Re: Jim-Would you PLEASE share your recipe for home made ginger ale w/ginger root?

September 27, 2007

Hi,

The best way to make it is with a Ginger Beer Plant, it's a bit like water

kefir, if you can't get that and I urge you to try then you can just use bakers

yeast and save the dregs each time. If you go to the GBP group you'll find

loads of recipes for both ways and a link to the starter from ginger root. My

quick way is to put the GBP in 500 ml of water, 5 dessert spoons of sugar, half

a tsp of cream of tartar, half a tsp of citric acid or fresh lemon juice to

taste, add an inch or two of grated ginger root (which contains what you need if

you don't want to use yeast and you don't have a GBP it takes a week to get it

going but it will work) leave it covered with kitchen towel for and a band 24

hours then strain and bottle. Leave it to go fizzy 1-3 days or drink it if

you're impatient with lots of ice. The second time you make it if you save the

strainings which you should squeeze out by the way you won't need so much

ginger, just every few days add some more. Wow, you'll never buy coke again.

Ginger Beer Plant Instructions

Fill a jam jar three quarters full of water.

Add two teaspoonfuls of unrefined (brown) sugar

Add two teaspoonfuls of ground ginger

Add the ginger beer plant symbiont

Cover with a loose-fitting cap

Leave at room temperature on a worktop or window-sill to ferment

Each day for seven days add one teaspoonful of sugar and one teaspoonful of

ground ginger

After seven days strain the liquid into a jug through a plastic strainer

Pour the liquid into a 2 litre fizzy lemonade bottle or four 500ml bottles

Dissolve one and a half to two cups of sugar in hot water (to taste)

Dilute with cool water and add to the bottles

Top up the bottles to one inch from the top with water

Screw on the lid tight and leave in the airing cupboard (hot press) for seven to

ten days

Drink and keep at room temperature or in the fridge.

Rinse the Ginger Beer Plant in the strainer under the tap until all the ginger

and scum has been washed away.

Divide the Plant in half, give half to friend, and start another batch

fermenting as above.

Note: the fermentation produces mainly lactic acid and carbon dioxide, rather

than alcohol, so the final drink is tart and fizzy but not very intoxicating.

If using fresh root ginger it can be liquidised, boiled and drained, or added as

slices (which can be re-used until digested).

Dobbs

July 2006

Instructions with observations on brewing with the Ginger- Beer Plant:

Lemon Ginger Beer (8.7% alcohol by volume):

A 2-quart (2 liter) Mason jar or equivalent vessel

1 Quart (1 liter) distilled water

1-1/2 Cups (375 ml) white sugar (27%)

2 Tablespoons (30 ml) powdered ginger

2 Tablespoons (30 ml) lemon juice

1-Teaspoon (5 ml) Cream of Tartar

6 black peppercorns

3 Tablespoons (45 ml) of Ginger Beer Plant

1 coffee filter and a rubber band, or an airlock

1 strainer, a funnel, and a 12 inch (30 cm) square sheet of muslin cloth

Optional: 1 hydrometer to measure specific gravity

Fermentation Procedure:

Day zero:

Add sugar, ginger, lemon juice, and Cream of Tartar to distilled water in mason

jar, cap and shake well to mix. This also mixes oxygen into the solution to aid

in feeding the yeast. For those interested, the specific gravity (SG) of the

solution should be approx. 1.104 (13.7% potential alcohol).

Uncap and add the peppercorns and Ginger Beer Plant. Cover the Mason jar with a

coffee filter secured by a rubber band. This allows the free movement of

replacement oxygen into the jar. Place jar in a sunny window, preferably, or

anywhere that will maintain a temperature between 80-90 F. (27-32 C.).

Day one:

After 24 hours, strain out the Ginger Beer Plant and peppercorns, taking care to

save the solution. Rinse out the jar and, using a funnel and muslin cloth,

carefully pour the solution back into it. To speed up the straining, you may

occasionally lift the cloth by its four corners in one hand and GENTLY squeeze

the cloth with the other. Replace the peppercorns into the strained solution.

Gently rinse the Ginger Beer plant in cool water and either use for another

batch or rest in sugar water in the fridge. The solution should be 2-2.5%

alcohol (SG ~1.085) at this point.

This straining process is to maintain the high quantity (at this time) of yeasts

in the solution while minimizing the quantity of lactic and acetic acid

producing bacteria that would otherwise inhibit the alcohol producing qualities

(which we want to maintain) of

Have fun.

Jim

========================================

Message Received: Sep 27 2007, 03:21 AM

From: " worth1007 "

kombucha tea

Cc:

Subject: Jim-Would you PLEASE share your recipe for home made ginger ale

w/ginger root?

Hi Jim,

I would love to have your recipe for home made ginger ale with ginger

root please. I often drink it at 'big bowl', and would love to make my

own.

Thanks in advance,

Netali

Take care,

Jim

Ignorance is the root of all suffering.

P SAVE A TREE... PLEASE DON'T PRINT THIS E-MAIL UNLESS YOU REALLY NEED TOâ€¦

September 27, 2007