Ginger Ale

When I was a kid, I really enjoyed soda, if I was given some I would drink it enthusiastically, when I was old enough to make money, I would spend most of my paycheck on it (among other things). It wasn't until my late teens, that I started realizing that I enjoyed the colas, but I was growing dissatisfied with them. After drinking them, the sheer volume of sugar made me feel ill for awhile, the acidic nature made my teeth feel like they had been stripped of the top layer of enamel and depending on which soda I drank, I was awake all night.

When I started College however, I gave up soda entirely. I felt healthier, I slept better without the excess caffeine and I had more money to buy frivolous things like text books... But I still enjoyed the taste of soda, I just didn't like the effects it had on me.

Fast forward a few years, and I learned how to make food for myself. I started making various meals and desserts and making more and more things from scratch. It wasn't long before I came across a few recipes for various sodas. I tried making Cream Soda, which is arguably one of my more favorite sodas, but the technique I used to carbonate it left it tasting slightly alcoholic. I also tried Root Beer, but that had mixed results and the flavours masked the alcohol. Then I got the idea to make Ginger Ale. I love the taste of Ginger, I love it in cookies, as a spice and well everything really.

Unlike the other sodas I had made, the Ginger Ale had a strong flavour to it, but in a good way. It definitely tasted different than the store bought variety. At first I found it was an acquired taste, but I acquired the taste by about the second or third sip and I've had a love affair with it ever since. The best part is, it is one of the easiest things I've made and has one of the highest payouts.

I found the recipe here and have been slowly determining the exact ratios of ingredients that I like best. I personally like to up the amount of Ginger I use, but that is personal preference and some might not like it as strong as I do. However, I'm going to post the measurements that I use, as I just gave the original recipe (I don't want to reword someones work!).

I don't have a fruit juicer, but thats ok, because we can work around that. I cut a lemon in half and used a fork to remove the insides (juice, pulp and seeds). If your making lemon juice, you'll want to strain the pulp and seeds from the juice. However, we are going to cut a step out and just collect everything, pulp, seeds and juice. The reason for this is that the pulp contains plenty of flavour and I have some minour difficulties getting the seeds out. Besides, when we're ready to serve the final drink, we will be using a fine meshed strainer.

Shred one small Ginger Root, I've been working by eye until now, but I am going to start being more scientific and actually measure the weight of what I use. So, one day I'll update this with a more accurate measurement, but for now, I'll just say a little bigger than my thumb (even worse than not being scientific...sorry)

The shredded Ginger Root and Lemon pulp/juice/seeds are mixed together in the bowl. Meanwhile I added the yeast and sugar to the bottle via a funnel. I like to add the yeast first so that the sugar acts as a temporary barrier between the acid of the lemon juice and the yeast. I poured the Lemon/Ginger mixture into the 2L bottle, then I rinsed out the bowl that had the mixture in it with filtered water. I then used that water and rinsed out the funnel. Or rather I poured it down the funnel into the bottle, thus making sure those last few drops made their way into the bottle. You can waste a lot of things in life, but don`t waste flavour in the kitchen. Anyway, I filled the bottle the rest of the way with filtered water. When I took this picture, I learned a few days later that when a recipe says to leave a little head space, it means it. Since then, I find that 1 cm of space is enough which is about to the bottom of the cap.

 Cap the bottle tightly and wait a couple of days for the fermentation to take place.

 As you can see, as it ferments, the carbon dioxide builds up causing the bottle to bulge and making an air pocket at the top of the bottle. At this point I`m going to emphasis how important it is that this takes place in a plastic bottle. If it was glass, the bottle would have shattered before it got to this point!







Once it has fully fermented, place the bottle in a refrigerator until thoroughly chilled, this will make the yeast settle out and stop doing their thing (which is alcohol and carbon dioxide production). That and warm soda isn't particularly good!

By now you may have noticed all the floaty bits, and if your like me, you don't like floaty things in your drink, so I'm going to filter it out as I pour a drink using this handy fine mesh strainer doohickey™









Now I have mentioned that the yeast produces alcohol, so yes this is an alcoholic beverage. However, it was not given enough fermenting time to produce an appreciable amount of alcohol. I don't have the equipment to measure the alcoholic content, nor do I have the experience to judge these matters. Though I do know that the alcoholic content is quite low. So there is no risk of getting drunk, or even a buzz.

Since this is my first food related post, I am setting the precedent that recipes will be setup as they are in the Joy of Cooking, which has been my bible of cooking. It taught me most of what I know, so I can`t sing its praises loud enough!

Ginger Ale
2 Liters

Mix thoroughly in a bowl:
The juice of one lemon (or 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice)
1 small shredded Ginger Root
Using a funnel add to a 2L plastic bottle:
1/4 tsp yeast
1 cup Sugar
Add to the bottle:
Lemon/Ginger mixture
If you don't have filtered water, then let tap water sit uncovered for at least a half hour to let any chemical additives evaporate off. Rinse the bowl that had the Lemon/Ginger mixture with the water and add to the bottle, this will get every last drop of flavour into the bottle. Fill the bottle almost to the top with filtered water leaving about 1 cm of clearance.
Tightly put the cap on:
2 L plastic bottle
Shake the bottle to thoroughly mix the contents, then let the bottle sit in a room temperature location for:
Two days
The Ginger Ale is done when the bottle is firm and offers resistance to being squeezed, similar to a bottle of Soda Pop that was shaken excessively. If left for to long the bottle may explode.
Place the sealed bottle:
Into the refrigerator until chilled
This will slow and eventually effectively stop the yeast from growing. This stops the alcohol and carbon dioxide production.
Use a fine meshed strainer to serve.

The entire bottle of pop costs $2.13, this does not include the bottle used for fermentation. If you assume a 250 mL (1 cup) serving size, it works out to $0.27 per glass of soda.