I have a fermented drink problem. There's 3842 bottles of various brews in my laundry sink. Why are they in my laundry sink? Because fermented drinks explode, is why. This is far more likely to happen in the heat of the Australian summer than any other time, and as I don't want kombucha, kefir or any other bubbly delight sprayed over my kitchen walls, the laundry sink it is. The struggle is real.
I've been experimenting with fermented turmeric of late as I bought a huge bag of fresh stuff online. I'd heard of making a fizzy turmeric drink just as you would ginger ale, and thought this would be delicious on a warm summer afternoon. To make a turmeric 'beer' you make a turmeric 'bug', just as you would start a ginger ale. Combining that understanding with my love of the turmeric drink jamu, I puzzled over how I was going to make this drink. I'm a huge fan of jamu, which is a traditional Indonesian drink made out of turmeric that we drank bucketloads of in Bali. It's a bright orange concoction made of turmeric and ginger, often also containing lime juice, tamarind, honey and black pepper (this is to help absorb the benefits of curcumin, making it more bio-available).
What I ended up with is a combination of both - boiling the turmeric and pepper (I didn't have ginger - next time!) and adding honey, cooling the mix and adding the fermented turmeric bug, putting in a fermenting bottle and waiting for the fizz before putting it in the fridge.
The verdict? Amazing.
“Each spice has a special day to it. For turmeric it is Sunday, when light drips fat and butter-colored into the bins to be soaked up glowing, when you pray to the nine planets for love and luck.” Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Mistress of Spices
To make the fermented bug
Finely chop or grate a few tablespoons of turmeric and add equal parts of sugar and cover with water. Cover with cheesecloth and leave for 24 hours until bubbly. Add more turmeric and sugar, and so on for three days until quite 'fermenty' - bubbly and slightly sour.To make the 'jamu'
250 grams turmeric100 g ginger (I didn't have ginger so didn't add it)
1 tbsp black peppercorns
2 tbsp honey
juice of 2 limes (optional)
6 - 8 cups of water
Simmer all ingredients for about twenty minutes until beautifully rich and golden. Cool, then strain and add to fermenting bottles, leaving a gap of a few inches at the top to allow for fizz and the fermented turmeric.
To Get the Fizz
Add about 1/4 of turmeric bug to each bottle (you can then 'top up' your bug with more turmeric and sugar so it continuously ferments) and then leave for a few days until fizzy. If it's struggling to fizz, try adding some sugar or even bits of mango to help with the process. The warmer the weather, the quicker it takes. Test every other day for fizz - when it gets super fizzy, put in the fridge which will slow down the brewing process.
Serve chilled, perhaps with extra lime or lemon.
Enjoy!
Have you ever made a fizzy ginger beer or turmeric fizz?
Have you tried jamu before?
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I would honestly be afraid to drink this stuff. But I'm glad you're so turned on by it.
Why?
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I just can't quite get past the notion that food that has been left outside the refrigerator (usually by accident) to the point it has started to "fizz" needs to be thrown away. (So this whole idea starts off "iffy." )
Add to that the experience I had as a teenager when a friend's mother tried her hand at making something she called "grapefruit champagne" ... (which was the vilest looking and smelling concoction I had ever seen up to that point. Nothing in the world would have induced me to taste it. ) ... and this creates the perfect storm of skepticism.
Again, I'm thrilled you're so over-the-moon about this stuff, but you're perfectly welcome to my share of it.
No hard feelings. Looking forward to your next post ... I think.
Haha... hopefully my next post won't make you gag.
It is wierd juju I admit...
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Ohhhh this looks amazing! Ginger and turmeric are two of my favorite things. I’ve only tried to make a ginger bug once and I failed miserably 🙈 You directions seem really clear here, not sure I could even mess this up 😜
Thanks for this! I’m going to get it a try
Let me know how you go!!! I think you just gotta keep trying with ferments as sometimes it DOES fail miserably.. but when they work.. Wow!
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I love how fermented drinks are not only delicious but also so so good for health! Haven't made one in a long time, will have to make some when the summer comes round, you've inspired me!
Fabulous. They are a great alternative to soft drink and are energizing too.
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I love ginger beer and it is something I have wanted to make for years but never did, I love the sound of the Turmeric fizz now too, oh this year, this year I will give it a go, thank you lovely for the great instructions, I will be saving this for later xxx
I have planned to do turmeric and ginger kombucha or kefir. This sounds nice too!
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Oh you should definitely!!!
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I love jamu since i was a kid, and I made it at home sometimes @riverflows, sorry for your fermented drinks. But that is nice to try.
I'm not sure why you are sorry for fermentation? As that's what I was after. You should write about Jamu! I'd love to hear about it from you!
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Ohh...because you said your fermented drink is exploded. For turmeric, I used to eat fresh with coconut, green pepper and rice, that is something we eat when we have nothing for the menu when I was a kid, and the most incredible benefit from eating fresh turmeric is the immunity against the poison in our system.
For Jamu, I just remember to make it, thank for reminding me, I just finished making the herbal ingredient to cure scabies, before going to coffee shop for internet connection.
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Take six pallets and fill each with four-inch fibreglass insulation. Build five sides of a cube, leaving the top open. Line all the exposed surfaces to seal off the yeuch fibreglass. seal and make a lid with the last pallet. Put a bag of ice in a large bowl in the bottom, then add your volatile fizzies. Put the lid on and cover with a tarp to keep the wind and rain out. I have no idea how often you will need to replace the water with fresh ice, but it probably won't be horrific and will drop the temperature to below popping point.
I don't think @enchantedspirit will be trying this, at least not at first, but I want to.
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