Wild-fermented juniper berry, yuzu, and honey sparkling cordial
A delicious wild-fermented probiotic drink featuring juniper berries from Eastern red cedars (Juniperus virginiana), yuzu citrus, and honey.
Servings 20
Equipment
- 1 glass quart jar (don’t use plastic or it will leach into the ferment)
- mortar and pestle
Ingredients
- 1 whole ripe yuzu, thin-sliced and de-seeded (substitute: one lemon, preferably a Meyer lemon)
- 1/4 cup fresh or dried juniper berries (preferably juniper berries from Eastern red cedar - Juniperus virginiana)
- 1 cup unpasteurized honey
- 1 tsp citric acid
- water as-needed to get to the 3 cup level on quart jar AFTER other ingredients added to jar
Instructions
- Thin-slice your yuzu, then remove the seeds. Mash the juniper berries in a mortar and pestle.Add the yuzu, juniper, honey, and citric acid to a 1 quart glass jar. Add water up to around the 3 cup mark on the jar. Stir ingredients together. Don't worry if honey doesn't completely dissolve at this point.
- Place lid on the jar which allows the ferment to “burp” - either a) a cloth or paper napkin held in place with a rubber band, or b) a metal lid that’s not fastened on to the jar.
- Vigorously stir the ferment with a clean spoon twice daily, about every 12 hours. It will get quite bubbly around days 4-5. At this point, begin taking small taste after stirring in order to monitor the flavor development.
- After ~10 days, strain the ingredients, then put the liquid in an airtight jar in your fridge to stop the fermentation. Eat the fermented yuzu skins! After ~24 hours in the fridge, the liquid will clear as the lees drops to the bottom of the jar. If desired for aesthetic reasons, you can pour the clear liquid into a new jar in order to dispose of the lees, but we drink them both.
- Serve small quantities in cordial glasses OR serve in larger glasses mixed 50-50 with sparkling water.