Festive Fermented Beverages
With Monarda Thrasher
Why ferment?
Fermentation increases the bio-availability of nutrients, increasing absorbtion.
Live, fermented beverages are full of Pro-Biotics.
In the case of fermented beverages, fermentation breaks down the sugars, reducing the amount of sugar and preserving the other nutrients and healing constituents.
Fermenting with this method allows you to extract the maximum amount of nutrients while keeping the product raw.
Fermentation is a great way to use healing herbs.
Carbonated beverages are really yummy and refreshing.
Alcohol is fun and sometimes therapeutic.
Vinegar promotes an alkaline environment in the body.
You can save money and make higher quality and more sustainable products.
What is fermentation?
Fermentation is the metabolic process that converts sugars into acid, alcohol and/or gasses.
Catching the Bug
Supplies:
Knife, cutting board, ginger, sugar, water, jar with cloth cover and string
Steps:
1. Combine 2T Minced Ginger with 2T Sugar (maple or cane; not honey) and 1 C water in a pint jar. Cover Jar with a cloth and secure with string or rubber band.
2. Add 1T Ginger and 1T Sugar each day until bubbly. Strain out ginger. You’ve captured the bug in the liquid.
Making Fizzy Juice
Supplies:
Honey or sugar, herbs, fruit, juice, whey, water, jar with secure (rubber-sealing lid), strainer
Herbs:
My favorite herbs to use are Vitamin C rich berries and flowers: Rose Hips, Hibiscus, Aronia, Sumac, Elderberries, Schizandra, etc.
Other herbs: Sage, Anise Hyssop, Lemon Balm, Monarda, Fennel, Tulsi, Rose, Star Anise, Ginseng, Ginger, Turmeric, Valerian, Licorice, Echinacea, Wild Ginger, etc.
Recipes:
Sweet, Bubbly Fizzy
¼ Cup culture
1/3 Cup honey
1 cup apple juice
2 T dried berries
4 Star Anise
1.5 qt water
Combine and let ferment for 3 Days.
Dry Fizzy
¼ C culture
3 T honey
2 T herbs
1.5 qt water
Combine and let ferment for 2 days.
Other Flavors:
Pomegranate, Anise Hyssop
Cherry, Star Anise
Lemon, Ginger, Basil
Hibiscus, Pineapple
Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena
Plum, Cinnamon
Apple, Rose Hip
Pear, Ginger, Rose
Steps:
1. Combine reserved “Ginger Bug” liquid with herbs, honey, fruit/juice and water in a large jar. If I use juice with a good amount of natural sugars (I use up to half juice), I will reduce the amount of honey I feed the bug.
2. Cap the jar with a lid that has a rubber seal. Canning jars work great! I prefer wide-mouth.
3. Leave on counter for 48+ hours. Strain out the liquid and enjoy or let strained liquid carbonate in the fridge for 2 or more days (may need to add sweetener to achieve desired fizziness).
Making Ginger Beer
Supplies:
Ginger, sugar, lemon, water, pot, half gallon jar or jug with sealing lid, strainer
Steps:
1. Simmer 3+T minced ginger and a half gallon of water and ½-1C of sugar (maple or cane) in a pot with a lid for 20 min.
2. After it’s cool, strain liquid into jug, add juice of 1-2 lemons and 2 T ginger bug culture. Seal lid tightly and set out on counter for 1-2 weeks.
3. To test fizziness, you can crack the lid and have a sample, then reseal if you want it fizzier. If you use less sugar, ferment for 1 week, if you use more sugar, ferment for 2 weeks.
Making Alcohol
Supplies:
Herbs, sugar/honey, fruit, carboy, airlock
Steps:
1. Find an alcohol recipe you like and gather ingredients.
2. Make the wort (combination of herbs, sweetener and fruit) and add the ginger bug culture once the wort has cooled.
3. Transfer the wort to a carboy or gallon glass jug and secure with airlock.
4. Let ferment for ~6 weeks for a carbonated alcohol or ~9 months for a wine or mead and then transfer to bottles.
Making Vinegar
Supplies:
Fizzy juice or alcohol, vinegar culture (optional), jug or jar, cloth
Steps:
1. Combine fizzy juice or alcohol with a vinegar culture and store in a jug with a cloth cover for 3+ months.
2. Test for flavor and use when you like it. You can cap with a non-metalic lid when you like the flavor, or leave open to the air to continue to change.
*Wisdom*
~Cleanliness is godliness. You will get the best results from sterilizing equipment. I sterilize with boiling water (careful with glass) and/or vinegar.
~Adding more sweetener will not necessarily make it fizz more. The carbonation happens over time. The factors are time, temperature and sugar. But it can only break down the sugars so fast.
~For a fizzier beverage, add more sugar and let it sit longer. 1T per qt per day is ideal.
~Ideal fermentation temperature range is between 70 and 80 degrees.
~I like to use aromatic, calming herbs and Vitamin C-rich herbs. Using Vit C-rich fruits and berries and flowers allows you to retain much more Vit C than making an infused tea or drinking pasteurized juice (heat destroys Vit C). Try Elderberry, Sumac, Rose hips, Hibiscus or Tea for the People’s “Red King”.
~Every house has wild yeast. I have made vinegar by simply letting fizzy juice sit out on the counter open to air without adding a vinegar culture. But, there is a chance that it will mold, depending on how rich your environment is in yeast.
~With ginger beer, do not let it ferment too long, this could result in explosions.
Resources
Books:
The Art of Fermentation, by Sandor Katz
Wild Fermentation, by Sandor Katz
Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon
Sacred and Healing Herbal Beers, by Stephen Harold Buhner
Sourcing Herbs & Local Medicine
Best quality herbs are available from Driftless Herbal Exchange Network (WI), Zack Woods Herb Farm (VT), Healing Spirits Herb Farm (NY).
Ask your coop to source local herbs!
Local Coops and Natural Food stores carry bulk , dried herbs, many of which are imported. These are good sources for roots, seeds and berries, but the leaves and flowers are often not dried with the care of the aforementioned farms, resulting in lower medicinal and nutrient content.
Future Classes, Workshops, Plant Walks
Every year I teach classes in the cities and beyond on making herbal medicine, growing herbs, fermentation, permaculture medicine, and more! For updates on classes, plant walks, community herbalism projects, join my email list [email protected] or join the Community Facebook Page: Dancing Monarda.
Join Herbalists Without Borders Twin Cities
Send me an email. [email protected]
Open Heart Economy
I offer many classes, wellness and herbal consultations, holistic birth and post partum support and herbal medicines in the Open Heart Economy. The Open Heart Economy is an economic system, in which people exchange gifts freely, and without expectation. You decide what gifts you offer, based on your resources and how it feels good to give. This economy works if there is a continuous, free flow of gifts. I choose to use this economy of exchange because I feel more joy when I give and receive freely with my heart totally open.
Monarda’s Projects
Tea for the People www.teaforthepeople.net
Producing hand-crafted, highest-quality herbal tea blends using as many locally grown and wildcrafted ingredients as possible.
Driftless Herbal Exchange Network http://teaforthepeople.net/bulk-herbs/
A network of regional herb-growers, seeking to increase supply of locally grown and wildcrafted medicinal, culinary and tea herbs.
Thanks for joining me today on this bubbly adventure! Please email me with questions.
[email protected]
With Monarda Thrasher
Why ferment?
Fermentation increases the bio-availability of nutrients, increasing absorbtion.
Live, fermented beverages are full of Pro-Biotics.
In the case of fermented beverages, fermentation breaks down the sugars, reducing the amount of sugar and preserving the other nutrients and healing constituents.
Fermenting with this method allows you to extract the maximum amount of nutrients while keeping the product raw.
Fermentation is a great way to use healing herbs.
Carbonated beverages are really yummy and refreshing.
Alcohol is fun and sometimes therapeutic.
Vinegar promotes an alkaline environment in the body.
You can save money and make higher quality and more sustainable products.
What is fermentation?
Fermentation is the metabolic process that converts sugars into acid, alcohol and/or gasses.
Catching the Bug
Supplies:
Knife, cutting board, ginger, sugar, water, jar with cloth cover and string
Steps:
1. Combine 2T Minced Ginger with 2T Sugar (maple or cane; not honey) and 1 C water in a pint jar. Cover Jar with a cloth and secure with string or rubber band.
2. Add 1T Ginger and 1T Sugar each day until bubbly. Strain out ginger. You’ve captured the bug in the liquid.
Making Fizzy Juice
Supplies:
Honey or sugar, herbs, fruit, juice, whey, water, jar with secure (rubber-sealing lid), strainer
Herbs:
My favorite herbs to use are Vitamin C rich berries and flowers: Rose Hips, Hibiscus, Aronia, Sumac, Elderberries, Schizandra, etc.
Other herbs: Sage, Anise Hyssop, Lemon Balm, Monarda, Fennel, Tulsi, Rose, Star Anise, Ginseng, Ginger, Turmeric, Valerian, Licorice, Echinacea, Wild Ginger, etc.
Recipes:
Sweet, Bubbly Fizzy
¼ Cup culture
1/3 Cup honey
1 cup apple juice
2 T dried berries
4 Star Anise
1.5 qt water
Combine and let ferment for 3 Days.
Dry Fizzy
¼ C culture
3 T honey
2 T herbs
1.5 qt water
Combine and let ferment for 2 days.
Other Flavors:
Pomegranate, Anise Hyssop
Cherry, Star Anise
Lemon, Ginger, Basil
Hibiscus, Pineapple
Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena
Plum, Cinnamon
Apple, Rose Hip
Pear, Ginger, Rose
Steps:
1. Combine reserved “Ginger Bug” liquid with herbs, honey, fruit/juice and water in a large jar. If I use juice with a good amount of natural sugars (I use up to half juice), I will reduce the amount of honey I feed the bug.
2. Cap the jar with a lid that has a rubber seal. Canning jars work great! I prefer wide-mouth.
3. Leave on counter for 48+ hours. Strain out the liquid and enjoy or let strained liquid carbonate in the fridge for 2 or more days (may need to add sweetener to achieve desired fizziness).
Making Ginger Beer
Supplies:
Ginger, sugar, lemon, water, pot, half gallon jar or jug with sealing lid, strainer
Steps:
1. Simmer 3+T minced ginger and a half gallon of water and ½-1C of sugar (maple or cane) in a pot with a lid for 20 min.
2. After it’s cool, strain liquid into jug, add juice of 1-2 lemons and 2 T ginger bug culture. Seal lid tightly and set out on counter for 1-2 weeks.
3. To test fizziness, you can crack the lid and have a sample, then reseal if you want it fizzier. If you use less sugar, ferment for 1 week, if you use more sugar, ferment for 2 weeks.
Making Alcohol
Supplies:
Herbs, sugar/honey, fruit, carboy, airlock
Steps:
1. Find an alcohol recipe you like and gather ingredients.
2. Make the wort (combination of herbs, sweetener and fruit) and add the ginger bug culture once the wort has cooled.
3. Transfer the wort to a carboy or gallon glass jug and secure with airlock.
4. Let ferment for ~6 weeks for a carbonated alcohol or ~9 months for a wine or mead and then transfer to bottles.
Making Vinegar
Supplies:
Fizzy juice or alcohol, vinegar culture (optional), jug or jar, cloth
Steps:
1. Combine fizzy juice or alcohol with a vinegar culture and store in a jug with a cloth cover for 3+ months.
2. Test for flavor and use when you like it. You can cap with a non-metalic lid when you like the flavor, or leave open to the air to continue to change.
*Wisdom*
~Cleanliness is godliness. You will get the best results from sterilizing equipment. I sterilize with boiling water (careful with glass) and/or vinegar.
~Adding more sweetener will not necessarily make it fizz more. The carbonation happens over time. The factors are time, temperature and sugar. But it can only break down the sugars so fast.
~For a fizzier beverage, add more sugar and let it sit longer. 1T per qt per day is ideal.
~Ideal fermentation temperature range is between 70 and 80 degrees.
~I like to use aromatic, calming herbs and Vitamin C-rich herbs. Using Vit C-rich fruits and berries and flowers allows you to retain much more Vit C than making an infused tea or drinking pasteurized juice (heat destroys Vit C). Try Elderberry, Sumac, Rose hips, Hibiscus or Tea for the People’s “Red King”.
~Every house has wild yeast. I have made vinegar by simply letting fizzy juice sit out on the counter open to air without adding a vinegar culture. But, there is a chance that it will mold, depending on how rich your environment is in yeast.
~With ginger beer, do not let it ferment too long, this could result in explosions.
Resources
Books:
The Art of Fermentation, by Sandor Katz
Wild Fermentation, by Sandor Katz
Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon
Sacred and Healing Herbal Beers, by Stephen Harold Buhner
Sourcing Herbs & Local Medicine
Best quality herbs are available from Driftless Herbal Exchange Network (WI), Zack Woods Herb Farm (VT), Healing Spirits Herb Farm (NY).
Ask your coop to source local herbs!
Local Coops and Natural Food stores carry bulk , dried herbs, many of which are imported. These are good sources for roots, seeds and berries, but the leaves and flowers are often not dried with the care of the aforementioned farms, resulting in lower medicinal and nutrient content.
Future Classes, Workshops, Plant Walks
Every year I teach classes in the cities and beyond on making herbal medicine, growing herbs, fermentation, permaculture medicine, and more! For updates on classes, plant walks, community herbalism projects, join my email list [email protected] or join the Community Facebook Page: Dancing Monarda.
Join Herbalists Without Borders Twin Cities
Send me an email. [email protected]
Open Heart Economy
I offer many classes, wellness and herbal consultations, holistic birth and post partum support and herbal medicines in the Open Heart Economy. The Open Heart Economy is an economic system, in which people exchange gifts freely, and without expectation. You decide what gifts you offer, based on your resources and how it feels good to give. This economy works if there is a continuous, free flow of gifts. I choose to use this economy of exchange because I feel more joy when I give and receive freely with my heart totally open.
Monarda’s Projects
Tea for the People www.teaforthepeople.net
Producing hand-crafted, highest-quality herbal tea blends using as many locally grown and wildcrafted ingredients as possible.
Driftless Herbal Exchange Network http://teaforthepeople.net/bulk-herbs/
A network of regional herb-growers, seeking to increase supply of locally grown and wildcrafted medicinal, culinary and tea herbs.
Thanks for joining me today on this bubbly adventure! Please email me with questions.
[email protected]
