I was never a huge soda fan, but a little light flavor & some bubbly magic can really be just that: magical. I've taken to experimenting more & more with water kefir grains lately. Unlike the 2-4 weeks it can take to brew kombucha, water kefir turns over a new batch every 24-48 HOURS!! Whoa! It's only been a couple weeks & I've already got the stuff coming out my ears! It is so fun & easy to experiment with too. At yesterday's farmer's market, I got some particularly sweet & juicy berries. I smashed about 5 raspberries & cut about 5 large strawberries into a half-gallon jar of coconut kefir that had just finished up with the grains; sealed it up with an airtight lid for secondary fermentation (bubbles!) & ta-dah! Today it was the most luscious, lightly-sweetened fruity elixir. Awesome! If you don't know anyone with extra grains to mooch off of (mine haven't really multiplied yet, but I hear they do), you can order dehydrated ones from
http://www.culturesforhealth.com/I also found this delicious-sounding recipe for a ginger-based "soda" that you make your own culture for---how handy is that??
http://sustainableeats.wordpress.com/2009/04/18/homemade-soda/ If anyone's tried this out, please let me know how it worked out & what your methods were. Cheers!
