Lacto-fermented OJ beverage using whey

[amylahminute]

Greetings,

I'm wondering of someone can solve a mystery for me. I've looked everywhere online, but can't find the reason why every attempt to make lacto-fermented orange juice fails. I start off with about a half-gallon of OJ (I've tried fresh-squeezed and organic concentrate) and add whey. I've tried it with and without the juice of a lemon (because, although my usual LF fruit juice recipes call for it, I figure the OJ may already provide the citrus component to the recipe). I never get it to fizz that way. But when I combine a failed OJ batch with an equal amount of new batch of other LF juice, I do get the desired carbonation.

Since it seems to work to combine with other fruit juice batches, I decided to just try highly diluting the OJ with sugary water, adding an extra gallon or so to my OJ and whey. My thinking was that I'd reduce the acidity that might be killing the culture. Still, I am not getting the fizzy results I hoped for.

Can someone please comment on how to do this correctly or why this can't work? I have plenty of other citrus trees I would love to use for LF sodas.

Thanks, mamas!

[amylahminute]

Just wanted to add an update to make this thread possibly helpful for someone else in the future: the solution was to add more whey. Just an additional cup of whey produced all the bubbles I normally see, and it tastes delicious.

I added fresh ginger to a couple bottles before allowing it to ferment overnight and it added a delicious zing to it. Tomorrow I'm going to add carrot juice and make a fermented carrot/ginger/OJ beverage.