It’s tough to compete with ginger ale in the land of Canada Dry, even though many of the fans lament that they no longer get real ginger in it and have to deal with high fructose corn syrup.
Ginger syrup is surprisingly easy to make: it’s water, sweetener, and ginger boiled together until reduced. Really, that’s it. It’s warm and spicy and slightly sweet, and not only does it go great in a sparkling or tonic water as homemade ginger ale, a splash of it also does well in all sorts of beverages from the alcoholic mixers down to green tea. It dresses up nicely with citrus or herbs, or can be mixed straight.
When you replace the refined white sugar with a good-quality sucanat and honey, you also get a lovely hint of molasses. As anybody who has ever loved gingerbread cookies can attest, ginger and molasses go together like butter and biscuits. It’s very child-friendly, you can control portion and quantity quite easily, and you can be happy there’s no HFCS or excessive amounts of refined sugar.
- 1 6″ piece of raw ginger, peeled and sliced
- 3/4 cup sucanat
- 2-3 tbsp honey
- 2 cups water
In a small saucepan, stir together all of the ingredients over medium heat until the sucanat dissolves. Bring to boiling and reduce the heat slightly to keep it at a low boil.
Stir occasionally with care, as reusing a wet spoon can cause the syrup to suddenly boil over. Allow the syrup to reduce for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the liquid is reduced by about half.
Remove the mixture from heat, and filter through a sieve to remove the pieces of ginger.
Allow syrup to cool, and store covered in the refrigerator for up to a week. Pour syrup in soda water to taste.
Jessie says
Love the taste of this!