I spent a very productive morning making batches of pesto with a friend in her kitchen. Basil and nasturtium Pestos.
She mentioned that a friend had given her a big batch of concord grapes, and she had made jam. She had some grapes leftover, and wanted to know if I wanted them — but there wasn’t quite enough to make jam.
I immediately thought about my quite volatile, and happy Ginger Bug, and said, sure, I’ll be making soda with those.
I set to work rinsing and cleaning and when I measured, I realized I had six abundant cups of grapes — just enough to make 1 gallon of soda.
I put the six cups of grapes in a gallon jar, and added
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 cup of bubbly, happy Ginger Bug,
and water to fill the entire gallon jug.
This sat on the counter for 24 hours — and I took it outside when the sun was hot. Ginger bug ferments love the sun.
That night, I strained out all of the grapes, and poured the “soda” into glass bottles, and sealed the cap shut. When I went to bed that night, I thought about how pretty the color of the soda is, and tried to decide if it is pink, or a violet blush — but either way, it’s an amazingly beautiful color.
Now, for a couple of days, I will keep the bottles in a warm place while they build up carbonation. I’ll open the cap every 12 hours or so, and when I have “fizz” I’ll transfer them to the fridge, and call my friend over with her family to have some soda.
