Naturally fermented turmeric soda is a delicious way to enjoy the health benefits of turmeric. Turmeric soda is an easy natural soda recipe made using a ginger bug. It’s vibrant, healthy, fizzy, and has an amazing taste!
Fermenting Turmeric for Soda
You might remember a while back I made a turmeric bug, which is basically a “starter” for making fermented sodas.
The turmeric bug started bubbling away very quickly, within only a few days, which was really exciting.
That means it’s time to make a naturally fermented turmeric soda!
This is similar to how one would make a traditional ginger beer using a ginger bug, but with turmeric root instead.
How to Make Fermented Turmeric Soda
The first step in making this recipe is to get a turmeric bug going. Once you have at least ½ cup or more of bubbling turmeric bug starter, then you can proceed with this recipe.
The ginger and peppercorns are optional, but recommended ingredients. I think the ginger gives it a little bit more flavor, and the peppercorns increase the bioavailability of the turmeric.
I think that one cup of sugar is perfect in this recipe, but you may want to add a little more if you like things on the sweeter side.
Make the Turmeric Soda Base
Bring the turmeric root, ginger, and peppercorns to a boil in about two quarts (8 cups) of filtered water.
Simmer for at least 30 minutes to make a strong turmeric tea.
Let it cool a bit, then strain out the spices.
Put the turmeric tea into a wide-mouth gallon glass jar (make sure it’s not too hot so the glass doesn’t break), add the sugar, and stir to dissolve.
Fill up the jar with cold filtered water, leaving several inches of head space.
Once the mixture has completely come down to room temperature, add the turmeric bug.
Stir the turmeric bug into the turmeric soda until combined.
If you want to keep your turmeric bug going, leave a few tablespoons out and continue feeding it as described in my post on how to make a turmeric bug.
Cover the jar with cheesecloth or a clean towel secured with a rubber band.
Ferment the Turmeric Soda
Put the jar in a dark and quiet corner of your kitchen. Check on it daily and give it a good stir. It should start bubbling within the first day or two.
Since it was fairly cold in my kitchen, I let the soda ferment for about 3-4 days. In warmer temps, it may only take a day or two.
Bottle the Turmeric Soda
Once you are ready to bottle the turmeric soda, first strain out the pieces of turmeric that were from the bug.
Then use a funnel to transfer the soda into flip top bottles. Let the bottles sit at room temperature for a few days to a few weeks to build up carbonation.
Again, if it is warm out it will only take a few days to build up carbonation, and if it’s cold it may take a week or two.
Be sure to check the pressure by opening a bottle every couple of days to make sure that they aren’t building up too much to cause bottle breakage!
Refrigerate once the fermented turmeric soda is to your liking.
My soda has been sitting in the bottles for about a week, and some carbonation has built up.
I tend to like mine really fizzy though, so I’m going to let them sit for a few more days before I refrigerate them.
This fermented turmeric soda turned out absolutely delicious! I love the turmeric flavor, it’s interesting and different, but quite good.
It’s so nice to have a healthy and homemade alternative to regular store-bought sodas, with the added benefit of anti-inflammatory turmeric.
Have you ever made a naturally fermented soda? What is your favorite flavor?
Naturally Fermented Soda Recipes
Here are some more naturally fermented soda recipes for you to try.
- Strawberry Rhubarb Soda
- Fermented Root Beer
- Fermented Elderberry Soda
- Elderberry Soda
- Sweet Potato Kvass
- Kefir Soda
- Winter Herb Kvass
Fermented Turmeric Soda
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6" piece fresh turmeric peeled and sliced
- 1" piece fresh ginger peeled and sliced (optional)
- 1 tsp black peppercorns (optional)
- 14-16 cups filtered water divided
- 1 cup sugar or more to taste
- 1/2 cup turmeric bug
Instructions
- Place the turmeric root, ginger, and peppercorns in a medium pot along with 8 cups of filtered water. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Remove from heat, then cool slightly (just until it's not hot enough to crack a glass jar). Strain the turmeric tea into a wide mouth gallon jar.Â
- Add the sugar to the turmeric tea and stir to dissolve.Â
- Add additional filtered water to the jar, leaving 2-3" inches of headspace. Cool to room temperature.Â
- Add the turmeric bug to the cooled turmeric tea, then stir well. Cover the jar with cheesecloth secured with a rubber band.Â
- Place the jar in a dark corner. Stir once a day. It should start bubbling within a day or two. Ferment to taste, anywhere from 1-2 days in a warmer spot to 3-4 days in a cooler location.Â
- When you're ready to bottle, strain the soda to filter out the pieces from the turmeric bug. Use a funnel to transfer the soda into flip top bottles. Set the bottles aside at room temperature for a few days to a few weeks to build up carbonation. Refrigerate once fermented to your preference.Â
is there are reason that it has to be transferred from the gallon jar to the flip top bottles? seems like both steps, it is fermenting. couldn’t i just keep it in the gallon jar?
Yes, it does, otherwise the sediment that collects at the bottle of your jug may cause the finished product to have an off flavor.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I made the bug, a mixture of ginger and turmeric. And then, I followed this recipe to make the soda. It’s been about four days, and I still don’t have bubbles in the soda. The bug was bubbling when I added it to the tea.
What advice do you have?
Thanks!
Hmm, I’m not really sure went wrong. Is it warm enough in your home for fermentation? At least, 68-70 degrees?
Hi!! I absolutely love making these natural sodas, and I love your recipes, thank you!! I’ve had a ginger bug for a few months, and I feed it each time before I put it back in the fridge. My question is, it seems, when it comes back to room temp to be active and bubbly. Do I still need to feed it for a few days before I use it? Or is that just if it doesn’t seem active and bubbling?
If it seems bubbly right away, I say try it as is!
Can i use another recipient, away for the 1-gallon jar? like 1 litre? how do i adjust the quantity of the other ingredients? thanks
Hi there. You’ll need to do a little math. 1 liter is about a quart and there are 4 quarts in a gallon, so you’ll need to divide all the ingredients by 4.
thought about doing that (ratio) – thanks for confirming :-) and thanks for all your receipes. Trying that now with the tumeric bug (that one worked fabulously), Next will do the one with ginger. Xx
You’re so welcome!
Tried this but I dont know what went wrong. I tasted the soda on day 2 and it was still too sweet so let it ferment longer. You could see a lot of little bubbles until day 5 but it still tasted too sweet. Now is day 7 and no bubbles to be seen and its still sweet. Did I ruin it? 🤧
Hi Dina. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what’s going on with your ferment. Are you allowing your soda to ferment in a warm part of your house? If it’s too cold, it could take your soda longer than a week to ferment.
Does turmeric soda contain alcohol?
Hi Ahmed. This recipe contains a negligible amount of alcohol.
I am anxiously awaiting the bottle to build up carbonation. First taste though was amazing. And it looks so pretty.
So glad to hear, Linda. Enjoy!
Our turmeric ale turned out great and then we bottled it. We just checked the bottles and they all stink like rotten eggs. Any suggestions? Or ideas of what we did wrong? They don’t taste bad but they do smell like farts, so…not really appetizing. Is there any way to fix this? Thank you.
Mine has never bubbled and I don’t know why. The turmeric bug bubbled but not when I added it to make the soda
Hi Andrea. It may have not bubbled for many reasons. Sometimes it’ll take longer to ferment depending on the ambient temperature or it could be that your turmeric soda vessel or ingredients were contaminated.
Do you strain the turmeric bug before adding to soda mixture?
Hi, Anne. No, the entire unstrained turmeric bug is added to the soda mixture.
Would honey work instead of sugar?
Sure, that should work.
How to make the bug
Here is my post on how to make a turmeric bug.
Any reason why it has to go into flip top bottles as opposed to screw caps?
Sounds like a lovely place to use some of the honey form any of your honey ferments or the fruit for that matter. I’ve been rationing my honey fermented cranberries….so many uses so few cranberries.
Flip tops are designed to withstand the pressure that can build up within the bottle, so screw caps aren’t really an option here. Your other option is to use beer bottles with a bottle capper tool.
Mine isn’t bubbling that much for some reason. Is that okay?
Can the aromatics be steeped multiple times for subsequent batches?
Has anyone tried adding other spices? I am thinking of adding maybe cardamom, cinnamon or other curry spices. Thoughts?
I just started a bug yesterday. At the tea stage, I was going to throw in a couple cinnamon sticks. Those flavors are good in other dishes/drinks, so my guess is it should be ok.