I love drinks with bubbles! Anything bubbly or sparkly will get my attention far quicker than something flat. So when I discovered that probiotic drinks (like Kevita) are bubbly, they got me hooked. What I didn’t so much like about them was the cost for something that will take me about 60 seconds to drink.
What I also like about them are the benefits that probiotics give. Probiotics are “good” bacteria that we need in our bodies, and help with things such as digestive health, urinary health, immunity, women’s health and more. That doesn’t mean to say that everyone needs to take probiotics to be healthy, but many of us can use a boost to keep things in check.
Probiotics can help with:
- Digestive health: challenges with bloating, indigestion, IBS, and following courses of antibiotics can all be aided by taking probiotics
- Immunity: healthy bacteria stimulates immune response
- Urinary health: there is emerging evidence that taking probiotics regularly can help prevent “bad” bacteria from invading by maintaining a population of good bacteria on the lining of the urinary tract
I’ve seen recipes for making homemade coconut yogurt using probiotic powder, and so it seemed that making probiotic drinks might be just as easy… why not give it a try?
After doing some research online, my first batch was a simple fermented fruit drink: I put some very ripe peaches and strawberries in a mason jar of water, along with a piece of ginger, and let it ferment on the counter for a couple of days. The result was a nice, fairly sweet, fermented drink. I liked it, but thought it could be taken up a notch.
This was batch #2 – this time I used fresh peaches, strawberries, ginger, a couple of slices of lime, and the contents of a probiotic capsule. I let it ferment on the counter for a couple of days, then place it in the fridge. Oh, and make sure to shake the jar(s) a couple of times a day while it’s fermenting. (If you look closely, you can see the bubbles at the top of the liquid).
This one came out more like I’d been expecting: slightly bubbly, slightly fruity, and slightly tart. During fermentation, the bacteria consume sugar from the mixture; since I didn’t add any additional sweetener, the fruit sugar was consumed, making it more tart than sweet.
It was a great experiment, and definitely worth trying with some different flavors!
Kelli's Vegan Kitchen 
Made it with mango( very ripe), lime, ginger. its done and delicious. I may add a little stevia for afternoon with ice.
thanks for the great idea.
Yum – that sounds like a great combination!
I’m going to set up a jar. This sounds too good to not get in on. I see a lid on the jar in your picture…..just the regular mason jar lid? thanks.
Yes, I used both a mason jar and a jar with a regular (1 piece) lid.
I forgot to mention to make sure to leave about an inch of space at the top – it might expand a bit as it ferments. Let us know the combinations you use!
Just peach, little lemon, and yogurt starter. No capsules in the house. Spouse was quite skeptical. It got bubbly, and had a nice ferment tang. Good stuff!
Yum ~ that sounds great! Thanks for sharing!
MMMMM,…What a beautiful & tasty creation, Kelli: A must make! 🙂
This looks great! Do you think it could work with coconut water? I bought a can last week, but I have never tried it by itself.
Yes, I think it would be great with coconut water… If you try it, let us know how it comes out!
Your drinks looks delicious! I am just starting my first batch using: red apples and ginger +1 tbsp of honey. Im guessing I have to leave this in the counter for about 2-3 days. However, I would love to try yours! I would love to skip the honey or minimize it to about only 1 tsp. You seem to completely skip the honey and not even add salt so I am very curious as to what is the exact recipe and how you make it. You mention that your first batch you make it only using fruit and ginger .. no salt , no honey , no probiotic (?) does it still ferment this way? As well , could something like this work:
Fruit + 1 probiotic capsule + 1tsp honey ? Do you have to mix evrerything together or just live it like it is in the counter top for 2-3 days and then mix it when its in the fridge? I am sure im making this more complicated then it smells. Can you please help me out? thank you!!!
Hello Clau, I didn’t use any sweetener because the particular fruit I was using (peaches & strawberries) were already very sweet. The fermentation happened from the sugar in the fruit. If I were using less sweet fruit as you are, I would probably add some agave or maple syrup to sweeten. I don’t use honey, as that is not part of my vegan diet. I mixed everything all together and set it on the counter for a few days and it fermented nicely. Good luck and do let us know how it goes!
Is ginger required? I made mine using blueberries, probiotic cap, fresh peaches fresh peeled apples slice of lemon and slice of lime.
I ask because I cant have ginger.
No, the ginger isn’t necessary, I just added it for a little kick. Your combination sounds wonderful – how did it come out?