The fridge is full of bottles of nettle soda, chamomile soda, spruce soda and pine soda that I enjoy testing in different drink combinations. Making your own soda culture is much easier than I had imagined, so I want to share the recipe with you so you can have as much fun as I do until the heat comes. If you don't have dried wild herbs at home, it's great to use, for example, thyme, rosemary, mint or frozen berries.

Often a bacterial culture called “gingerbug” is used, which is made from ginger and sugar, which you feed every day, much like sourdough. The natural fermentation creates beneficial bacteria that the body likes. The sugar is consumed during fermentation. I replace the ginger with dandelion root, it works just as well. Ok. Here are 10 steps to the perfect soda culture:

1. Go online and order dried dandelion root.

2. Boil 5 dl of water and let it cool.

3. Clean an empty glass jar with boiling hot water.

4.Pour the boiled, cooled water into the glass jar

5.Add 1 tablespoon dandelion root and 1 tablespoon sugar (raw sugar is fine but honey doesn't work)

6. Cover the jar with a thin cloth secured with a rubber band so the drink can breathe.

7.Place the jar in a warm place, for example on top of a refrigerator or near the stove.

8. Feed the soda culture once a day with 1 teaspoon of dandelion root and 1 teaspoon of sugar.

9. Stir twice a day, preferably with a wooden stick or similar (not metal).

10.When the culture starts to bubble and fizz, it is activated and ready to use. This takes about 3-5 days.

You keep the finished active culture alive by continuing to feed and stir it daily. If you want to stop it and use it at a later time – put it in the refrigerator with a lid and feed it only once a week. When you want to activate it, take it out, put it in a warm place and start feeding it again.

Now you can start creating. Let's say you're going to make a thyme soda. Boil 1 liter of water, add 2 tablespoons of dried thyme or a bunch of fresh. Let simmer under a lid for 5 minutes. Strain the thyme, add 1 dl of sugar and stir until the sugar has melted. Let cool. Fill a clean PET bottle 2/3 full with the thyme decoction (not a glass bottle - the liquid will expand and you want to avoid an explosion). Add 1 tablespoon of strained soda culture. Put the lid on and let the bottle stand at room temperature for a couple of hours, shaking once. When there seems to be a "pressure" in the bottle, fermentation has started and you can put the bottle in the refrigerator. Mix the soda with carbonated water or mix it into a cocktail. For all of you who, like me, don't want to drink alcohol at all times, this is a good flavoring for non-alcoholic drinks.

Take care of yourself!

Lisen Sundgren

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