Ginger Switchel {non-alcoholic refresher} (2024)

I’ve got a little food related obsession to share with you. I know it’s not entirely surprising coming from me, but this one is for a very old-school beverage; Ginger Swichel Drink. How old school is it? Well, it originated in the Caribbean and made its way to the American colonies by the late 17th century, if you believe Wikipedia… It’s a beverage with a literary history, too. Ginger Switchel Drink appeared in the writings of Herman Melville and Laura Ingalls Wilder alike. It’s the latter reference -a passage from “The Long Winter”- that hooked me into the wonderful world of Ginger Switchel Drink. Some of you may already know what goes into it, but for the benefit of those who aren’t driven to research every food they ever read about (because I’ve been told people don’t spend four months trying to find a recipe for a cake they’ve seen in a book), let me break it down. Ginger Switchel is cold water infused with ginger (dried and/or fresh), lightly sweetened with brown sugar or honey and mixed with a little raw apple cider vinegar for tang.

“You put vinegar in your drink? Are you crazy?” If I am, I’m crazy like a fox, people. Ginger Switchel Drink, also called Haymaker’s Punch, sounds big time odd to our modern palates when you glance over the ingredients list; raw apple cider vinegar, honey, ginger, and water. The truth is, though, it’s mind bogglingly refreshing and more than just a little bit habit forming.

In ‘The Long Winter’, Laura pointed out why it was such a good thing to drink when she and Pa were out haying, which is some of the hottest, stickiest, hard physical work a person can do. “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.” It makes sense, when you analyze it. When you’ve been doing strenuous physical work in the hot sun, your skin is scratchy from the sweat and the sharp hay, and you’ve sweated yourself into flirting with or straight-up experiencing dehydrating, you can’t just slug back as much water as you’d like without giving yourself an extreme stomachache. The beauty of the Ginger Switchel Drink is multifacted here:

1. The raw apple cider vinegar contains high levels of potassium which is one of the key elements in maintaining or restoring an electrolyte balance. In other words, it helps you recover from dehydration. In other other words, it’s like sports drinks minus the food colouring and junk.
2. Water? Well, shoot. I don’t have to explain that one.
3. The use of ginger to quiet an angry stomach is well documented, reaching back thousands of years. Doctors often suggest it as a natural treatment for nausea and motion sickness. It has the added bonuses of being an anti-inflammatory similar to ibuprofen or aspirin, and being a mild stimulant which means -HOORAY- that the potassium from the raw apple cider vinegar will hit your blood stream faster. Oh, and ginger tastes dreamy. There’s that.
4. I prefer honey in my Ginger Switchel Drink because I think it delivers a mild flavour as well as sweetness to the mix, whereas sugar simply delivers a hit of sweet. Besides that, honey has some health benefits of its own to bring to the party. Raw honey is anti-bacterial and has anti-inflammatory properties, too. It soothes sore throats. (Have you ever thrown hay? You know how dry your throat gets while you do it? Yeah. Honey in Ginger Switchel Drink is kind of genius here.) Research indicates its powers in soothing stomach and intestinal distress, and that it is full of anti-oxidants and minerals such as iron, calcium, phosphate, sodium chlorine, potassium. Wait. There’s that potassium again. ELECTROLYTES, people!

All of this would be a non-starter, though, if Ginger Switchel Drink didn’t taste wonderful, which it does. Icy cold, slightly sweet, tangy, and just unique enough to keep you coming back for more, Ginger Switchel Drink is refreshing like -but has a decided nutritional and historical leg up on- lemonade. The truth is that I prefer this not only for taste reasons, but because I always have the ingredients on hand for Ginger Switchel while fresh lemons for lemonade are a little harder to keep on hand.

• I call for both ground ginger and fresh ginger in the recipe. I find the ginger to have a greater presence and depth with this combination. If you can’t lay your hands on fresh ginger, simply double the dried ginger amount specified in the recipe.
• I use raw honey in my Ginger Switchel Drink because that’s what I keep around the house. If you can’t find it, or have to eschew it for household members with compromised immune systems, you can use pasteurized honey in the recipe. Either way, choose a honey that is mild in flavour. I like wildflower or orange blossom for the job.
• Before stashing your bottle or jar of Ginger Switchel Drink in the refrigerator, taste the liquid. You can adjust to sweeten it further if you’d like. I prefer mine on the less sweet side, because I feel it does a better job of rehydrating and refreshing with less sweetness, but this preference is personal, so adjust to your liking.
• You want to let the Ginger Switchel Drink infuse for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator. This gives the ginger enough time to impart all of its delicious healthy goodness to the water. It’s not harmed by sitting longer. In fact, I’ve had a bottle that was unceremoniously shoved to the back of the refrigerator by someone rummaging around for mustard. There sat the bottle for a week until I finally uncovered its hiding place behind a voluminous bag of fresh herbs. I happily drank the well-infused switchel and am pleased to report that it didn’t suffer in the least for the long rest in the chill chest. I usually use the visual cue when the Ginger switchel itself becomes crystal clear and the precipitate has settled to the bottom of the jar or bottle to indicate it’s ready to drink.
• You can simply sip the Ginger Switchel as is, after infusing, or mix with plain seltzer or club soda. Some folks like to add some pieces of fruit as well, but I’m a purist when it comes to my switchel.
• A word to the wise: Ginger Switchel makes a fantastic mixology ingredient, too. Play around with it and be rewarded.

Connect with Foodie with Family

facebook | pinterest | instagram

twitter | G+

Prep Tips {use this to make Ginger Switchel more easily}

• Chef’s Knife
• Cutting Board
• Measuring Spoons
• Juice Jar or Pitcher

Do you like this Ginger Switchel? You might like these other non-alcoholic drinks, too!

• Pomegranate Mulled Cider
• Hot Buttered Rum Non Alcoholic
• Tropical Pink
• Apple Pie Punch
• Cranberry Lime Spritzer
• Golden Honey Milk
• Fire Cider Health Tonic