Fermented beverages

[DianaM]

The other day I saw a post here on eG about elderflower cordial, and besides giving me a tremendous craving for the stuff, it got me thinking about other fermented beverages and foodstuffs. And since it is summer, and since it is good (they say) to introduce some good bugs to one's digestive flora, I thought I'd ask for some help.

What fermented beverages do you make? Elderflower cordial? Tepache? Cultured lemonade? Do you keep a ginger bug or have you tried culturing one? Did you risk food poisoning to make kombucha?

Could you share your recipes, tips, tricks? (and yes, I did see the recipes in the elderflower cordial thread)

[Mjx]

I make elderflower cordial, but the forms I'm familiar (Danish ones) with aren't fermented.

 

I follow the ingredient ratios, but do more prep (I snip the florets of the stems, so there's minimal stem material in the mix), I use a much larger amount of flowers and other ingredients per volume of water, and I use a far shorter steepng time, overnight, at the longest, since there seemed to be no logic in a long steep for such delicate and raw material. This makes for something that is intensely flower-forward, since the stems aren't contributing the slightly rank, crushed-plant scent.

[CatPoet]

Same here the elderflower cordial isnt  fermented, it is made into syrup and you add water to it when you want a drink. It is even added to wine sometimes.

[Franci]

I was making ginger beer and it was going quite well until I got  tired of grating ginger and I thought of feeding my bug with frozen grated ginger, not a great idea, I killed my bug.

 

Ginger bug

 

 

This my ginger beer, after fermenting,  before I put in a bottle to carbonate

 

 

I also tried to carbonate some cider with my ginger bug but I past the fermentation and it was too vinegary. 

 

 

I'd like to experiment, and these things are not difficult, but like for a bread "mother" I find after a bit I cannot keep up this all the feedings, washing carefully jars and so on.

 

 

Edit to add: I used the formula from Mastering fermentation

Edited June 17, 2014 by Franci (log)