Pop goes the ginger beer...

When we were kids, Mum had a few goes at making ginger beer. The taste was memorable and so was the sticky mess of gb and chards of glass in the laundry as the yeasty brew went feral when the summer temperatures soared. I haven't been game to make it since, but David Herbert was brave enough to put his recipe in the Australian last summer so I reckon its time to test my ginger...

1tbs grated fresh ginger
1 unwaxed lemon, thickly sliced
1 cup castor sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 dried fast action yeast

Put ginger, lemon, sugar, cream of tartar and 750 ml cold water into a large saucepan. Bring to boil stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat and simmer for five minutes then add 1.5 litres cold water and sprinkle over yeast. Cover with a lid and set aside in a cool place overnight. Next day, wash two 1.5 litre screwtop plastic bottles in hot soapy water, rinse and drain well. Strain ginger beer through a sieve into the bottles leaving 5cm of space at the top. Screw lids on tightly and leave in a cool place. After about four hours, ensure pressure isn't building up too much by unscrewing the cap slightly to allow gases to escape. You may need to do this a few times. The ginger beer will be ready to drink in 12-30 hours after bottling and will be fizzy. Serve chilled and drink within three days (unless it smells really yeasty - in which case, use it to moisten your compost).

I have another recipe from a little old book called Food Crafts - they describe this as "a refreshing drink which may go with a bang". So if you are game for incendiary soft drinks.....

First make your ginger beer "plant" and feed it every day for a week.

In a large jar with a screw top lid put:
8 raisins or sultantas
4 teaspoons of ground ginger
4 teaspoons of sugar
juice of two lemons
2 teaspoons of lemon pulp
2 cups cold water.

Feed this daily with 2tsp ground ginger, 4 tsp sugar.

Into a plastic bucket pour:
juice of 4 lemons
4 cups boiling water
4 cups sugar

Stir until sugar dissolves then add 7 litres of cold water. Strain the plant through muslin into the plastic bucket. Bottle the liquid leaving an air gap of 6cm at the top. Leave for 5 days then open WARILY and enjoy.

Now apart from the taste, some medicinal facts about ginger. It is one of the key medicinal plants used to warm us up - it stimulates the peripheral circulation - that means if you have cold hands and feet, nose or ears, ginger is one way of warming up your chilly bits and chillblains. It is also great for nausea - ginger settles the tum in travel sickness and hangovers.

So, if you are feeling the need to take a risk or two, start brewing the soft drink with attitude, GINGER BEER.