I dug up some of my ginger crop and started a ginger bug for making ginger ale.

You can definitely tell the ginger roots that just camped out in the sand vs the new growth. I’m not even upset that some of it didn’t do anything. It stayed fresh and usable. Sand outside is the best storage system for ginger.

Over all between this and the previous harvest I have 50% more ginger than I started out with. A pretty good return. Next year I’ll go bigger than a single square foot of planting.

I know in my heart that I could dry those leaves out and weave something with them but that’s not a project for this year. But I’m always keeping an eye out for that function stacking ability.

  • CPMSPEnglish
    2·
    17 days ago

    Nice! What’s your process for making ginger bug into ginger beer?

    • FauxPseudo @lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      4·
      17 days ago

      Grate about a tablespoon or three of ginger, add an equal amount by weight of some kind of close to raw sugar. Add 10 oz of distilled or other non-chlorine water, mix it up and put a breathable lid on it. Add new sugar/ginger each day for 3-7 days depending on how slow or fast things take to get bubbling.

      I haven’t settled on a ginger recipe for this batch but in the past I’ve used this yeast based one that I made to try and get a clone of Blenheim Red Hot Ginger Ale. It’s pretty close but way too strong for most. For this particular run, I will probably be using something a little more Jamaican themed

      Spicy Ginger Ale. 9.5 oz (net weight) of peeled ginger
      1 cup sugar.
      1 tbsp lemon juice.
      2 cups + 6 cups water.
      1/4 tsp yeast (white wine or champagne is best but bread yeast will do).

      • place the peeled ginger into a food processor
      • blend until creamy.
      • add the ginger, sugar, lemon juice and the two cups of water in a sauce pan.
      • turn the heat on to high and stir until sugar is dissolved.
      • bring to a boil.
      • place lid on the pot and lower the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
      • remove from heat
      • cover and let rest for 1 hour.
      • strain it through a fine strainer or cheese cloth and a funnel into a plastic two liter bottle.
      • add in the rest of the water.
      • use an ice bath or time let it cool to 70f
      • add the yeast, be sure to proof your yeast first.
      • put the lid on the bottle.
      • shake it up.
      • replace the lid with some foil or an air lock.
      • let rest for 24-48 hours at room temp.
      • place it in the refridgerator to stop fermentation.
      • release the gas every day to avoid it from exploding.