We just completed our second cutting here at Berry Hill Farm. Keeping hydrated is a priority, and I was reminded that Ma Ingalls made them ginger-water also known as ‘switchel’.
In many rural parts of the country during summer, haytime is Switchel time. The homemade recipes likely varied with what the farmer’s wife had on hand, but the goal was the same…to get keep the hard-working men well-hydrated to get the hay in. The hay was vital to feed their animals during the winters when grass was not available.
Switchel may well have been the first form of ‘Gatorade’.
Taken here at Berry Hill last July – Thank you, Amy!
Ma Ingalls Made It
Nothing was ever so good as that cool wetness going down her throat. At the taste of it she stopped in surprise and Carrie clapped her hands and cried out, laughing, “don’t tell, Laura, don’t tell till Pa tastes it!”
Ma had sent them ginger-water. She had sweetened the cool well-water with sugar, flavored it with vinegar, and put in plenty of ginger to warm their stomachs so they could drink till they were not thirsty. Ginger-water would not make them sick, as plain cold water would when they were so hot. Such a treat made that ordinary day into a special day, the first day that Laura helped in the haying.~The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
When your body is really working hard, is hot and dripping sweat with the sun is beating down, it craves nothing more than a deep, cool drink of real water. Adding a natural unrefined sweetener, electrolytes, vitamins, and minerals can reverse dehydration on a cellular level and supply just what is needed to keep you going strong. Not much is more restorative and well-received, except for maybe cold watermelon!
This haytime, I decided to make switchel with black strap molasses, similar toMy Version of Good Girl Moonshine. The molasses makes it a lovely rich mahogany color but also is a great source of iron.
According to Wikipedia, switchel came to the colonies by way of the Caribbean.It was a very popular summertime drink, and by the 19th century it was known as haymaker’s punchbecause of its frequent use during hay harvest.
The sweetener Laura wrote about her Ma using was ‘sugar’, but she does not mention if it was brown or white. Switchel can also be sweetened with honey, molasses, or even maple syrup for a healthier alternative.
Switchel Basic Recipe
Ingredients:
4 cups of cold water (~1 quart)
2 TBSP raw honey (for all the live raw enzymes that bring vitality to a working body)(real raw honey often needs mixed into warm water first to help it mix into cold drinks)
Enjoy a glass yourself; your body will love what it does for you as you serve and bless your family with the work of your hands!
Double or Triple It!
By doubling and tripling the recipe it’s an easy-to-make replacement for expensive, mass-produced, and worrisome commercial ‘energy drinks’, the worst of which are linked to deaths and permanent disability.
Keep it simple and safe, staying cool and hydrated with real food and water.
“The LORD will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands.” ~Deuteronomy 28: 12
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Switchel, switzel, swizzle, switchy, ginger-water or haymaker's punch is a drink made of water mixed with vinegar, and often seasoned with ginger. It is usually sweetened with molasses, though honey, sugar, brown sugar, or maple syrup are sometimes used instead.
What does switchel taste like? Switchel is sweet and tangy, with a crisp, clean flavor that goes down smooth--just what you'd expect from a simple recipe of maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, ginger, and bootstrap molasses!
Switchel, also known as Haymaker's Punch, is a refreshing drink with apple cider vinegar. It was how colonial farmers quenched their thirst in the hot, sunbaked fields—which is enough of an endorsem*nt for me!
If it is not heated or pasteurized, it is a probiotic tonic in its own right, full of lactic acid bacteria that benefit the gut and stimulate the digestive system. It has been used in refreshing beverages for centuries, though its use as such had fallen out of favor before the recent-shrub-craze.
Maple syrup, molasses, and fruit juice are common additions. 2. The drink has been around for centuries. Many historians believe that switchel originated in the Caribbean before making its way to North America in the 18th century.
By regularly drinking switchel, you'll get all the terrific benefits of apple cider vinegar, including healing compounds, like potassium, magnesium and probiotics. Thanks to the many uses of apple cider vinegar, it's one of my favorite natural remedies.
Where kombucha requires live bacterial colonies and days of fermentation, switchel is a happy and simple blend of water, ginger, apple cider vinegar and a sweetener, (usually maple syrup but can also be honey).
Switchel is similar to shrub, but instead of using fruit as a base, it uses ginger as the main flavouring agent, and is usually sweetened with richer sugars (i.e. molasses or maple syrup), and can sometimes include spices in the mix.
Apple cider vinegar for weight loss: According to recent research, drinking 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar ( 30 ml) daily will help lower body weight and triglycerides. I can attest to both. Immunity: When I drink this regularly, I never seem to get colds or flu.
The switchel keeps in the refrigerator for about one week. If you plan to make a sparkling switchel, use just 3 cups of water for the infusion so it isn't as diluted. Add seltzer or club soda to the glass. For the most effective switchel, use unfiltered apple cider vinegar with the "mother" (the cloudy bloom).
The beverage is touted to have numerous benefits, including improved gut health, electrolyte replenishment during exercise, and blood sugar stabilization. However, there has been no research on switchel's connection to any of these health benefits.
It's widely believed that root beer was first invented in the 1840s. It was mostly sold in syrup form at candy stores, but would also be offered as a fizzy drink at saloons, since it had small amounts of alcohol. So, yes, cowboys did drink root beer.
Alcohol. When a town was first founded, the initial saloons were often nothing more than tents or shacks that served homemade whiskey that included such ingredients as "raw alcohol, burnt sugar and chewing tobacco".
Before the mid to late 1800s, there was no minimum drinking age anywhere in the country. What little information that is available shows that Wisconsin passed the first such ordinance in 1839, which prevented the sale of wine or liquor to anyone under the age of 18 unless they had a parent's consent.
Where kombucha requires live bacterial colonies and days of fermentation, switchel is a happy and simple blend of water, ginger, apple cider vinegar and a sweetener, (usually maple syrup but can also be honey).
The trivial name "acetic acid" is the most commonly used and preferred IUPAC name. The systematic name "ethanoic acid", a valid IUPAC name, is constructed according to the substitutive nomenclature. The name "acetic acid" derives from the Latin word for vinegar, "acetum", which is related to the word "acid" itself.
A shrub is a concentrated syrup that's made by mixing vinegar (usually apple-cider vinegar), fruit, and sugar. Once the syrup is created, it can be diluted with water, sparkling water, or other mixers to be used in a co*cktail or refreshing non-alcoholic beverage.
Introduction: My name is Edwin Metz, I am a fair, energetic, helpful, brave, outstanding, nice, helpful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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