I’m always looking to expand my palate and learn new recipes from across the globe. Bonus points if they’re simple, and extra bonus points if they’re fermented. I was beyond delighted to discover a recipe for the Bosnian fermented beverage “smreka” which fits both of those specs. I first learned about this recipe from Sandor Katz’s classic (and must have) book The Art of Fermentation. Fermented foods are known to have a beneficial effect on your gut health, and thus, your overall health. In short, the good bacteria found in fermented food assists in the digestion process. As they say, “You aren’t what you eat, you’re what you digest."
Since I like to have smreka around on the regular, I typically start a new batch every week. And since I label each jar with the date, I know which one is up next for straining. You can ferment it anywhere from 10 days to a month. I think the flavor profile and carbonation is perfect at the 30-day mark, personally. I’ve read that on the 30th day, the last juniper berry will fall to the bottom of the jar. That sounds more like lore to me; I think I’ve seen that happen once.
Smreka is slightly carbonated, so it’s a nice alternative if you’re craving soda (or beer), and you want to switch it up a bit. It’s also got a nice aromatic juniper-y flavor, quasi-reminiscent of gin. I’ve been asked if smreka contains any alcohol, and from all my research, all I can come up with is, “Maybe a little bit.” I’ve read that, much like kombucha, it contains around 0.5% alcohol, so that is worth noting. I’ve also read that there are communities in Bosnia that serve smreka in lieu of alcoholic beverages. I haven’t noticed any sort of intoxication, but it does seem to be energizing to a degree; perhaps that’s just me though.
People often ask me if you can use wild juniper berries, and to that I say, “Yes, yes you can.” However, you must be absolutely 100% on your plant identification. I prefer to use the juniper berries from Mountain Rose Herbs for this reason. I know exactly what genus and species I’m getting (Juniperus communis), so there are no worries there. Once, I had a friend make it with a wild species, and I’ll spare you the verbiage they used to describe the flavor, but we’ll just say it turned out less than delectable. Perhaps it was the strain of wild yeast on the juniper berry, perhaps they didn’t shake and burp as often as they should’ve, we’ll never know.
Although the basic smreka recipe below is great, don’t stop there! I like to add a sweetener of some sort, an acid, and a pinch of salt. For the sweetener, I typically use raw local honey, and for the acid I like a combo of fresh lemon and lime juice. The salt adds a nice minerality, increasing the overall nutrition, as well as enhancing the flavor. From there, you can get as creative as you like. I’ve tried a strong hibiscus infusion in smreka and it was quite tasty. Fresh ginger goes well with it. I plan on trying it with lemongrass next. As you can see, the possibilities are endless!
Makes approximately 1 quart.
Ingredients
Directions
You may also enjoy:
Lemon Lavender Fizz Recipe
Herbal Oxymel Recipes
Supporting the Microbiome Through Diet
Topics: Recipes, Herbalism, Tea & Herbal Drinks
Mason Hutchison is the founder of HerbRally, a podcast and website that promotes herbalism education and events. He has completed herbalism apprenticeships at the Columbines School of Botanical Studies and the Arctos School of Herbal and Botanical Studies. Mason is the Events & Outreach Strategist for Mountain Rose Herbs. His day-to-day work involves organizing community events such as the Free Herbalism Project, as well as attending herbal conferences throughout the country. He is the co-organizer of one of the longest running herbal events in the US, the Breitenbush Herbal Conference. He is also on the board of directors for the Eugene Tea Festival. He has previously volunteered for the Occupy Medical herb team and the Native Plant Society of Oregon – Emerald Chapter. Mason is a proud father, avid basketball and ping pong player, spring water gatherer, and an enthusiast in the art of frugal nutrition.
I’m always looking to expand my palate and learn new recipes from across the globe. Bonus points if they’re simple, and extra bonus points if they’re fermented. I was beyond delighted to discover a recipe for the Bosnian fermented beverage “smreka” which fits both of those specs. I first learned about this recipe from Sandor Katz’s classic (and must have) book The Art of Fermentation. Fermented foods are known to have a beneficial effect on your gut health, and thus, your overall health. In short, the good bacteria found in fermented food assists in the digestion process. As they say, “You aren’t what you eat, you’re what you digest."
Since I like to have smreka around on the regular, I typically start a new batch every week. And since I label each jar with the date, I know which one is up next for straining. You can ferment it anywhere from 10 days to a month. I think the flavor profile and carbonation is perfect at the 30-day mark, personally. I’ve read that on the 30th day, the last juniper berry will fall to the bottom of the jar. That sounds more like lore to me; I think I’ve seen that happen once.
Smreka is slightly carbonated, so it’s a nice alternative if you’re craving soda (or beer), and you want to switch it up a bit. It’s also got a nice aromatic juniper-y flavor, quasi-reminiscent of gin. I’ve been asked if smreka contains any alcohol, and from all my research, all I can come up with is, “Maybe a little bit.” I’ve read that, much like kombucha, it contains around 0.5% alcohol, so that is worth noting. I’ve also read that there are communities in Bosnia that serve smreka in lieu of alcoholic beverages. I haven’t noticed any sort of intoxication, but it does seem to be energizing to a degree; perhaps that’s just me though.
People often ask me if you can use wild juniper berries, and to that I say, “Yes, yes you can.” However, you must be absolutely 100% on your plant identification. I prefer to use the juniper berries from Mountain Rose Herbs for this reason. I know exactly what genus and species I’m getting (Juniperus communis), so there are no worries there. Once, I had a friend make it with a wild species, and I’ll spare you the verbiage they used to describe the flavor, but we’ll just say it turned out less than delectable. Perhaps it was the strain of wild yeast on the juniper berry, perhaps they didn’t shake and burp as often as they should’ve, we’ll never know.
Although the basic smreka recipe below is great, don’t stop there! I like to add a sweetener of some sort, an acid, and a pinch of salt. For the sweetener, I typically use raw local honey, and for the acid I like a combo of fresh lemon and lime juice. The salt adds a nice minerality, increasing the overall nutrition, as well as enhancing the flavor. From there, you can get as creative as you like. I’ve tried a strong hibiscus infusion in smreka and it was quite tasty. Fresh ginger goes well with it. I plan on trying it with lemongrass next. As you can see, the possibilities are endless!
Makes approximately 1 quart.
Ingredients
Directions
You may also enjoy:
Lemon Lavender Fizz Recipe
Herbal Oxymel Recipes
Supporting the Microbiome Through Diet
Topics: Recipes, Herbalism, Tea & Herbal Drinks
Mason Hutchison is the founder of HerbRally, a podcast and website that promotes herbalism education and events. He has completed herbalism apprenticeships at the Columbines School of Botanical Studies and the Arctos School of Herbal and Botanical Studies. Mason is the Events & Outreach Strategist for Mountain Rose Herbs. His day-to-day work involves organizing community events such as the Free Herbalism Project, as well as attending herbal conferences throughout the country. He is the co-organizer of one of the longest running herbal events in the US, the Breitenbush Herbal Conference. He is also on the board of directors for the Eugene Tea Festival. He has previously volunteered for the Occupy Medical herb team and the Native Plant Society of Oregon – Emerald Chapter. Mason is a proud father, avid basketball and ping pong player, spring water gatherer, and an enthusiast in the art of frugal nutrition.
