twice a day so

<<the jar

<<does not explode. Will sometimes make a nice fizzy drink if the gods

<<are

<<smiling.) Strain. Refrigerate.

<<This makes a very strong drink that I dilute about 50/50 with sparkling

<<water.

Ron

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November 2, 2005

Hi ,

> I think I read in the Weston Price article that it is hard to

> make soda like this with raw honey because the enzymes in it

> inhibit the lacto fermentation process and its best to add it

> last. What is your experience with this?

Yes, I've seen those comments but I find that it doesn't really matter too

much. I've noticed that the ferment is slower to start with honey than with

sugar but I've never had a problem. Either is fine, though. Honey provides

some micronutrient that sugar does not but I don't know how much and if it

really makes any kind of difference.

I think if you are trying to do a sophisticated fermentation like beer or

wine these issues may be important but for something as basic as this it

makes no difference. Each ingredient creates a different effect so you will

get a slightly different result as you modify the amounts (plus time and

temperature). Ginger ale is such a robust ferment that I've never

experienced it going bad, it just tastes different. More bubbly one time,

flat the next. A little sweeter, a little more bitter. Mostly my result

tastes strong and bitter. I like it that way.

> I really really want

> to try this, but I need to make sure the end product i'm

> drinking is low in sugar, I'm hoping if I let it ferment long

> enough, most of the sugar will be eaten up by the

> fermentation process (and if the honey is going to slow that

> down, then the end product may be too sweet for my candida issues).

If you are using 1/4 cup of sweetener per gallon of drink you will have no

problem at all. I have the same health issues that you do so I'm very

careful to not do sugar except for a minimum.

>

> Also, just so i'm clear, the live whey is attained by

> straining yogurt through cheesecloth (the remaining liquid is

> the whey, right?). How much yogurt do you have to use to

> extract 1/4 cup of whey? Do you think whey from yogurt

> fermented for a longer amount of time is more beneficial than

> whey from plain, store bought yogurt (I don't want to waste

> my precious homemade raw goat milk yogurt if I dont have too).

I have no idea about amounts of whey from yogurt as I get my whey from an

occasional raw milk ferment. If I need some I'll let some old refrigerated

milk clabber on the counter or if I'm making some cottage cheese I'll save

the whey from that. I would surely never use _my_ raw goat's milk yogurt

for a whey source unless that was my only option. That stuff is like gold

and I hoard every bite that I can get.

As to benefits from various organisms and time fermented -- I defer to the

experts on the list. Hopefully someone will give you some input in response

to this question as I do not know the answer. I'm not particularly fussy

about those kinds of details and I find that if I'm using clean ingredients

from clean sources it all works out in the end.

Good luck!

Ron

November 2, 2005