So you wanna be a soda jerk?

I warn you, this is not a project for the faint of heart. In fact, as I write this, my boyfriend is going into obsessive-compulsive shock at the thought sleeping in the same apartment as the "soda bombs" that I have created. The last time I made soda I was awoken at 6AM by a loud bang and sleepily wandered into the kitchen to find it covered in glass shards and sticky ginger soda. I'm still finding crusty sugar in the corners. But if you really think you're up for it, I'll outline the basics.

First you have to make the bubbles. One way is to make a lacto-ferment start. Put all the ingredients in a jar and every day add another couple tablespoons of sugar until little bubble start to form (4-7 days).

Add all of this to a big pot and simmer until the sugar dissolves. Let it cool down to room temp.

This makes a lot of soda, about eight 750 ml bottles.

Check it every couple of days to make sure that the lacto-ferment babies are eating the sugar. (You'll know it's working if it gets less and less sweet.)

Put a lid on the jugs and shake it up real good to distribute the simple syrup.

Open the bottle carefully when you check them--the soda has a tendancy to shoot out when done. You'll know they're getting on their way to done when tiny bubbles form after you open the bottle.

Be careful: when the carbonation gets going, it goes fast and WILL explode if you're not vigilant.

Strangely this project began with my eyeballs turning into reptiles. I've got this little thing called eczema...you may have heard of it. Being averse to doctors, I started looking up herbal cures on the interwebs and found that sasparilla (the main flavor in root beer!) is commonly used to alleviate skin problems. Upon further intensive research (a.k.a. another 5 mintues of googling) I found that sodas were originally prescribed as elixers for all sorts of ailments. Coca-cola for when you needed a little pep, ginger beer for colds...you get the picture. But this is not a story of soda-pop heroism. In a strange act of sanity, I visited my physician who prescribed some creams that are healing my scaly skin. The eczema was merely the inspiration and now it has evolved into it's own reward: delicious, pro-biotic tastiness!