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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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 debatably originated in the Caribbean, but New England also holds credit as the source, and it became a popular summer drink in the American Colonies in the late 17th century.
Gatorade is a solution of water with many different ingredients, such as sugars and salts, dissolved in it. Gatorade consists of water, citric acid, sodium citrate, dextrose, monopotassium phosphate, and many other ingredients. So, it has more than two types of elements, making it a mixture.
Switchel has what we like to call the taste trifecta: a little sweet and a touch sour, with a slightly spicy kick. We've launched with three delicious flavours that make for refreshing bevvies all on their own OR as a great accompaniment to food.
According to the Tea Council of the USA survey, about 86% of Americans drink green tea. Green tea is generally considered the healthiest beverage globally due to its high levels of nutrients and antioxidants that fight off diseases and keep your organ functioning at its optimum level.
American settlers relied on switchel to quench their thirst from the 1700s through the 1900s. Early colonists made the tangy brew by combining fresh ginger, apple cider vinegar, and water with a regionally dependent sweetener.
The popularity of switchel was well established in the American colonies by the late 1600s, with the proportions of the ingredients varying according to personal taste, and the type of sweetener varying according to local availability.
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).
It is a natural and clean way to replenish electrolytes.
By having apple cider vinegar after a workout, it can help rebalance and replenish your electrolytes. It is even a great natural supplement that can enable healing in sore muscles. Make sure to dilute ACV in water before consuming!
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.
CK and our Remedy Energy Shot are completely safe and suitable for children to enjoy. We know lots of kids who have grown up enjoying kombucha (including Remedy Founders Sarah and Emmet's own family) and many other types of naturally fermented food and drinks.
Gatorade Thirst Quencher contains sodium and potassium electrolytes. This is because sweat contains more than just water - when athletes sweat, they also lose electrolytes such as sodium and potassium.
Gatorade was developed at the University of Florida in the mid-1960s, and acquired by PepsiCo in 2001. Coca-Cola launched Powerade in the 1980s to compete with Gatorade, but co*ke's version never caught up.
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).
Because ciders can be still, naturally sparkling or carbonated, the first impact on the tongue can deliver a different first taste. Ciders can be fresh, crisp, tangy, sweet, bold or elegant, earthy or light – or a complex combination of all taste sensations and lingering after tastes.
This microorganism called Alex is made up of millions of cells, not many of which are human cells.” This recipe for switchel, a probiotic beverage made in less than 5 minutes, is a great way to introduce beneficial microbial populations into the terrarium of your self.
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.
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