Homemade Ginger Ale Recipe

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Wondering what to do with a SodaStream Carbonator, other than making a lot of fizzy water?  Unless you have been successful at recreating the Coca-Cola secret formula, I suggest starting with something simple like this homemade ginger ale recipe.

Ginger syrup for making a homemade ginger ale
Ginger syrup for making a homemade ginger ale

In this particular ginger syrup recipe, I’ve left out all of the spices and seasonings that I’ve seen many people using and have tried to get down to basics here by flavoring a garden variety homemade simple syrup.  Now, it is possible to go in the opposite direction and do something very complicated.

For that, I suggest you check out this post by The Foodie Stuntman.  He’s a fellow food blogger with a completely different view on cooking than me….he loves the challenge of making something from scratch that’s easily available.  We talked about how interesting it would be to have two completely different ways of getting to the same result.

How to Make Ginger Ale

Now, some purists will say that this isn’t a true simple syrup because it isn’t 1:1.  They are correct.  The problem with a traditional 1:1 ratio is that left a syrup so sweet I felt like I was drinking a candy bar…and I really couldn’t taste the ginger.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 6 ounces ginger
  • 3 lemon slices
It’s pretty straightforward.  Boil the water and mix in the sugar.  Once mixed in, add the ginger and lemon slices.  I like to put the ginger and lemon in a metal strainer that I can lower into the boiling water.  This is a lot safer as it eliminates the need to strain the boiling water at the end.  Once it has reduced by at least half, you’re pretty much done.  Keep in mind that it will thicken more as it cools.

Two of my favorite uses for ginger syrup are to 1) mix with hot water to make a ginger tea to soothe an upset stomach and 2) mix with gin and lemon juice for a great cocktail.  Though I’d be curious to hear anyone else’s interesting uses for a ginger syrup.  Cheers!

 

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6 Comments

  1. a farmer in the dell
    January 18, 2013 at 7:50 pm  ·  Reply

    I am sick right now and all I want is ginger ale!!!!

  2. Foodie Stuntman
    January 18, 2013 at 3:32 pm  ·  Reply

    I love it! What a great alternative to the recipe I did.

  3. Tonette Jyce
    January 22, 2013 at 12:25 am  ·  Reply

    This is wonderful; there are only certain ginger ales I really like and they are hard to find,(and a few are regional, not where I now live or are defunct). Canada Dry made a nice cranberry one that was available for a few Christmas seasons, but not the last two. I imagine that one could play with this and cranberries..or other flavors.
    Thanks; I'm glad I stumbled across your blog.

    http://tonettejoycefoodfriendsfamily.wordpress.com/

    • tbailey1712
      January 22, 2013 at 12:52 am  ·  Reply

      Thanks, Tonette! I totally agree. It's nice to have full control over the flavors and get down to pure ginger flavor and not a sugary soft drink flavor. Thanks for stopping by!

  4. Alicia Ortiz
    January 22, 2013 at 1:55 am  ·  Reply

    I can't wait to try this!

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