Homebrewed Ginger Beer

I started brewing kombucha at home several years ago now, and just recently became interested in expanding a bit further into other naturally fermented beverages (and foods!) Sourdough wasn't the biggest success for me, but a recent attempt at sauerkraut came out absolutely fantastic and has led me into a bit of an obsession. Oops.

I've been loving ginger beers for some time now, and the more I saw how simple the list of ingredients was the more I knew it was something I wanted to experiment with on my own. I recently picked up a copy of Wild Fermentation and the first recipe I found myself drawn to was of course- one for ginger beer.

I found this recipe unique, wherein most recipes for ginger beer that I've seen online rely on the addition of commercial yeast to create carbonation. This recipe has you first create a ginger "bug" a few days in advance that is added to the rest of your ingredients before bottling.



Homebrewed Ginger Beer (Gently adapted from Wild Fermentation)

Ingredients for Ginger Bug:
Several inches fresh ginger root
Pure cane sugar
Water

Mix 2 tsp grated ginger root (skin is fine) with 2 tsp sugar, and 1 cup of water in a small jar. Stir well and store in a warm spot, covered by cheesecloth or paper towel. Continue adding 2 tsp of grated ginger and sugar daily, until ginger bug begins to look frothy or bubbly- 2 days to a week, depending. Once ginger bug is bubbling, you're ready to start your brew. If you decide to wait to brew- continuing adding sugar and ginger to your bug daily.

Ginger bug- pre-bubbles

Ingredients for Ginger Beer:
2-6 inches fresh ginger root, grated (depending on how gingery you'd like it to be)
1 1/2 cups pure cane sugar
Juice from 2 lemons
Water

Boil 2 quarts of water. Add grated ginger root (I went for the full amount), and sugar. Boil mixture for 15 minutes, then allow to cool completely. Once mixture is cool- strain out ginger, then combine with lemon juice, and strained ginger bug. Add enough water to total 1 gallon (4 liters). Stir well, then carefully bottle. Store in a warm place for 2 weeks. Refrigerate at least several hours before opening- and open very carefully as carbonation may be very strong.

Tips on bottling: I used two 1/2 gallon growlers with screw-on lids from a local homebrew supply shop. You can also use recycled plastic soda or juice bottles, flip-top beer bottles with rubber seals, or standard beer bottles if you have a capper. Basically anything that you can safely seal. Large canning jars would also work.

Link Love! Canning and Putting Things in Jars

Despite our slow turning Seattle spring- asparagus is in full force at the farmers markets, and thanks to my mama and Lizzie I have a giant bag of wild fiddleheads in my fridge, straight outta Southeast Alaska! Take that, TSA. I've been putting my own stash of fiddleheads into pasta, and pretty much anything that goes well with butter. I'm excited now to finally have enough to pickle and can.

And although we still have a little while to go before berries start showing up- it's really never too early to start planning for jam. Never ever. And even then? There are still a million other things that do so well in jars.

Canning Across America and Food in Jars are without a doubt my two favorite canning resources. I'm totally totally smitten with Baked Eggs in Half Pint Jars. I've been dreaming about them since Tuesday.

- Strawberry, Balsamic, and Black Pepper Jam from Melissa Made is really for real. I've never been a huge fan of strawberry jam (too many chunks!) but I'm all sorts of excited about this one.

- Sticking with the pepper theme- Salt and Pepper Cashew Butter from Edible Perspective sounds kind of perfect. I made my own almond butter a few months ago and really loved it. Cashews are kind of dreamy.

 

 - Langdon Cook blogs about Christina's recipe for Pickled Fiddleheads, which is likely the recipe that I'll use for my own. Christina has lots of dishes with fiddleheads happening at Nettletown right now, so if you're curious and in Seattle- get your butt in there!

- I've been wanting to experiment with preserving lemons for a while now. Food in Jars has a short and sweet write up. Lemons and salt, loves. That's all.

I've been meeting so many people lately who are getting into canning. It's so inspiring and I love hearing about it. What are you excited about canning this spring and summer?

Eat Your Love

Just a quick roundup of some edible gift ideas!  I'll be making a number of these today and the rest of the week, as I get ready to head home to Alaska for Christmas.

 

- DIY Salt Caramels from The Kitchn are ridiculous and amazing. I know this because I made them last weekend to bring in to work.  My co-workers flipped, and the few that I had left at home have been devoured since. 

- Candied Ginger from Put Up With Me uses three ingredients and a few basic steps.  It would look lovely piled into a canning jar.

- Cranberry Liqueur from Sidewalk Shoes needs about three weeks to sit and really come together- but I can still imagine gifting this with the cranberry bits inside the bottle.

- Cranberry Marmalade with Dried Apricots from Food In Jars is just one of her gorgeous gift ideas.  Homemade Vanilla Extract (I made this last year!), Little Loaves of Cranberry Bread, and Rosy Quince Jelly would all be much loved.

- I happen to think that this is the coolest thing ever.  The gorgeous Patrice of The Fantastic Mr. Feedbag made Patchop's Red Hot Saveur Sauce and blew me away.  The spicy food lovers in my life (myself) would go crazy over this.

- Lastly- iVillage has a roundup of 23 Homemade Gift Ideas from Your Kitchen featuring some really creative recipes from food bloggers. 

What are you making this year?

Link Love!

Food, oh food.  Once upon a time my Link Love posts contained all sorts of fun and exciting things.  These days my definition of "fun and exciting" basically includes the making, eating, finding, creating, reading, learning or traveling all for the sake of food.  Mmm.  As you saw in my second half of our Mt. Rainier camping adventure pictures- the trip ended with the purchasing of a whole blackberry pie.  I can't help it.  I really can't.

- Is it wrong to start off with a cocktail?  No?  Alright!  This Cucumber-Rosemary Gin and Tonic makes me wish it were possible to drink nothing else.  Water?  Pfft.  

- I love bread puddings and stratas, but rarely ever make them. This recipe for Summer Strata with Spinach, Basil & Roasted Garlic Custard from Eat Me, Delicious pretty much covers every base that needs to be covered.  Bread, cheese, custard, greens, garlic... mmm.  Hi.

- A few of my favorite semi-recent articles from Serious Eats:  How to Build a Tolerance for Spicy Food is excellent and worth a read.  I adore spicy foods, but it took me a long time to get there.  Healthy Corner Store Initiative Takes Off in Providence is a great article about a group of students in Providence, RI who work to make-over convenience stores and corner markets to carry more healthful options. 

- Four Fish by Paul Greenberg feels like one of those books that I am just supposed to read.  I think it's so important to understand where our food comes from, how it's procured, and what that means in terms of sustainability and longevity.  And, well- fish matters.  Especially to me, a giant fish nerd.

- Working Class Foodies is an awesome online show that follows two siblings in their quest to turn local and seasonal ingredients into great meals for under $6 per person.  The recipes are beautiful and easy to follow along.  Some recent recipes: Ice Pops, Ricotta, and Zucchini Pancakes, Homemade Veggie Burgers and Potato Salad, and Soda with fresh fruit and herbs.

- These Sweet Corn Pancakes from Smitten Kitchen sound like the perfect weekend treat.  I'm so excited that corn is becoming the new trendy food to experiment with.  I'm happy eating it out of the bag from the freezer (yes, still), but nothing beats fresh corn.  Especially when combined with breakfast.

- How to Become a Poacher has nothing to do with illegal activities, and everything to do with delicious food.  Beautifully outlined.

- Lastly- this list of 5 Quick and Delicious Lunches under 400 Calories is just awesome.  I'm not much of a calorie counter, but I also prefer to eat light small meals throughout the day, and the presentation of these is just phenomenal.