Homemade Fizzy Turmeric-Ginger Ale Soda

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Switching to the homemade variety is a good first step toward kicking the habit for good—plus, it’s also an excellent way to eliminate scary chemicals and additives from your diet.

Raw turmeric root is combined with water and sugar to create a starter that can be used in a multitude of ways.

Why ginger?

Ginger is a powerful anti-inflammatory and also a well known remedy for indigestion, colds and flu and in particular nausea.

Why Turmeric?

There are a myriad of health benefits associated with the curcumin component of  turmeric, including inhibition of colon, gastric and breast cancers.

Home-made Fizzy Turmeric-Ginger Ale Soda Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 Gallon (or about 2 liters) water
1/3 Cup fresh turmeric root (or more), grated
1 cup sugar (white or raw palm sugar, sweeteners like honey or agave won’t work)
About 2 cups ginger bug (we used about 400 ml)
2 oranges (or grapefruit or pomelo), juice only
4 limes (or lemons), juice only
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper (to improve the bio-availability of turmeric active compound curcumin)

Directions:

-In a pot, bring water, turmeric and sugar to a boil. Boil for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
-Once the mixture has cooled down, add the ginger bug, black pepper, orange juice, and lemon juice. Stir well.
-Strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve to remove turmeric and ginger bug debris.
-Pour the mixture into soda bottles that have swing tops or tight fitting screw top lids. Allow the bottles to sit for 2 to 4 days on room temperature. This will depend on the temperature.
-Regularly check the bottles by giving them a squeeze, they will get hard while the fizz or carbonation builds up. If not checking them regularly they can explode and you won’t like the yellow turmeric staining your kitchen walls.
-Once a day open up the cap and they should make a fizzy sound. When you put the cap back on the carbonation will build up again.
-Once you get a decent amount of fizz in it, refrigerate to stop the process.
-Once they are cold, they are ready to drink. You can store them in the fridge for up to a week or even 2 weeks.

Additional sources:

http://mendocinotea.com/blogs/news/17276143-making-homemade-ginger-turmeric-ale

http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/how-to-make-starter-culture-for-homemade-soda/

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014573-sparkling-ginger-lemon-soda

http://www.body-in-balance.org/blog/nutrition/turmeric-ginger-ale-soda/

mcshane