It's Cultured Mondays again! I hope some of you had a chance to try my
Cultured Lemonade Recipe; our family downed two gallons in just under 2 weeks and now we are having trouble keeping our hands off this Orange-ade.
Here in SoCal, I am often inundated with citrus; not a bad thing...it's just that plain old citrus juice can be boring. Well, after making this orange-ade, I don't think we will ever drink plain old citrus juice again! Even my two year old gave this a huge thumbs up!
This recipe is super easy to make and won't last long in your house:
*2 cups of fresh squeezed orange juice (you can also add in some grapefruit, tangerine, or a lemon or two if you don't have enough oranges, which is what I did)
*1 cup sucanat (unprocessed sugar) or if you don't have this, then 3/4 cup regular sugar
*1 cup of whey (or if you made my lemonade last week and have some left, you can use 1 1/2 cup of that as a starter)
*A gallon sized glass jar
*Filtered water
Add your juice, sucanat, and whey to your glass jar. Fill the remainder of the jar with filtered water, leaving 2 inches from the top, and place lid on jar. Place in a dark spot (kitchen cabinet works great) and leave out for 2-3 days, depending on the temperature. The ideal fermenting temperature is 70 degrees, so if it is a bit warmer, it will be ready sooner, and if it is cool, it may need an extra day. You will know it is ready when it tastes fizzy like soda and has lost some of it's sweetness. You can leave it out another day or two after that, but will need to feed it another cup of sucanat, as the probiotics feed on the sugar. If you want it a bit sweeter, then add a little raw honey to your cup when you drink it. Enjoy!!
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Would honey work as a substitute for the sucanat?
ReplyDeleteThe sucanat will be almost completely gone by the time you drink the soda if you are concerned about sugar consumption. My guess is that raw honey would not work due to live bacteria in the honey.
DeleteDo you cover the jar or leave the top off?
ReplyDeleteTop on...I just added that to the post. I forgot to add that in! =)
DeleteGreat idea! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYum. Sounds delicious. Now I'll have to hunt down some citrus. It's not as available in North Idaho! :)
ReplyDeleteJessie at JessieGunderson.com
Sounds yummy. I have a naive questions: where do I get (or how do I make) whey? (I *do* know what it is :) )
ReplyDeleteKim,
DeleteThe whey for culturing works best with heirloom homemade yogurts. I purchased mine at Cultures for Health and have had it going for about 2 years now. Simply strain your yogurt by placing cheese cloth folded a few times in a very fine mesh strainer and allow to stand over night. You should have a clear liquid that strains through that is whey.
thanks for the recipe, I have been making a similar drink using grated ginger and lime juice, just wasn't sure what else could be used, looks like its time to experiment! I put it in empty beer bottles that have a clip on lid (Grolsh brand from Holland) and the drink continues to develop flavour and fiz in the fridge, even my husband enjoys it and he's not a big fan of my "weird fermented foods"!
ReplyDeleteGreat recipe. Could I use water kefir instead of whey?
ReplyDeleteI have not tried that, but I think that could work just fine.
DeleteHow long does it last in the fridge?
ReplyDelete