GINGER BEER
Ginger beer is a delicious refreshing drink, and good for settling the tummy. take care though the bottles must be stored in a cool place and not shaken. Chill thoroughly before opening but be prepared for the odd explosion thats half the fun but it can be messy. To make real ginger beer you need to make the 'plant' its not a real plant, but its a yeast free orginal way of making your ginger beer fizz.
To make the ginger 'Plant'
2 teaspoons powdered ginger or 150gm of fresh ginger 2 teaspoons organic sugar 600 ml tepid distilled water |
To make the beer
4 litres distilled water 500 g organic sugar 2 lemons ½ teaspoon of seasalt |
The 'Plant'
Mix the ginger, 1 tspns of sugar and tepid water together in a large glass jar. Cover with a muslin cloth. Let stand for 24 hours. After this feed every day for 11 days with 1 tspn of ginger and 1 tspn of sugar. |
Making the 'Beer'
Put 1 litre of the water and the sugar in a saucpan. Heat gently while stirring until the sugar dissolves. Take off the heat and add the rest of the water and the lemon juice.
Without disturbing the sediment, strain the ginger 'plant' liquid through 2 layers of scalded muslin. Add this liquid to the sugared water. Pour the mixture into clean bottles, cap tightly and leave to stand for 2 days, or until it starts to fizz. After this, it must be kept in a cool place or the fridge to prevent the tops blowing. Sterilize Bottles. After making the beer divide the sediment in the jar into two. You now have 2 'plants' to feed and can double the beer recipe. Keep the 'plant' going and you will have a constant supply of fresh ginger beer
Blackberry Wine6 pints fresh or frozen blackberries 3 lbs / 1,350 grams granulated sugar 1 teaspoon acid blend 1/2 teaspoon pectic enzyme Wine yeast 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient 8 pints cooled, boiled water 1 campden tablet Method: Blackberry Wine Roughly press blackberries and add to clean, empty winemaking fermentation bucket. Next, add the cooled, boiled water, together with sugar, wine nutrient, campden tablet, acid blend and pectic enzyme. Stir well until all of the sugar has completely dissolved and allow to stand for up to 24 hours. Add activated wine yeast and then stir twice a day for five days. Thoroughly strain the blackberry wine mixture and add to demijohn, with suitable airlock. Rack after approximately one month, and then again at three monthly intervals until clear and approximately 12 months old. Bottle blackberry wine and then leave to stand for a minimum of 12 months |
Iron fortified tonic2 parts yellow dock root 2 parts nettle leaf 2 parts red raspberry leaf 1 part dandelion leaf 1 part dandelion root (this is a very complete syrup when it comes to vitamins and minerals, but if you really just need the iron and want to save the $$, you can just make it with yellow dock root and the ingredients below), water, molasses, honey, a jar
You can take up to 6 tablespoons a day, and feel free to get adventurous with it. while you can’t add fruit juice to it (it will spoil), you can add fruit syrups as part of the sweet half. for instance, i used the last of my elderberry syrup (another lesson forthcoming) in addition to my honey and molasses. get creative eating it too. you can put it on biscuits or pancakes or ice cream, or you can take it straight out of the spoon! in the fridge, this should keep for a few weeks. Source: http://urbanherbwifery.wordpress.com/2010/10/12/iron-tonic-syrup/ |