Hawthorn & rose wild fermented soda
Autumn is here and I couldn’t be more excited about this season’s foraged finds! From hawthorn berries (Crataegus spp.) to rose hips (Rosa spp.), from mushrooms to various wild greens, there are so many woodland finds that we can only stumble upon this time of the year. During the next few months, I will make space in my apothecary shelves to accommodate for a growing collection of jars filled with dried botanicals - and will make space on countertops for various baskets of drying herbs!
One of my favorite seasonal & local herbal allies is hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), which bears dark red berries this time of the year, usually around Autumn equinox. Hawthorn is a plant rich in lore and folk tales, especially in Northern Europe. In fact, this tree was once considered sacred in some places in Europe and is still revered as marking the entrance to the fairy realms - magical! Although the ripe berries are the most commonly used part, leaves and flowers can make their way into herbal preparations as well. I like using the thorns, too! (But that’s a personal preference. I am usually interested in thorns when working with a plant beyond their constituents, and into a more spiritual level, where thorns are are significant of boundary-setting).
Hawthorn is a cardiac tonic and hypotensive herb, so it can be supportive of the heart (physical and emotional!) and circulatory system. Berries, leaves and flowers are also used as used as nervines and anti-inflammatory herbs. It’s a wonderful plant all around, so I encourage you to go out and, after properly identifying this herb, ethically collect some berries to dry and use throughout the winter. I’m leaving here a couple posts from the Herbal Academy where you can read further on hawthorn: here and here!
Please note that folks with chronic heart conditions or taking cardiac medication should consult with their health practicioner before working with hawthorn.
Now, as you might remember from a recent entry, I have been dipping my toes in wild fermented sodas! Wild fermented sodas are exciting because they’re naturally fermented, and can be crafted with the herbs of your choice. One of the things that delight me in making herbal ferments is that they can be deeply seasonal. So you can be working with a herb this season to create a beverage that is totally different from an early spring preparation. Over the last 10 years, I’ve keeping kombucha, and started crafting beer last year. Then, early this spring, I made elderflower champagne for the first time (which is a naturally fermented fizzy drink using yeasts present in the flowers!). After experimenting a few different brews with no added yeasts, which were a flop, I decided to make a ginger bug and keep it handy for fermentation adventures.
However, go figure, I never managed to keep my finger bug alive past day four. I started four or five different cultures, which would get excited and fizzy for a few days, fed them daily with ginger, sugar, water, love and kind words, and invariably, after four days, there was nothing but decay in my little jar. And I still don't know what I was doing wrong.
A kind neighbor and fellow fermentation enthusiast took pity on me and gave me a little jar of ginger bug of her own, along these words: Keep it by the windowsill. I twisted my nose at that, for it goes against all fermentation advice. To keep a bubbly culture where it gets direct sunlight? And what, murder it? But I did it. And guess what — it’s been weeks now, of loving words, daily feedings, and morning light, and it is as happy as can be. I’m sorry, I have no wise words here, no science, no explanation. It just is.
If you’re wanting to start a ginger bug, here is an easy step-by-step by Grow Forage Cook Ferment!
Now that I am a proud ginger bug parent, the options are endless. I’m becoming a prolific ginger beer maker, which is bringing me so much joy! And of course, I’m starting to craft seasonal ferments too. Which leads us to hawthorn. Which leads us to today’s recipe!
hawthorn & rose wild fermented soda
I’ve been enjoying this drink bursting with foraged local flavors. Hawthorn and rose are both commonly used as heart-supportive herbs, so this is an uplifting brew as Autumn coolness come closer. The tartness from hibiscus is a welcome flavor here, and it adds a whimsical touch of pink that makes every glass an enchanted experience - and rich in probiotics too! Don’t be fooled by the skull bottle, October is creeping on me! :)
(Makes 3l / 0.79 gallons)
Ingredients
2,75 l / 0.73 gallons water
1/2 cup fresh hawthorn (Crateagus spp.) berries
1/4 cup dried rose (Rosa spp.) petals
2 pieces hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa)
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 lemon, juiced
250 ml / 1 cup ginger bug
Directions
Start by bringing the water to a boil in a large enough pot. Once boiling, turn off the heat, add in the herbs and sugar, and stir well. Leave to cool to room temperature.
Once cool, add the lemon juice (throw in the juiced halves, too!) and ginger bug — you don’t need to strain the ginger bug before adding it.
Transfer from the pot to a large glass jar and cover with a piece of cloth secured with a rubber band. Leave in a dark place for 48 h, stirring regularly.
After 48h, strain the liquid and pour it back into the large jar. Compost the herbs.
Cover the jar back with the cloth and stir the content daily for about a week. If it’s warm where you live, you may want to reduce it to 3-4 days. At this time, you can taste your brew to see how you like it! The longer it ferments, the less sweet it will be, and the more fizzy it becomes.
After a week, or once it has reached your preference, funnel it into bottles (I like using flip-top bottles). Burp the bottles daily to avoid pressure build-up! Enjoy!
If you have a fridge, you can store it there to slow down the fermentation process at this point, although your bottles should still be burped with some regularity if you don’t plan on drinking it right away.
I’m excited for whatever is next in my fermentation journey! A ginger bug is wildly different from kombucha or beer, and I find pleasure in knowing that there is always a new bubbly endeavor around the corner for me to dive into.
Do you have a ginger bug? I’d love to hear about your experiences below!