Ginger Ale FROM SCRATCH!

What?

You can make ginger ale?

As in…I am currently sipping ginger ale that didn’t come out of a green can on an airplane?

Yeah. I did that. You can too.

SO EASY! (promise)

Really–this happened because I wanted an excuse to buy fresh ginger.

Have you seen that stuff? It’s weird stuff.

Here I’ll show you:

He’s just a little guy.

Which is nice because how much ginger syrup do you really need in life honestly?

But a little bit is a good thing. A refreshingly spicy/sweet bubbly thing.

You want some.

SO this involves 3 steps. Ready?

sugar, ginger, water INTO THE POT!

to simmer for an hour…maybe an hour and a half…until it’s syrup

3 ingredients, 3 steps

and one of them is…

pour some sparkling water over ice and stir in as much of that yummy ginger syrup as your heart desires.

throw in a straw.

things taste better that way.

make it green and pretend it’s a lime because you wish you had one

but if you do….definitely put a lime wedge in there.

and if you have some bitters and are in a bitters kind of a mood…shoot…do that too.

wasn’t that fun?

and easy?

and delicious?

Ginger Ale

(recipe from http://www.joythebaker.com)

1 cup finely chopped ginger

1 cups granulated sugar

3 cups water

1 cup soda water

3 tablespoons ginger syrup (or to taste)

lime wedge (or a green straw if that’s your thing)

a little bit o’ bitters (if you’re into that kind of thing)

ice (necessary.)

1. chop the ginger as much as you can…a blender or food processor would make your life easier

2. place ginger, sugar, and water in a large stock pot. bring the whole mess to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for an hour to an hour and a half, or until the liquid has reduced down by more than half. when it looks like silky smooth syrup it’s finished

3. remove from heat and strain twice through a cheese cloth, or fine mesh strainer to separate the ginger chunks. let syrup cool completely before incorporating into drinks.

p.s. keep those bits of ginger! toss them with some more sugar, spread them out on wax paper and let them dry over night. later we’ll make some delicious ginger cookies with them…get excited

4. combine everything in a glass, stir it up, throw in a straw, go crazy

you just made ginger ale from scratch. high five.