My new favorite summer thirst-quencher:

[kestrel91316]

Harvest Switchel

2 c. sugar
1 c. molasses
3/4 c. cider vinegar
1 t. ground ginger
1 gallon water

Put 2 c. of the water in a pan with the sugar and molasses, and stir and heat until dissolved. Add the vinegar and ginger and stir. Add this mixture to the rest of the wate and chill.

Serve very cold, or over ice. This is a traditional American beverage dating back to the late 1600s and probably originated in the West Indies. It was the favorite of farmers at haying time, when the hot weather and hard work made a cold, sweet drink like this the perfect thirst-quencher. Sometimes they spiked it, too.

I LOVE this stuff!!!!!!! I think when they invented Coke, they were aiming for a fizzy knockoff of switchel. Switchel is at least somewhat healthy, having lots of molasses. If you use honey rather than sugar it has even more. I am working on a version that has a lot less sugar, and uses Splenda or Equal. Stay tuned......

[KyndCulture]

1. I make a ginger beer similar to this..

Try your recipe with club soda and see how it works.

[kestrel91316]

3. I thought about making it with HALF the water for storage in the fridge,

and then adding club soda in the glass........

I don't HAVE to have things carbonated, though, and try to avoid beverages with phosphoric acid to avoid increasing my already-high risk of osteoporosis.........

[eleny]

2. About the ground ginger...

Do you grind or grate up fresh ginger or use the powdered? I ask because I've never been able to get powdered ginger to dissolve. Maybe it doesn't have to dissolve for this recipe. It sounds great, btw!

[kestrel91316]

4. It dissolved fine in the warmed solution. Also, it's better if it sits

overnight in the fridge - I think the ginger dissolves MORE with time.

There IS a recipe out there I think on astray.com (search under "switchel") that uses freshly grated ginger. That might be extra-special!

[fortyfeetunder]

5. I'm interested in the Splenda version when you figure it out!

though did you use regular molasses or the blackstrap? (I am a blackstrap fan!)

[kestrel91316]

7. I used regular molasses. If you use blackstrap, I'd only put 1/2 c. per

gallon to start. It's awfully potent stuff!

You might want to use that sugar/Splenda blend they sell in the stores. 1 c. of that instead of the 1 c. sugar in my modified recipe would be a big improvement over the originally posted recipe.

[kestrel91316]

6. Updated recipe:

I made this with 1 c. sugar instead of two, and with 1 c. vinegar instead of 3/4, and it's even better. Not as excessively sweet, with just a tiny bit more tartness.