Fermented Soda - the Saga Continues - Bärbucha Fermenterei
Aktualisiert: 7. Mai
When we started with Fermented Soda few years ago, we did not expect it to become so popular.
Our initial goal was to have a nice fermented drink for kids, and maybe some adults who do not particularly like Kombucha.
Most of our seasonal Sodas became staples and we repeat them every year.
So, in Spring we have Rhubarb Soda, then Raspberry takes over in the Summer months, and Fall (Autumn) brings us the yummy Apple Soda.
This Winter brought us yet another hit - Elderberry Fermented Soda (Holunderbereen in German).
Elderberry followed the Apple, as we were able to make some Elderberry syrup in September, 2021.
September is usually the time when those berries are ripe and ready for picking.
So we picked some.
And we cooked them with our Organic sugar. After cooking, we strained and discarded the solids.
And we ended up with a delicious syrup.
Which ended up in 1L bottles.
This syrup had to wait a bit as we were in the middle of an Apple season.
But it was definitely worth waiting. This Soda came out absolutely delicious and we already know that it'll be coming back season after season.
With this Soda, we have also changed our recipe a bit and we started using a bit of Water Kefir as our starter culture. This change made this, and the future Sodas 100% Vegan.
But that's not all.
When Elderberry Soda is done and gone, we have two more newbies coming up.
The first one will be made with another syrup that we have made in September.
It'll be the Goldenrod flower Soda.
Goldenrod will only be a trial version to see how it comes out and how it is received.
When Goldenrod was flowering, we loved making tea with it, so we decided to turn some flowers into the tasty syrup.
And as a soda.
After Goldenrod, it is finally time for Bitter Lemon Soda.
Bitter Lemon is obviously made with Organic (BIO) lemons, which we first ferment.
Why Organic and not the standard lemons? The pic below explains it the best.
Here we see the standard lemons which are preserved with 4 different chemicals and the last sentence states: "The peel is not suitable for consumption"
The idea for this soda was to use and utilize the part of the lemon that is normally discarded.
And it's a shame as this part (peel) contains essential oils, different minerals, vitamin C and antioxidants.
Here's just one of the places you can find out more about it.
We start with lemon halves, water and sugar. Those three ingredients we ferment for few weeks.
When they are done, we strain the liquid.
And we cook the lemon pieces with some more sugar.
Next, we strain that liquid and we mix it with the fermented syrup.
That becomes our base for next batches of fermented soda.
It is a concentrated syrup, which we dilute with water to make our Bitter Lemon Soda.
When our soda goes into bottles, we let it develop a natural carbonation by letting it stay in a room temperature for 24 hours.
After that, it goes into the fridge and it is ready for purchase.
This soda is also absolutely delicious, as it has a perfect balance of sweetness, sourness and bitterness. Plus it's bubbly and very refreshing.
The ingredients for our Fermented Soda do not change much. Water, Sugar and the Starter Culture (Water Kefir in this case) stay unchanged.
The only thing that changes, is the main flavor ingredient. Be it elderberry syrup (elderberries, water and sugar) or Lemon syrup (lemons, water and sugar), etc.
Ingredients: Water, Organic Sugar, Elderberry Syrup (Elderberries, Water and Sugar)
To read our first blog entry about Fermented Soda, please click here.