When I was a kid, if one of us were sick, we would get to sip on glasses of Vernor’s. Vernor’s was a Detroit company that produced a ginger ale with a bit more bite and fizz than other ginger ales such as Canada Dry. If you pour Vernor’s in a glass and start to take a drink, you’ll cough from the smell; that’s one of the great things about it. We don’t have Vernor’s in Maryland but I’ve seen it at a few homes of previous Michiganders who just returned from a visit.
Ginger is a medicinal herb that is a proven anti-inflammatory and soothes nausea. In fact, Vernor’s was developed by a pharmacist. Two studies out of the University of Michigan showed ginger to kill ovarian cancer cells and reduce colon inflammation leading to colon cancer.[1],[2] Although there is ginger root in modern ginger ale, it’s much healthier to get your ginger from a ginger tea so you can avoid a big dose of genetically modified industrial high fructose corn syrup (HFCS — sugar).
One time Tony saw Emeril make ginger ale on TV, back when his show was on the Food Network, and it stuck in his mind as something he wanted to try someday. When he finally had time to search online for the recipe, he came across one from Alton Brown. In Alton’s recipe, instead of using carbonated water you use yeast to make your own carbonation.
We don’t buy or drink soda (“pop” to my homies), and if we eat out we usually have the kids order milk, juice, or water. Once in a while in the summer we get a four-pack of natural sodas that don’t have HFCS. They are still full of an overdose of sugar, though.
The homemade ginger ale does not have the golden color of processed ginger ale, which comes from caramel color; it’s a slightly cloudy, off-white color. It takes quite a large piece of ginger (5-6”) to get the 1.5 ounces grated. In a couple of days we’ll move the bottle to the refrigerator and then I’ll give an update after we open and try it. I usually don’t put preparation times on my recipes because they’re fairly obvious but this is a funny one: total time: 49 hr 18 min, prep: 15 min, inactive: 49 hr, Cook: 3 min.
Ginger Ale
1 1/2 ounces finely grated fresh ginger
3/4 C sugar
7 1/2 C filtered water
1/8 t active dry yeast
2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
Place the ginger, sugar, and 1/2 cup of the water in a large saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat, cover, and allow to steep for 1 hour.
Pour the syrup through a strainer set over a bowl, pressing down to get all of the juice out of the mixture. Chill quickly by placing over and ice bath and stirring or set in the refrigerator, uncovered, until at least room temperature (68-72 degrees F).
Using a funnel, pour the syrup into a clean 2-liter plastic bottle and add the yeast, lemon juice, and remaining 7 cups of water. Place the cap on the bottle, gently shake to combine, and leave the bottle at room temperature for 48 hours.
Open and check for desired amount of carbonation. It is important that once you achieve your desired amount of carbonation that you refrigerate the ginger ale. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, opening the bottle at least once a day to let out excess carbonation.
[1] “Ginger causes ovarian cancer cells to die, U-M researchers find,” University of Michigan Health System, April 4, 2006, med.umich.edu/opm/newspage/2006/ginger.htm
[2] University of Michigan study finds ginger root supplement reduced colon inflammation markers,” National Cancer Institute, October 12, 2011, www.cancer.gov/newscenter/cancerresearchnews/2011/MichiganGingerRootStudy
