Homemade Soda: Ginger Ale

A reformed soda addict makes naturally carbonated seltzer water as fanciful as it can be healthy.

In making your own soda you enable yourself to control both the type or sugar and quality of ingredients. All the sugar laden, high fructose corn syrup beverages found in our grocery stores, truth here, I love them, the way I love things that are bad for me. The excess sugar, and synthetic flavoring found in most of today’s soda’s could make you feel that your drinking a pixie stick and if I had wanted to drink a pixie stick I would have combined it on my own, similarly as I’m doing below. I wanted a real ginger ale.

I grew up nursing a coke bottle, my rewards coming in the form of a malt beverage. Rewards found in family celebrations, birthday parties, lunch time in the school cafeteria, after school snacks- basically as often as I could. You know this, you were there. This love, like many relationships gone wrong, has run its course.

So now, mineral water, seltzer water, bubbly water; Water that brims to the surface; Water that hydrates and has the pleasant sound of air as it breaks the seal; Water that makes me feel that I don’t have to give up everything I love because we learn to know the difference.

Ginger ale made with sharp earthy ginger root. The same medicinal ingredient that calms our stomachs helps with digestion, cramps and other hopeful, healthful properties, a medicinal ingredient in the form of a flowing soda.

Ginger Ale with a Lemon twist

First you will start by making a simple syrup from the recipe below, combine this with sparkling mineral water or seltzer.

• 1Cup peeled ginger root
• 1Cup water
• 2tablespoons lemon juice
• 2tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar ( more or less to your taste) or preferred sugar
• zest from one lemon (a potato peeler works very well)
• seltzer or sparkling mineral water

This recipe uses agave nectar as the preferred sugar however use what you have and your best choice. I’ve used maple syrup had it turned out very well. Some may find that they don’t want or need a sweetener. Either way the agave is a nice alternative to white processed sugar.

In medium sauce pan combine 1/4 inch slices of ginger root, 2 cups water, 1 tablespoon agave nectar (more or to your taste). Set over medium high heat, stir until the agave nectar (or type of sugar you’re using) has dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to steep for at least twenty minutes to an hour.

With a fine mesh sieve into clean container. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Once ready to use combine 1/4 cup ginger juice to 1 cup seltzer or mineral water then add a strip of lemon zest, twist and enjoy.