I grew up drinking gingerale whenever we had a sore throat or a cold – or just as a treat. We’ve been going through a lot of gingerale here this winter due to constantly passing the same colds back and forth within the family. And living outside of town, it’s not always convenient to just run to the store when one of the kids complains of a sore throat.
I thought I would try to make some myself, thinking that it would be something at least slightly better for us than store bought pop with the extra ingredients. Gingerale is probably one of the better (if there is such a thing) of the pops for having a short list of ingredients, but it turns out that you can make that list even shorter by making it at home. And it’s easy.
Ginger is supposed to be good for sore throats, digestive problems and nausea. I think it makes a good treat with some popcorn on a Saturday night. Both of the kids agreed that this tastes just like store bought gingerale.
Now that I have made it and have seen how easy it is to make, I will keep a steady supply of ginger in the freezer (I just recently learned that you can freeze ginger root) and some ready made ginger syrup (in ice cube form) in the freezer as well – just to have both on hand.
Ginger Syrup
- ~6 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped
- juice of one lemon (~2 tbsp)
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups sugar
Place everything in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about an hour or until ginger flavour is very strong. Cool, strain through a seive and store in a covered container in the fridge. It should keep for a week or two.
To make a glass of gingerale, add one to two tablespoons of syrup to a glass of club soda.
It will last for one to two weeks if stored in the fridge.
Linked to Frugally Sustainable, GNOWFGLINS
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