Gingerbread & Switchel
Ginger root has long been a favorite of mine. Papa says it tastes like soap, but I find its spicy pungency delicious. (I learned that volatile oils furnish one to three percent of the root’s total weight.)
For the last week I’ve been enjoying homemade gingerbread made with fresh ginger root and soaked flour. This dark and dense bread has an intense ginger flavor with an undertone of blackstrap molasses. It’s the best gingerbread I’ve had yet. It actually has a hint of chocolate, though none is included.
Another ginger recipe that had long held a place on the “to-do” list was the Nourishing Traditions recipe for ginger ale made the old-fashioned way: fresh ginger, fresh lime juice, natural sugar, unrefined sea salt, whey, and fermentation. Hailing originally from the Caribbean and later becoming quite popular in the New England colonies, this drink quenched the thirst of heated field-workers without upsetting their stomaches. Various names for the drink include switchel, switzel, swizzle, switchy, ginger water, and haymaker’s punch. The intense ginger flavor is pleasantly tart, sightly sweet and salty, and delightfully warming.
Benefits of Lacto-Fermented Drinks
๏Increases the amount of vitamins and their bioavailability.
๏Supplies numerous mineral ions depleted through perspiration.
๏Superior to plan water for quenching thirst, as liquids containing dilute sugars and mineral enzymes are absorbed faster and retained longer by the body.
๏Contributes to easy and thorough assimilation of food by supplying lactobacilli, lactic acid and enzymes. Contributes to intestinal health by enhancing the beneficial intestinal flora.
๏Strengthens the sick and promotes over-all well-being and stamina.
๏Provides a complex and pleasantly acidic flavor.
You can see in the photograph below, taken on the second day, that the gas from the fermentation is beginning to collect as bubbles near the surface. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the lid to seal properly, so an intermittent hiss signaled the escape of sweet-smelling carbon-dioxide. Our ginger ale was a bit flat as a result. Actually, I’m not sure that it wouldn’t have “blown its top” if it had been sealed. That might have been interesting...
Friday, October 29, 2010