AIP fermented ginger grape soda, gut-friendly drink

A cold, fizzy drink is one of the plainest pleasures a body asks for, and on AIP it is one of the hardest to replace honestly. This one will not be ready today. Day 1, you set the jar and wait. Day 2, you wait more. Day 3, it finally fizzes when you stir it. That kind of patience is its own discipline, and it is exactly the muscle the elimination phase keeps asking you to build.

Ginger carries the flavor through the first fermentation, into a homemade ginger beer, before this recipe fizzes it a second time against grape juice. The wild yeast in the jar works on the natural sugar in the juice, building the tang and the bubbles on its own, no can, no long ingredient list to read. Look for a grape juice with nothing else added; some brands quietly slip in things that do not belong in this phase.

A plain note before you start: raw ferments run higher in histamine than most foods on this protocol, so if you are histamine-sensitive, pour a small glass first and notice how your body answers before you pour a second.

When the jar finally fizzes, it has earned that fizz. Pour it over ice on a hot afternoon and let it be a small, real celebration instead of an afterthought.

Ingredients

• 2 cups homemade ginger beer (the original site has its own ginger beer recipe; this drink is the second fermentation)
• 2 cups grape juice (check the label for AIP compliance)

Method

Combine the ginger beer and grape juice in a quart mason jar. Cover the mouth of the jar with cheesecloth so the ferment can breathe while keeping dust and insects out.

Set the jar in a dark spot at room temperature and let it ferment for about 3 days. Skim off any growth that appears on the surface. It is ready when it fizzes as you stir it.

Cap the jar and let it rest one more day to build carbonation, then move it to the refrigerator. Serve cold.

A faster, less fizzy version

If you do not want to wait, the author's own shortcut works: stir together cold store-bought ginger beer and grape juice for an instant soda. It will be less effervescent and will not carry the live culture, and it scratches the same itch on a day you want it now.

*Adapted from acleanplate.com*