A couple weeks ago, I picked up a 10-pound bag of oranges at the Farmer’s Market for $4 – score! Squeezing orange juice has become one of Zoë’s favorite things to do, so over the weekend we decided to give making lacto-fermented orange juice a try.
Not only does the fermentation process add sparkly bubbles, it also adds a healthy dose of probiotics to it! There is a recipe for fermented orange juice in Nourishing Traditions, but after seeing a simpler recipe on Oh Lardy, I decided to make a variation of her recipe.
We made one jar with pulp and one jar with the pulp strained out so we could decide which way we prefer it. I ended up preferring the version without pulp (I usually prefer less pulp in my orange juice).
I was surprised that the sweet taste of orange juice was gone, which is great because I don’t do well with too much sugar. What I was left with was a bubbling, slightly tart beverage that almost tasted like a mimosa (without the alcohol)! We’ll definitely be making this again.
Lacto-Fermented Orange Juice Recipe
Ingredients
- Two 1-quart mason jars
- 6 cups fresh squeezed orange juice
- 4-6 tablespoons of prepared culture starter
- 1 cup room temperature purified water
Directions
- Squeeze your orange juice and add about 3 cups to each mason jar.
- Add about ½ cup of filtered water and 2-3 tablespoons of prepared culture starter to the orange juice.
- Screw the lid on the jar tightly then shake the jar a bit to mix thoroughly.
- Let the jar sit at room temperature for 24-48 hours until it’s bubbly. You may need to burp the jar to prevent too much pressure from building up.
- Refrigerate and serve!
If you make this recipe, don’t forget that you can use the leftover peels to make citrus infused vinegar for cleaning!
What is your favorite fermented beverage?
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