summer drink: fizzy ginger beer (plus giveaway!)
Jul 6, 2010 When I grew up in the barn, we had a big, walk-in pantry that stored everything from plates and glasses to food and booze. Guests who really knew how to make themselves at home would wander in, pull the cord of the bare overhead lightbulb, and help themselves. So every time I visit someone’s house with a bona fide pantry, part of my soul crinkles up with pantry love and envy.
So I would likely want to move into the pantry of this week’s guest food author Amy Pennington. Amy is kindly sharing a recipe from her new book, Urban Pantry: Tips and Recipes for a Thrifty, Sustainable and Seasonal Kitchen, published by SkipStone. And she's also sharing a copy of her book as a giveaway -- just leave a comment below to enter. Take it away, Amy:
Long hot summer days call for super chill icy drinks, best served with big cubes of ice clinking around in the glass. Gone go stirred martinis and in come fizzy drinks with fruity undertones. Often, a little fizz does wonders to fancy up a drink, as well. It is with these ideas in mind that I have been found as of late whipping up Dark & Stormy’s – a near-even mix of sweet dark rum and ginger beer. Perfect to sip on a warm evening.
I always loved the flavor of ginger ale as a kid. As an adult I stumbled across a recipe for homemade ginger beer a few years ago and never looked back. I started futzing with proportions and changing the flavor a bit. I like my ginger soda pretty ginger-heavy and a bit lime-y. Making your own ginger beer at home gives you full control over the spicy-tone of ginger and the sweet flavor of the syrup – a total bonus in my book. Feel free to play around a bit and add a bit more sugar or ginger if you want a strong soda.
This homemade version of ginger soda uses naturally occurring yeasts to ferment sugar into alcohol, which creates a light carbonation in the drink. Start to finish, this process takes about three weeks, possibly less time. The fermentation does create a small amount of alcohol in the final beverage, but not enough to get children loopy by any means.
Start:
1 cup water
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons ginger, freshly grated
Cheesecloth
Soda:
8 cups water
One (2- to 3-inch) piece of ginger, grated
1 ½ cups sugar
3 limes, grated outer peel and juice
Water
Begin with the ginger start. Combine 1 cup water, 2 teaspoons sugar, and 2 teaspoons ginger in a small bowl and stir well. Cover the bowl with a piece of cheesecloth, folded into several layers. This will keep gnats and insects out but allow air in. Hold the cheesecloth in place with a tight rubber band and store the bowl in a warm spot in your kitchen. Every two days, add another 2 teaspoons sugar and 2 teaspoons ginger. Stir and cover with each addition, leaving the mixture to sit for a total of 8 days.
After that, your start should be bubbly and fermenting. If not, continue adding sugar and ginger in equal proportions every 2 days, until bubbly and active.
Next make the soda. In a large saucepan, boil the water, ginger, and sugar. Once boiling, remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the grated lime peel. Set aside. Meanwhile, strain the liquid from your ginger start, passing through a cheesecloth until the liquid is fairly clean and clear. (Reserve the pulp from the ginger start—see Pantry Note below about restarting a batch of ginger soda.) Set aside the ginger start liquid. Once the soda water has completely cooled, strain out the ginger and lime peel.
Add the lime juice and the ginger start liquid. Add water to this mixture until it measures 1 gallon.
Bottle in a sealable jar or a recycled plastic soda bottle (any container that is sealable will suffice). If using large (or small) bail-top jars or jugs with a rubber gasket, clamp down the gasket fully to seal. (I use two half-gallon wide-mouth mason jars.) If reusing plastic bottles, screw on the lid but leave a bit of give in the torque, so air is able to move about some. Store in a warm, dark spot for 10 to 14 days before opening. This allows time for fermentation to occur. Cool your jars before opening. Cooling halts the fermentation process. Be careful when opening, as carbonation has built up and soda may escape from the bottle quickly.
Pantry Note: You can restart a batch of ginger soda by using the same start pulp you strained and adding 1 cup of water, 2 teaspoons of ginger, and 2 teaspoons of sugar. And speaking of sugar, if you double this batch, you’ll need to add a bit more sugar to your soda, otherwise the result is slightly sour. (I learned this the hard way.) Also, if carbonation is very strong, it’s possible that some bottles may explode during fermentation. Make sure to store in a cool place, away from other foodstuffs. I store my jars in my pots and pans cupboard. Craft-brewing supply stores carry 12-ounce “beer” bottles and caps, if you’d like to bottle your ginger soda individually.
Thanks, Amy! Hope your summer is full of fizzy drinks and porches to drink them on.
And don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Amy's new book: Urban Pantry: Tips and Recipes for a Thrifty, Sustainable and Seasonal Kitchen. The giveaway will close Friday at midnight, PST. Good luck! (congratulations Ana!)
UPDATE: Gwyneth Paltrow's GOOP ran a fantastic write-up of Amy's book today. You can read it here. It includes growing, pantry and kitchen tips, plus a few recipes for delicious summer concoctions like Fizzy Berry Cream Soda and Cardamom Cooler. You read it here first, folks!
amy pennington, ginger beer, pantry in food and drink
Reader Comments (71)
That book sounds absolutely lovely, as does the recipe.
I love a big pantry. I have always dreamed of one where I could keep everything. The recipe sounds delicious.
The recipe and book look incredible! Thanks for sharing.
I made my coat closet into a pantry - not exactly walk-in but at least I'll have some place to store all of the delectable things I could make if I won this giveaway!
yum! sounds delicious.
What a great looking book!
Beautiful book. And I'm glad she reminded me of Dark and Stormy's, and the fact that we haven't made them yet this summer!
I would love to try that book! We have a pantry and we're trying to make our urban kitchen more and more sustainable.
I would love to win that book - it looks so up my alley!
I happen to have a brand new pantry, and an itching to fill it!
I would love to win!
What a lovely recipe! I can't wait to try it. And thanks for the giveaway!
Oh how exciting, this book looks like fun.
I you get the capper and caps from a home brew store, you can also recap sanitized beer and other glass bottles as long as they don't have twist off caps.
This book looks great! I haven't seen it before.
The book and the recipe both sound great! Ginger ale is my favorite soda. My boyfriend brews beer, and we may have to get into soda now...
Dark and stormy! I also forgot all about them. Thanks for the giveaway.
This sounds yummy! I bet recycled champagne bottles might work as well for the fermenting time. And they don't break as easily...a friend used them to bottle his mead after it was done "brewing". The book sounds great! I'm dying for a pantry, having moved to a place with a really small kitchen - although the coat closet is a good idea...hmmmmmm :)
ooooh! yes please!
how many times did i peek behind that pantry curtain?
happy nostalgia tuesday!
This book looks so fun! I never learned the fine art of preserving or anything else about kitchen efficiency growing up, so I'm always looking for good resources to help me grow in this area.
I grew up in a house with a pantry. How I miss that pantry!
Sounds delectable!
Oh wow! This recipe looks like fun to try! I'll have to look into this book too...I've started my CSA for the summer and it's got me wishing I had a pantry so the only place I would have to drive this summer is to the farm! Thanks for the recipe!
awesome looking book, getting married next month and moving the week before I can use all of the cerative, frugal help I can get.
I would love this cookbook! Me and my husband are living with family right now (thank you economy) and will be moving out next year. This book would be perfect for getting my pantry started all over again. If I don't win it, I'll buy it!