Pardon the interruption but, as I sit at my computer writing this post, the thermometer outside is registering 91°F. There is not even a whisper of a breeze and the air is hanging in a heavy haze over the San Francisco skyline. Max has baseball at 5:00pm this evening and right now, we all want something cool & refreshing. Anyone else feeling the same way?
A few days ago, I came across this recipe for homemade ginger beer concentrate over at Cookie & Kate. Being a lover of both ginger & lime, I immediately stocked up on both and prepared my initial batch of this brew. It is not hard {no cooking required!} just be patient peeling all of that ginger.
Ginger Beer Concentrate {click here to get the recipe at Cookie & Kate}
A little tip here: most of you know that you can use an inverted spoon to scrape off the peel from fresh ginger BUT if you use a grapefruit spoon, with it’s serrated edges and sharp point, the process of peeling ginger goes along a bit more quickly…
Here is what it looks like first go-around in the blender…
For straining, I added a layer of cheesecloth to my strainer. Picking up the edges of the cheesecloth and twisting them {squeezing the ginger mixture as if I were squeezing a piping bag of frosting}, I was able to extract a lot more juice than just pressing the solids with a spoon in the strainer…
The original recipe calls for adding the juice of 4-5 limes but it took 9 limes for me to get a cup of lime juice…
For my sweetener, I used a local, organic raw wildflower honey. A final spin in the blender and my concentrate was finished. I divided the mixture, placing ¾ of the concentrate into glass bottles with secure lids and the remaining ¼ I made into frozen cubes by placing the concentrate into an empty ice cube tray. This afternoon, the children and I are cooling off with a ginger lime soda…
and snacking on these beautiful berries…
Ginger-Lime Soda
- 8 ounces sparkling water {we used Pellegrino}
- 1-2 tablespoons Ginger Beer Concentrate {see above}, amount depends on how strong you want your beverage to be
- 1-2 sprigs fresh mint for garnish
- plenty of ice
Pour water into a glass filled with ice. Stir in ginger concentrate & garnish with mint. Serve immediately.
