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)
1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon sea salt (to replace electrolytes -sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium- lost in heavy sweating)
sliced lemons
Directions:
Add all the ingredients except the water to a quart jar, cap tightly, and shake to mix thoroughly.
Top up with cold water and serve.
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, switzel, swizzle, switchy, ginger-water or haymaker's punch is a drink made of water mixed with vinegar, and often seasoned with ginger. It is usually sweetened with molasses, though honey, sugar, brown sugar, or maple syrup are sometimes used instead.
Switchel, also known as Haymaker's Punch, is a refreshing drink with apple cider vinegar. It was how colonial farmers quenched their thirst in the hot, sunbaked fields—which is enough of an endorsem*nt for me!
Switchel is a traditional drink made from maple syrup, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, ginger root, blackstrap molasses, and water. Switchel dates back to 17th century, where it was popular thrist-quencher with colonial farmers who called it "haymaker's punch".
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).
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.
By regularly drinking switchel, you'll get all the terrific benefits of apple cider vinegar, including healing compounds, like potassium, magnesium and probiotics. Thanks to the many uses of apple cider vinegar, it's one of my favorite natural remedies.
Maple syrup, molasses, and fruit juice are common additions. 2. The drink has been around for centuries. Many historians believe that switchel originated in the Caribbean before making its way to North America in the 18th century.
A shrub is a concentrated syrup that's made by mixing vinegar (usually apple-cider vinegar), fruit, and sugar. Once the syrup is created, it can be diluted with water, sparkling water, or other mixers to be used in a co*cktail or refreshing non-alcoholic beverage.
Prohibition and the temperance movement (which began long before Prohibition, and thus was relevant to those classic cowboys) made root beer and sarsaparilla popular in the United States.
Before the mid to late 1800s, there was no minimum drinking age anywhere in the country. What little information that is available shows that Wisconsin passed the first such ordinance in 1839, which prevented the sale of wine or liquor to anyone under the age of 18 unless they had a parent's consent.
In many places, the water was not safe to drink and most homesteads had an apple orchard. Pressing and fermenting fresh apple juice was the easiest way to preserve the large fruit harvest. In rural communities, taxes, wages and tithes were often paid in cider.
It's safe and tasty to use ACV to add some excitement to your meals. Use it to liven up sauces and stews, as well as traditional salad dressings and marinades. You can also drink it, diluted in hot or cold water as you prefer. Some people drink it before or after meals or before going to bed.
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!
If you're wondering, does apple cider vinegar go bad? The answer is no! Under normal storage conditions, it generally maintains its integrity. As mentioned earlier, ACV naturally preserves itself. This means it doesn't really go off.
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.
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.
Cider can mean different things to people. So, while it can taste sweetly of apples to one person, to someone else, they enjoy drinking cider for the sharp, acidic edge that pleasantly cuts through their thirst on a hot summers day.
But there's one attribute of apple cider vinegar we all hate: the taste. While it's composed mostly of apple juice, the fermentation process that gives way to ACV turns the juice's natural sugars into alcohol, which is why just a spoonful of the stuff tastes extremely acidic, smells pungent and is generally unpleasant.
Introduction: My name is Horacio Brakus JD, I am a lively, splendid, jolly, vivacious, vast, cheerful, agreeable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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