Name: Ginger Bug Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 7205 min
Ingredients: 1-2 fresh organic ginger roots; ½ cup white sugar; 2 cups filtered water

If you aren’t familiar with naturally fermented beverages, you might be asking what the heck a ginger bug is and why you should make one…

A ginger bug is a culture of beneficial bacteria made from fresh ginger root and sugar. It is similar to a sourdough starter for bread or a kombucha SCOBY. The ginger imparts its flavor and as it naturally ferments, creates a mixture of beneficial bacteria.

Though not overly tasty by itself, the ginger bug is the base for many homemade sodas and tonics. We use it to make root beer, ginger ale, fruit “sodas”, and more.

The recipe we use is an adaption of the recipe in Nourishing Traditions (p. 591) and is the culture we use for all homemade sodas. There is also an easier way to make soda that doesn’t require a ginger bug if you prefer to skip this step, but to make an authentic soda, the bug is needed.

Ginger Bug Recipe

Once this ginger bug is made, it can be kept alive and used continuously to make healthy soda at any time.

How to Make a Ginger Bug for Natural Soda

Ginger Bug Recipe

How to create a ginger bug to use as the beneficial culture to make healthy fermented homemade sodas like old fashioned ginger ale or root beer.

Prep Time 5

Fermentation Time 5

Total Time 5 5

Author Katie Wells

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Servings

Ingredients

1-2 fresh organic ginger roots
½ cup white sugar
2 cups filtered water

Instructions

Cut a piece of ginger root about 1.5 inches long and grate to make 2-3 Tablespoons of grated ginger. You can also finely chop instead of grating. There is some debate about if it is better to peel the root or not. My general rule is that non-organic ginger gets peeled and organic just gets rinsed before grating.
Place the ginger in a quart size mason jar and add an equal amount of white sugar (2-3 Tablespoons). Nourishing Traditions insists that white sugar is needed to create the bug and I’ve had the best success with this, but a local friend claims that unrefined sugar or sugar with 1 tsp of molasses added works better. Try what you have and adapt as needed.
Add 2 cups of filtered water to the mason jar. Make sure that the water has been filtered so that it does not contain chlorine which can affect the culturing process.
Stir with a non-metal spoon and lightly cover. I cover with a coffee filter and rubber band.
Each day for the next five days, stir the mixture at least once and add 1 Tablespoon of grated ginger root and 1 Tablespoon of sugar. Depending on temperature, it may take up to eight days of adding sugar and ginger to create the desired culture.
You can tell if the culture is active if there are bubbles forming around the top of the mixture, it “fizzes” when stirred, and it takes on a sweet and mildly yeasty smell. It will also become somewhat cloudy and opaque. If mold appears on the top, scrape it off if it can be removed. It this happens more than once, you will need to start again. If the mixture hasn’t taken on these characteristics by the 7-8th day, you need to discard it and start again.
Keep the culture away from other cultures like sauerkraut and kombucha or it can cross-culture.
Once the ginger bug has cultured, it can be used to create fermented sodas and drinks at the ratio of ¼ cup ginger bug starter per quart of sweetened herbal mixtures for ginger ale or root beer or diluted fruit juice for fruit flavored sodas.

Notes

To keep the bug alive and continue growing it, you will need to feed it regularly. Add 1 teaspoon minced ginger and 1 teaspoon sugar per day if kept at room temperature. You can also “rest” it in the fridge and feed it 1 Tablespoon each of ginger and sugar once a week. To reactivate it, remove and let it reach room temperature and begin feeding it again.

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Do you have a pet ginger “bug” sitting on your counter? Will you make one?

A ginger bug is a culture of beneficial bacteria made from ginger root and is the starter culture for many homemade fermented sodas and drinks.

Sources

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About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Fit Bottomed Zone and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. fitbottomedzone.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Fit Bottomed Zone research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Fit Bottomed Zone Cookbook and The Fit Bottomed Zone 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

435 responses to “How to Make a Ginger Bug”

Linh

September 27, 2016

My ginger bug lost the fizzy after day 4! Should I start over? Also, after we take out 1/2 c to make ginger ale, how much water do we add back to the ginger bug while I keep it Alive?

Reply
Heather

September 3, 2016

I accidentally put too much sugar in…. can I just keep adding the ginger and not adding more sugar over the next few days?

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Teru

August 21, 2016

This is a wonderful recipe… The site is a truly great asset. Terrific to see so many people actively working at health and self empowerment. Thank you, wellness moma!

Reply
Felicia Williams

August 19, 2016

Are these conditions ever met before five days of feeding the ginger bug?

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Joan E

August 12, 2016

I have a very active starter. (Yeah) I made a gallon of blueberry soda and let it sit on the counter in a gallon jar for about 2 days. Then I transferred into liter bottles. I went to burp the bottle after 24 hours and all four were like purple geysers. I did have a bowl on top and bottom and was able to collect most of what over flowed. But, is there any way to avoid that? I am thrilled my started is so active.. but hoping I can find a way to avoid the geyser activity..

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1. David
  
  August 12, 2016
  
  How do you flavor the soda? Do you blend up blueberries or buy juice…just curious.
  
  Reply
2. Ana Rose
  
  August 12, 2016
  
  Awesome! Sounds like too much Co2 was allowed to develop without getting burped. If you’re going to make such a prolific batch you’ll need to release the built up gasses more often, and maybe allow more room in the bottle so that the pressure doesn’t build so fast.
  
  Reply
Damon

July 19, 2016

Hi,
My bugs were all working great (we’ve made about 5 successfully) and one day white mold began to form. Now it forms every time I start a bug. It is a bit hotter now, but I’m wondering if something could have gotten into the air. We also had trouble with saurkraut for the first time since this white mold began (we do keep them about 15 feet apart), it formed a strange brown mold and created a tremendous amount of excess water. any thoughts?

Reply
1. Ana
  
  August 7, 2016
  
  Sounds like kahm yeast (a whitish film that can develop on top of cultures), which is more likely to grow in warmer environments. This isn’t harmful to consume although it doesn’t seem to have beneficial properties either. I believe there are things you can do to try to prevent it but haven’t dealt with it much myself.
  
  Reply
Marc

June 26, 2016

Hi thanks for the recipe. Make ginger beer/ ale for the first time. I decided to make the bug as it has more health benefits I believe.

So followed your instructions to the T day 1,2&3 were amazing, smell bubbles and fizz, day 4,5 not as promising but the ginger is moving around in the jar so guessed it is still working.

However I relocated the jar to a cupboard as it is winter time here in South Africa and the night time temps drop a lot. Please advise if I should continue or restart and what I should do differently.

Thanks
Marc

Reply
Daivd

June 23, 2016

I have never had a problem in cool weather it is just slower to “bug up”. I do peel mine and dice it up fine and put in equal amounts of ginger, sucanat sugar and water.

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marie

June 22, 2016

There are a ton of comments here! This is apparently a very popular/growing in popularity topic!

I’m attempting to make my first ginger bug.

1. I am not using organic…I don’t think…my husband bought this batch of ginger so I can’t be sure.
2. I also have been using very diced up ginger with the skin on because with my busy schedule it’s the easiest way I could do this. So I thought I’d try first like this. I diced up the ginger ahead of time and put that in a little glass jar in the fridge.
3. The first 2-3 days I saw nothing but a yeast and strong ginger smell.
4. I was thinking that my home just may be too cool. We keep our house cool all year around. Florida. Too hot. AC is our best friend.
5. So, anyways, I was wondering if putting my jar with the coffee filter/rubber band on top would work in an old, smaller crockpot/slow cooker on the least heat setting. I’ve been keeping it in there for 2.5 days now. I’m approaching my 5th day total this Friday. Wondering if you think I’m going to see results. I put a kitchen towel on top of it but not completely covering it just so it will retain a little heat. I know I’ve read before that people put a heating pad around their kombuchas to keep it warm. I tried that but the one I have has an automatic shut off.

Thanks for your time.

Reply
Mickey

June 13, 2016

Hi, Is there a version of this for diabetics?

Reply
1. Ana Rose
  
  June 13, 2016
  
  Hi Mickey, what makes ginger beer/ginger ale palatable is the leftover sugar that hasn’t been completely fermented out by the bug. I have tried this ginger ale that had fermented too long on the counter and it didn’t taste very good–had to add some coconut sugar back in. However, I imagine that after over-fermenting it you could add stevia or other sugar-free sweetener to add sweetness.
  Just remember that if you can taste any sweetness at all in your fermented brew, even if it’s not much, that is still sugar!
  
  Reply
Lucy

June 8, 2016

Hi, thanks for the great explanation and recipe. I made two bugs, one with regular white sugar and one with coconut blossom sugar. Interestingly enough the latter started bubbling on day two already and both are now alive and kicking.
I also made some batches of ginger ale (I hope they will be fizzing soon) that are now on the kitchen counter.

Now I would like to pauze one of the bugs and would like to know if it still needs oxygen when in the fridge or can I just close it and feed it once a week?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Lucy

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Ana Rose

May 30, 2016

Hi Kristina, you definitely did not kill it! Sometimes after feeding it a lot of sugar it just calms down a bit. You’ll learn as you go along what the ideal feeding dose is, and at what intervals. Mine is in a small jar, so I give it about a teaspoon of sweetener every few days (it likes sugar, coconut sugar, honey, molasses, etc–it gets a varied diet!), along with a bit of shredded ginger (sometimes less often than sugar) and it does great. However, I am always careful to feed it AFTER using some for a recipe like ginger ale, as I want those bugs to be hungry when they encounter the fresh sugar, insuring a delightfully fizzy drink!

Reply
1. Kristina
  
  May 31, 2016
  
  Awesome!! Thank you so much for the feedback and tips!
  
  Reply
Kristina

May 30, 2016

Hi there…

I started my 1st ever ginger bug mid-last week. My kitchen is crazy hot – esp. in summertime. As of yesterday it appeared to be ready to move forward with the ginger ale recipe. It smelled yeasty and sweet and had bubbles throughout.

However, I didn’t have all the ingredients so I figured I’d pick them up today and do it. For some reason I was worried about it over-fermenting so I fed it, and then removed the coffee filter / rubber band lid and put a regular mason jar lid on it. Then this evening when I finally got around to making my ginger ale my hubby pointed out that the bug no longer had bubbles…and then I also realized all of the shredded ginger had sank to the bottom. (It had previously been floating in the water.)

My question is… Did I accidentally kill it? ? Or can it be recovered somehow?? I appreciate any advice/feedback.

Thanks so much.

Kristina

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Morgan

May 29, 2016

I’ve done this recipe a few times. The first time it came out awesome, and made some really tasty Ginger Ale. The next 3 or 4 times, i made it, it started out great – i had bubbles after the first night (same with first batch), however, around day 5 i wake up and see it looks to have died…nothing is floating at the top and all bubbles/fizz are completely gone.

Any idea why this happens? I usually grate 2T ginger and store the rest of the root in the fridge for tomorrow (trying to buy smaller roots, and of course adding the sugar). Would using cold ginger affect why this “dies” after a few days?
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Reply
Reed Janicki

May 15, 2016

WOOHOO = its only day three and I can already hear my bug fizzing – I have some ripe ruby red grapefruit on the tree I can’t wait to make into soda!

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April

May 8, 2016

I need help! I’ve tried using a ginger bug to make a few things and only one time I have had success with a ginger brew. I’m always confused on how to do a first ferment (The ferment before you put it into bottles). Some people say to cover it tight and burp it every couple days and some people say to put a cheese cloth over it so it can breath on its own.

This past time I tried making a strawberry rhubarb soda. I made about half a gallon (boiled the strawberries and rhubarb with sugar and at the end when it was cooled added 1/2 cup of ginger bug and lemon juice). I ended up with a little over 2 quarts so I ended up putting it in two 8 cup ball jars and covering with a coffee filter and rubber band and putting it in the warmest room in my house (maybe 75 degrees tops). Well 5 days later it has this like white film over the top. It isn’t mold I don’t think and I think it has fermented slightly but I have no idea what the white film is. Also all of the jars I have were cleaned and sanitized. I’m not sure if I should strain this out when I put it in the jars or just toss it completely. I read its a type of yeast growing on top but I really can’t find much info on this.

I also tried to make an orange soda (because so many websites said you can use pretty much any juice). This I didn’t do a double ferment, I just mixed the juice (organic no sugar added store bought) with the ginger bug and bottled it up tight. I’ve been checking every few days and after over a week I might start to be getting the slightest amount of fermentation, and oddly it looks like I grew a scoby on top. And I’m completely sure that the ginger bug was very active and happy. Very bubbly.

I’ve read a million sites and I think I’m doing everything ok (everything says something a little different which is frustrating). Any help at all would be SO appreciated.

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1. Reed Janicki
  
  May 15, 2016
  
  HI April, so when you make the bug you need to use the cheesecloth to lightly cover so that the natural “bugs’ that cause the first ferment over the first 5 days can get to it.
  
  When you go to make the soda and add the bug to your chosen flavorings then you want to keep it closed tight to trap the gas the bug makes to give your soda its fizz for the next three days then after that you can refrigerate and enjoy!
  
  Reply
Acey

May 6, 2016

Is there a way to do this if you are on a sugar restriction? Can you use stevia with something other than sugar?

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1. Fit Bottomed Zone
  
  May 24, 2016
  
  The yeast/bacteria needs the sugar for food so it can’t be made without sugar of some kind.
  
  Reply
2. Dina
  
  May 24, 2016
  
  Most of the sugar will be used up during the fermentation and very little if any is left, unless you put in more that the bacteria can consume.
  
  Reply
Bonnie

May 5, 2016

My bug is fuzzing great, I can hear it, with non organic ginger also. But I started the ale 4 days ago and I’m not seeing any fizz can I add the 1/4 c of whey to it now to get the fizz going? Or just leave it sit longer? Sorry if this was asked already!
Also Does the ginger bug last forever just keep feeding daily or how often do you start a new one?

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Lu

April 30, 2016

Hi there, When you remove a portion of the ginger bug to add into a soda recipe do you stir first or strain? Thanks.

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Kelli Loftis

April 30, 2016

I’m doing an experiment. I have one batch started with your original recipe using grated ginger and one batch using ginger juice. I have a masticating juicer and have been making ginger ale using 2 T of ginger juice, 1 T lemon juice, a sweetener (honey or agave, organic sugar, etc.) and adding club soda too it. I can’t wait to make some REAL ginger ale. After I juice, I pour it into ice cube trays for later use. Juicing is a lot easier and faster than grating. Has anyone ever tried using ginger juice instead of grated ginger to make the bug?

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1. Kelli Loftis
  
  May 4, 2016
  
  Update: Both the juiced ginger and the grated ginger bubbled and smelled yeasty in each jar. I’ll let you know how the ginger ale turns out.
  
  Reply