Yield: 1 gallon
How to Make Homemade Soda :: Three Herbal Recipes
Light, sweet, fizzy, and refreshing, homemade soda is the perfect ending to a hot summer day. This post will teach you how to make homemade soda at home.
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
3 minutes
Fermentation Time
2 days
Total Time
2 days 18 minutes
Ingredients
- A large handful of herbs or edible flowers of choice (We have used anise hyssop, sage, and elderflowers in three different batches, and all three have been delicious!)
- One gallon of water
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups organic sugar (Or honey or other real sweetener.)
- 4 TBSP lemon juice
- 1/2 cup ginger bug starter
- OR 1/4 tsp yeast (you can use champagne or ale yeast, or even bread yeast)
- Glass bottles for brewing
Instructions
- Place your large handful of herbs in one gallon of water. Bring to a boil, and then allow to cool slightly before adding sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar completely.
- When the liquid has cooled to room temperature, stir the lemon juice, and either your ginger bug starter or the yeast into the “tea.” Mix well.
- Using a funnel for spill-proof pouring, and a strainer to catch plant material, pour the soda into bottles. You can use flip top bottles designed for brewing, like these ones, or you can use food grade plastic soda bottles.
- Set the bottles in a room temperature location for around 48 hours (36 in warmer summer weather) to develop carbonation.(Please read safety note)
- If you want to check for fizz, you can slightly crack open one of the bottles to see how fizzy it is, then recap it quickly. After carbonation, move the bottles to your refrigerator, or another cold location. Although the cold slows the activity of the yeast, it doesn’t stop it altogether, so plan on drinking it within the week.
- Open carefully, cracking the seal slowly to monitor how much carbonation has occurred. Sometimes, it may foam out a bit like champagne, so hold the bottle over a bowl to capture any spill. Serve cold, or over ice, and enjoy
Notes
IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTE: This is when you need to be most attentive to your soda. If you leave it in a warm environment for too long, the CO2 gas pressure can become so great that the bottles can explode, with potentially injurious results. Even though these glass bottles are designed for brewing, you will want to pay close attention to your ferments.