Ginger Switchel Food

HOW TO MAKE TRADITIONAL SWITCHEL (HAYMAKER'S PUNCH)

Steps:

• Finely chop or grate your ginger and add it to your mason jar. I prefer to grate my ginger with a zester as it does a better job of releasing the juices. (I like this one because it also does a fantastic job with citrus zest and even after eight years of use it's still sharp, ask my fingers how I know!)
• Pour the lemon juice (and zest if used), apple cider vinegar, honey or maple syrup and water into your jar.
• Screw the lid down tightly and shake the dickens out of it. You want all of your honey dissolved and a little frothy tornado of ginger bits in there.
• Loosen your lid a little and let your jar sit out on the counter for 24-36 hours. This gives the naturally occurring yeast in the honey and ginger a chance to do a little fermenting and makes your switchel a bit fizzier.
• Strain your switchel through the strainer into a clean jar or Grolsch-style bottle.

GINGER SWITCHEL

Steps:

• Peel and cut about an inch of ginger root. You can either grate it, slice it, or cut it into tiny pieces.If you will be serving immediately, grating helps release the flavors of the ginger more quickly. If slicing the ginger, it's best to allow it to steep for several hours to give off more flavor.
• Add the ginger, vinegar, and sweeteners to the bottom of a 1-quart pitcher. Press the ginger against the side of the pitcher with a wooden spoon to help muddle it and release the flavor. (If using grated ginger, you can skip the muddling.)
• Fill the rest of the pitcher with water (around 4 cups of water).
• Place the pitcher in the refrigerator and chill for several hours, or overnight. This helps infuse the water with the ginger flavor and helps the flavors meld together.
• Adjust the flavors to suit your taste, if needed. For more acidity, add more vinegar. For a sweeter drink, add more maple syrup.
• Optionally strain out the ginger before serving.
• Serve the drink cold, with or without ice.

SWITCHEL RECIPE

Steps:

• Fill a 2-quart saucepan 2/3 with water and add ginger.
• Bring water to a boil and allow ginger to boil for about 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat and let ginger steep for 20 minutes.
• In a 2-quart pitcher, add maple syrup, apple cider vinegar and lemon juice.
• Strain ginger as you are pouring into pitcher.
• Stir and mix all ingredients well.
• Can be served warm or on ice.
• *Add more water to dilute if needed.

HOW TO MAKE GINGER SWITCHEL

Steps:

• Combine the ingredients: In a quart-sized glass canning jar or other lidded glass container, combine the honey and vinegar. Add the ginger and water. Cover with a lid and shake to combine the ingredients.
• Refrigerate: Cover the jar and transfer to the fridge. Drink once cold or let the ginger infuse for up to 4 days, at which point you can strain out the ginger. The longer the ginger infuses, the stronger the flavor will become. The prepared switchel will keep for seven days in the refrigerator.

HAYMAKER'S GINGER SWITCHEL

Steps:

• Combine 3 cups water with ginger in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and let infuse for 15 minutes.
• Strain the ginger-infused water into a pitcher, pressing on the ginger solids to extract all the liquid. Add honey (or maple syrup) and molasses; stir until dissolved. Stir in lemon juice, vinegar and the remaining 6 cups water. Chill until very cold, at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Stir the punch and serve in tall glasses over ice cubes. Garnish with berries, mint sprigs or lemon slices, if desired.
• Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.