How Do You Ferment Ginger

Hi Thane

Apple cider vinegar is a ferment, so if you leave it sitting for several days and your syrup is fizzy, that’s absolutely fine. Simply add your sparkling syrup, a few mint leaves and berries or other fruit to a glass of water (sparkling or plain) and enjoy a delicious drink. The only time I would throw away a ferment is if mould is forming, which you can either see, or tell by the odour coming from the mixture. If it looks ok, the aroma is ok and you take a little taste and that’s good too, use it up!

This one is a more mature ginger Miriam. Sushi ginger is a younger version that retains colour. You can add whatever makes you enjoy your ferment. I find using salt and water fine, but try adding some coconut palm sugar or maybe a little sweet fruit juice if you feel like experimenting, and see how it turns out.

You can try adding at the start of the process, or add it after the ferment is ready to use and store it in the fridge with the juice, where it will slowly infuse. You could also second ferment, which means adding the juice as the ferment matures and leaving it out for a few hours (or longer) until you enjoy the flavour of the ginger, and then refrigerate.

The lovely thing about fermentation is that it’s all about experimentation, which leaves you free to try different ways of creating flavours you enjoy. There are no real rules!

I hope this helps.

I’ve heard it’s been done Marye. From my research it can take quite a long time to start bubbling. It will no doubt depend on ambient temp. Give it a try!

I pickle a little differently Angie. I don’t use vinegar. Instead I use water/salt/veg juices/spices/herbs and, in some pickles, a culture starter. Check out my pickled cucumber recipe to see how I keep the pickles nice’n’firm. They’re really yummy and I now prefer them to pickles using vinegar. This method is also kinder to the gut than traditional vinegars used for pickling. Give them a try and see what you think! xx

Thank you!Refrigerate it Claudio.I’ve had it last many months before now. You can always make a small batch though, so you use it up before it has a chance to over ferment, which it will eventually do, even in the fridge. I hope this helps!

Hi Ignacio, I prefer to make basic ferments and add sweetness to the recipe in which I’m using the fermented fruit/milk. I’ve not paired it with anything else. I keep my fermenting quite plain. My suggestion would be to experiment with different fruits yourself. It’s fun to try new things and work out your own favourite blends! Thank you for popping in!

I’ve found ginger to be fine with just salt and water. I’ve used the ginger water to add to fruit ferments and that works very nicely. If you prefer to add sugar, feel welcome. I use sugar as little as possible, so it’s something I just don’t do personally, but there’s nothing to stop you trying whatever works for you. 🙂

I haven’t fermented ginger with other fruits. My advice would be to try any that you enjoy, only make very small jars, and see how they turn out. Maybe try a sweet vegetable such as carrots or beets as well!

Rosemary, I have a confession! I’ve stopped making this because I’m writing an immune-boosting eating plan book with a leading UK physician and keep my fermenting to such basics (so busy with this other work) that I don’t recall what I added. I know I used as little as I could and I think I probably only used a teaspoon for this recipe.

When I make cucumber pickles or pickles which include watery vegetables, I tend to use more salt, because it helps to preserve the crunch. Without more salt, they can disintegrate quickly. Next time I make these, I will double check and report back to you.

In the mean-time, I would use a teaspoon myself and that’s the experiment I’ll run when I make some more. So sorry not to have been specific. This post was written in the early days of my blog writing and I was less knowledgeable about what my readers needed back then!

If you’re using organic ginger, you can leave the peel on if you prefer. My preference is not to use it Julianne, but do try whatever you enjoy yourself. Some people use ginger peel as a stand-alone cleanser for the palate. It’s all there for the taking!

Used brine can create a slimy coating on the food .. a type of yeast called kahm. It’s not, in itself, dangerous, but tends to have a strong odour as it thickens and needs to be scraped off the vegetables. I’ve tested batches of cucumber pickles using the same brine and the yeast does tend to build with each batch. It doesn’t render the food inedible in the earlier stages, but after a few batches it can be unpleasant and could possibly be a pre-cursor to mould forming. For these reasons, I now use fresh water for each new ferment. I do, however, sometimes use a little fermented ginger water (if it’s not yeasty) to flavour freshly filtered water in fruit ferments. It can add an extra layer of flavour, which is fun. 1tspn – 1 tbspn would do the trick, depending on the size of the jar you’re using. I hope this helps!

Yes Rhianon, A savoury miso could take 2 years to ferment at a low degree in a cellar. When in the fridge, you can slow a milk ferment down, but it’s best to ferment them at around the average temperature or near enough to it. Doing it faster is when things can run ahead and form mould, so heat is more of a concern than cooler temps. I hope you like the ginger!

Hi Jason, Thank you. Good to have you here. There’s lots of fermenting content here, so please feel welcome to hover the word BLOG on the Main Menu and check out the categories. Going forward I’ll be sharing new content. If you’d like to know more, just check out the post entitled: A New Start this week. Welcome!

Whatever works best for you is great Vic!

My pleasure and thank you Mari. I do use apple cider vinegar. There is a post about how to make it on this blog .. and also a recipe for a salad dressing using the homemade vinegar.