Last week my sister turned me onto this amazing thing called “Lacto-Fermented Soda”. Sounds delicious, right? No, it doesn’t, but it’s supposed to be amazing. It’s like how you wish things weren’t named Vagisil or Fuddruckers – what can you do? Things aren’t always named the way the should be. This recipe should be called Delicious Healthy Soda. Alright, so let’s call it that.
What is Delicious Healthy Soda? It’s soda, made in your very own kitchen with several basic ingredients. DHS, as we’ll call it, is apparently how the old timee peoples of yore made sodas. Alright, so I don’t know the history of it, but all you need to know is that it’s made at home, it’s easy to make, and it’s about a thousand times better for you than regular soda. Does it have carbonation? Yes. Yes it does.
The big question is, why make soda when you can just buy it? That’s a silly question, but read “8 Ways Soda Fizzles Your Health” Besides the 8 reasons given in the link, anything made at home is always better for you and the environment. It’s a win/win situation. It’s also fun.
For a long time, I’ve worried about the health and teeth of my husband and family at the hands of disastrous sodas. But sodas are GOOD! Yes. Yes they are. I used to be a hard-core Pepsi fiend. I used to drink more Pepsi than water and a 24 pack was always on my shopping list. Then I began learning how bad it is for you so I chose to abstain from it. It wasn’t easy, but the more I thought about it, the more I began to hate store brand soda. Furthermore, as I got older, I realized that getting old sucks…why make things worse? Why be old and sick? Isn’t it bad enough being old? Sure it is. I figure, maybe it’s not about living forever, but living well in the time you have. Besides, being healthy is pretty great. There’s no quick fix and it’s a long journey to toss aside the bad habits we grew up with. We must unlearn what we have learned. Part of that involves doing things like making Delicious Healthy Soda. It’s a small thing you can do at home, improve your health, make the world a better place by not buying from huge corporations that destroy the planet, and like I said, it’s fun. The best part is, you get to drink sodas without actually drinking sodas!
Delicious Healthy Sodas are made from several basic ingredients: Ginger, water, sugar, and fruit. Wait! Sugar? I thought you said sugar was bad!? Yes, but you need to start by making the soda culture, which is a living micro-organism that consumes the sugar so you’re actually getting very little sugar. Wait! It’s alive? I’m making a living thing and then I’m going to drink it? What the hell? It’s bacteria, like in yogurt. Good bacteria that your body needs to stay fit. Read more about lacto-fermentation here. If you’re grossed out by eating living organisms such as those found in any yogurt, then perhaps Delicious Healthy Sodas aren’t for you, but they should be and you should get over it.
It takes 2 weeks to create Delicious Healthy Sodas. 2 weeks?!! I don’t have that kind of time! Yes you do. It takes very little time to care for the soda culture and you only need to hassle with it twice a day – once in the morning and once at night. I tend to it as I’m making my morning coffee and then give it a quick stir before I go to bed at night. Simple. Honestly, when I heard it took 2 weeks to make, I was like, what’s the point? It turns out, it’s very little work. The majority of the work comes after week 1 when you’re making the fruit flavoring; which takes maybe half an hour.
Convinced? I probably don’t make a good case, but check out these videos: Part 1 and Part 2.
So now that I’ve sold you on Delicious Healthy Sodas, I have to admit, I’ve never tried them. I’m currently in the process of fermenting my first batch. I’m about 3 days away from making the fruit flavoring and am still awaiting my shipment of reusable amber glass bottles. How can you sell me on something you’ve never tried? Well, after 4 days of brewing the soda culture, I can already tell it’s going to be awesome. It already smells good and I’ve read amazing accounts of how awesome they taste. Also, I believe my sister when she tells me she and her wife can’t get enough of the stuff. Besides, I’ve banned regular sodas and diet drinks from the house…I need to figure out a way to satisfy my family’s addiction to soda in a healthy, environmentally friendly way. This seems like the best way to do it.
I’ll post my continuing experiences when the sodas are finally bottled and ready to drink.
