Lashings of Ginger Beer!!! So how do I go about creating a ginger beer plant?

[oggsfrog]

We used to make our own ginger beer by adding ginger and sugar to a yeasty concoction for about a week, then adding lemon, sugar and water.
It made a very, very fizzy (we had the odd explosion ) sticky drink.
You then halved the 'plant' and gave half to a friend.

Does anyone still do this, and if so, what is the alchemy? how? What are the quantities etc?

C'mon.... surely somebody must have made it...

Plant a ginger beer seed.

Oh, very funny . Do you know where I can get one?

Think you can buy a 'starter' from Hawkins bazaar. Our farm shop used to sell them too. Let us know if you manage to make one... I'd like to have a go.

We did this as children - it took off - we tried putting it out in the snow to slow the reaction down but even that didn't work

I'll ask my DM if she still has the recipe.

I would love to have the recipe for this - remember doing it as a child: it was very exciting (not much used to happen in Hampshire in the late 60's).

I've been doing a sourdough starter recently, which is the same sort of principle, I think.

I have a recipe for this somewhere at home - it's in the Yorkshire Kitchen cookbook.

I saw one yesterday in Hawins Bazaar type packaging (that's what got me thinking), but they wanted over £5.00 for what I remember as essentially being about a tsp each of yeast, sugar and ginger. Not a bad markup .

Have tried looking it up but everyone seems to give different quantities.

aha

www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A827426

looks good

www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A827426

though I remember making it with yeast and sugar and lemon, NOT with a plant, and it got more alcoholic the longer you brewed it? Will look up recipe tonight if I get a chance.

Cross posts

I used to love it and the possibility of an explosion added to the attraction .

I'm thinking that using the large plastic fizzy drinks bottles would be okay as they are made to withstand pressure.

We used to make it in the thick ribbed glass bottles that Alpine used to deliver.

Effie, it's not a leaves in a pot type plant, it's a fungal plant because of the yeast

my mum used to make ginger beer - lovely stuff ! it used to explode though..(she did make yogurt too,yuck and dad made strange wines)

Right, this is the recipe we used to use (more like beer than ginger beer)

1 lb 2 oz sugar
2 level tsp dried ginger
2 level tbs dried baking yeast
Juice of 2 lemons
2 gallons water (10 litres)

1. Dissolve (do not boil) sugar in saucepan with a little of the water
2. Clean a plastic bucket thoroughly (sterilise with household bleach and rinse thoroughly). Put rest of the water in the bucket
3. Add the ginger, yeast, lemon juice and sugar solution
4. Cover bucket and leave to stand in a warm place for a week
5. prepare bottles and stoppers, sterilise and rinse
6. Bottle the ginger beeer with a jug or siphon tubing, leaving as much of the sediment behind as possible
7. Add 1/2 tsp sugar to each 1 pint bottle (adjust for size of bottle)
8. Screw stoppers in tightly and leave for one for week

ooooh

is it actually alcholic, before i make this with my 4 yo?

The longer you leave it, the stronger it is, as it will carry on fermenting. I don't think it's alcoholic after a week? But it is years since I made it.

Thanks everyone.

Think I'll go with the bbc one as I want one like I had when I was little that you have to feed every day

Also tried to make the ginger beer in the past with the plant but can't recall being that successful.

For an instant version try a Jamie Oliver 'Easy Peasy Ginger Beer'

140g fresh ginger
4 tbls muscavado sugar
2-3 lemons
1 litre sparkling water / soda water
sprigs of mint

Grate ginger (can leave skin on) into lalarge bowl, sprinkle on sugar. Add pith of 2 lemons (use veg peeler) - bish bash bosh with someting like end of rolling pin for 10 secs or so. Add nearly all juice of 3 lemons - then pour in the fizzy water. Allow sit for 10 mins at least - then adjust by adding more sugar / lemon if needed.

Finally strain into a jug add mint, lots of ice and then get ready for some jolly old spiffing fun in the sun.

Lashings of ginger beer for all - hurrah!!