Learning to Make Wildflower Sodas
Summer has come and the world is exploding with flowers. Here in the south, an evening walk might smell like jasmine, gardenias, magnolias. Trees are dotted with neon pinks and pearly whites; vines erupt with orange and purple.
As an herbalist on the clinical track, a lot of my work is gathering plants and finding how to extract the most medicinal compounds from them. It’s rewarding, but it sometimes feels a tad “all business” for such a lush season.
So I told myself this year I would add a little whimsy to my life:
Enter wildflower sodas.
It started one lazy afternoon. I was driving around in the country, music blasting, windows down, when I passed by a field. In the center, at least a dozen feet high and even bigger around, was a big cluster of elder trees sitting right in the center. Covering it were dozens of clusters of lacy white clusters of elderflowers.
After leaving a little offering (elders are surrounded by a lot of folklore and is said to be sacred to fairies, and just in case that’s true I would rather not offend them), I carefully clipped off a few large flower heads, laid them in a basket, thanked the trees and headed on my way.
Although always tempted to be forever practical (“I should make a tincture, or dry them so they will last longer…” etc, etc) in the back of my mind, I remembered a photo of something that sounded really delightful: wild fermented elderflower and lemon soda.
I set to work to prep all the ingredients, which all happened to be in the kitchen already, and then stirred the mixture whenever I thought of it for five days. The result was bubbly, dry, floral and refreshing. I found it especially cooling and hydrating, even compared to something like kombucha. I finished the whole 32 ounce bottle in about four days.
Wildflower sodas quickly became a new obsession.
As it turns out, these brews have a lot of health benefits and a lot of history behind them. Fermentation goes back at least until 7000 B.C. There are numerous reasons that fermenting foods and beverages were of benefit to ancient people: it preserved the food in an age without refrigeration, made water safer to drink, aided digestion and added a new host of flavors to a meal.
Now we know how to explain scientifically what cultures of the past figured out through experience: the bacteria and natural yeasts preclude dangerous bacteria from multiplying in the liquid and these helpful microorganisms go on to live in our digestive systems, adding to the diversity of our gut flora.
For beverages specifically, the flavors and medicine of the fruits, herbs and flowers were slowly drawn into the liquid over the course of the fermentation, like a slow-brewed cup of herbal tea.
I’ve gone on to try several other flavors: mimosa, nasturtium, sage. Something I noticed with each of them was a certain refinement that is more subtle than a hot tea and more robust than a cold infusion. The fermentation brings out a new array of flavors and adds tartness, dryness and carbonation to the mix.
Plus, since starting to ferment my own beverages I find my digestion is better, I feel more energized and it even seems to slake my thirst better than plain water.
Are there edible flowers and wild herbs that enchant you with their scents and flavors? What is growing in abundance near you right now? Maybe it would make the perfect wild fermented soda!
Wildflower Soda Recipe:
1.5-2 cups unwashed wildflowers trimmed from their stems, or freshly harvested herbs
3-4 tablespoons raw honey or cane sugar
3 tablespoons whey (commercial whey or the liquid from plain yogurt) or 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2-1 cup fresh fruit (optional)
6 cups dechlorinated or filtered water
Combine all ingredients in a half gallon or similar size non-metal container. Pour in room temperature water and stir thoroughly. I boiled my water for 20 minutes to dechlorinate but you can use a high quality filter (a Brita filter will not work, unfortunately) or buy water from the store.
Secure a cloth over the top with a jar lid or rubber band to prevent bugs or dust from getting inside and leave at room temperature.
Stir mixture at least 3 times a day for 2-6 days.
You will start to notice bubbles in the mix after a few days. At this point you can strain the mix if you want, or if you want a dryer soda wait until your desired flavor is reached.
Strain into a sealed container, preferably one with a flip top or airlock or a reused plastic soda container (glass jars if left unopened long enough at room temperature can explode from built up pressure, so if you use this type of container for the next step be sure not to forget about it and open it to “burp” the gases before moving to the fridge).
For added carbonation, add an additional spoonful or two of honey or sugar and seal the container. Allow to ferment for 6-8 more hours until the carbonation is nice and bubbly.
Move to the fridge and enjoy! Soda can last in the fridge for several weeks (however I would be shocked if you don’t drink it all in a few days!).
Let me know if you tried this recipe and how it worked out for you in the comments :)