Homemade Golden Ginger Ale

Question

I recently made some homemade ginger ale. It was good, but it really tasted more like ginger beer. I was hoping for a flavor that tasted a bit more like golden ginger ale, sort of like Red Rock. It has a strong ginger flavor and a bite. What could I add (or how much more ginger should I add) to or what should I change in homemade ginger ale to get this "bite" and stronger ginger flavor?

Asked by jandjorgensen

Answer

If you want a stronger flavor, and more bite, add more ginger. I make a dark, spicy ginger beer. I do not use yeast, but rather force carbonate. I don't know the exact quantities of ingredients used, I just make to taste each time.

Below is my ingredient list:

• Fresh grated ginger
• Peppercorns
• Molasses
• Cane sugar
• Fresh squeezed lemon (added after the mixture has cooled)

Molasses: Give the brew a thicker taste and darker caramel color, leave it out if you want it milder.

Ginger: Fresh ginger is key, don't use the powdered stuff. The more ginger you add, the spicier and more bitter it will be. You may need to increase the sugar content a bit too.

Lemon: This adds a nice zing.

Peppercorns: It may sound a little bit odd, but the peppercorns go very nicely with the ginger and lemon. Just add these to taste when you throw in the ginger.

I've also experimented with different types of sugars like Maple Syrup and Palm Sugar. Those each impart different flavors and may be worth trying too.

Answered by rhooligan

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How can I make this antique ginger wine recipe using ingredients available today?

Question

I have this old family ginger wine recipe, but some of the ingredients are hard to find or may not exist any more...

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• Essence of Ginger 12mls
• Tincture of Capsicum 9mls
• Essence of Lemon 5mls
• Solution of Burnt Sugar 25mls
• 2 1/2 lb sugar
• 1 oz Tartaric Acid
• 5 quarts boiling water

Add mixture and sugar to boiling water.

WHEN COLD add tartaric acid.

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I expect I can find the sugar and the water(!), but the rest I'm less sure about. Can anyone give some ideas as to how I could make tincture of capsicum, essence of ginger & lemon, and a solution of burnt sugar? Just in case it's different in other parts of the world, this recipe is British.

Asked by Rich

Answer

How archaic and fun!

I whipped out some Google-fu and found the following for you:

Tincture of Capsicum

You can actually buy this on Amazon: Cayenne Capsicum Tincture 2 Ounces. It's available other places, but I saw prices as high as 2x this. (9 ml ~ 0.3 oz)

Essence of Ginger

This is from a late 19th century Jamaican cookbook (Classic Jamaican Cooking: Traditional Recipes and Herbal Remedies).

• Three ounces of freshly grated ginger
• Two ounces of thinly cut lemon-peel
• Two pints of brandy or proof spirit (white rum)

Just combine and let sit for 10 days, shaking well.

Essence of Lemon

This can also be purchased. You can likely find some lemon extract in your grocery store, if not here is some on Amazon: Flavorganics Organic Lemon Extract, 2-Ounce Glass Bottles (Pack of 3) - note that it's 3 bottles.

Solution of Burnt Sugar

This isn't just typical caramelized sugar, it's burnt sugar. Sugar that has been heated to the dark caramel stage of 370 F to 400 F (188 C to 204 C). The sugar at this point has lost most of it's sweetness, smells burnt, and tastes kind of bitter. It's commonly called caramel color these days. This is what is gives Cola's their dark color. In the small amount of 25ml and in the presence of 2.5 lbs of sugar (wow!) you won't taste it.

My amazon-fu fails here, but have found it available on this site: http://www.spiceplace.com/mccormick_caramel_color.php

It might be simpler to buy this than attempt making your own. Caramel coloring can be a little hazardous to make, it's easy to go too far and burn your sugar, and dumping any quantity of water into 400 F sugar is a sketchy experience. Here is a how-to if you desire though:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5673239_make-caramel-food-coloring.html

Tartaric Acid

This too can be purchased - Tartaric Acid 2 oz. (56 gr.)

Please note that tartaric acid is not the same as cream of tartar. Cream of tartar is an acid-salt in which the tartaric acid is partially neutralized. This site suggests you can use a 2:1 substitution ratio of cream of tartar to tartaric acid. I'm not sure if this will make a difference in your drink because I've never used cream of tartar in such a way or quantity before.

There is also the possibility that a recipe of this age simply used the term tartaric acid to refer to cream of tartar. Who knows?

Answered by hobodave

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What can I do with ginger syrup?

Question

I got a bottle of (supposedly high quality) ginger syrup for Christmas. I've never seen or tasted it before, so I have no idea how to use it.
Since I like ginger, I considered just diluting it with water and drinking it. Or adding it to tea. Can it somehow be used for cooking or cocktails? I have tried searching, but my google-fu failed once again.

Asked by ver

Answer

Things you can combine it with:

• smoothies
• ice cream
• pancakes
• oatmeal
• tea
• hot almond milk
• rhubarb pie
• fruit salad
• dumplings (you can use the syrup as a sauce)

You can make ginger ale with it (or put some in regular lemonade), or cocktails (e.g. Dark Ginger Daiquiri; Ginger Rogers; here's a short list of cocktails containing ginger syrup). You can make cookies with it (e. g. this).

Ginger syrup is basically ginger, water and sugar. So practically everything that goes with ginger, will go with ginger syrup.

Answered by Mien

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Made a ginger carrot soup with coconut milk but accidentally made it too salty, how do i fix it?

Question

I made a ginger carrot soup with coconut milk but accidentally made it too salty, how do i fix it?

From some google searches - one said to put raw potatoes to absorb the salt. I am not sure if that will work for the soup as it is a thick carrot soup. Adding water would make it watery. Does anyone have any other methods that would work for me? I would like to keep the soup thick.

Thank You

Edit - the butternut squash worked for me!

Answer

Steam a head of cauliflower, puree it. Add it to the soup. You might also consider some squash or sweet potato puree.

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My ginger is blueish… is it safe?

Question

I bought ginger at the grocery store last week and kept it, unpeeled, in the fridge. Today I sliced it open and there is a ring of a blueish colour, instead of the yellow I was expecting. The ginger still smells like I'd expect (I haven't tried tasting it).

Would this be safe for use (I was planning on putting some in a salad dressing), or should I toss it?

Answer

Having just returned from Hawaii, I actually have a possible answer for you. There is a type of ginger that you can get there (though it's not all that common, far as I could tell) that's called blue ginger. It's just like regular ginger, only it has the blue layer inside as you describe. There was a guy selling it at a roadside fruit stand when we were there.

It should be absolutely safe to use.

edit: I found a link to somebody talking about it. Hawaiian Blue Ginger

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How to sweeten pickled ginger to be served with sushi?

Question

I bought a jar of pickled ginger from the local asian food market to go along with the sushi I have been preparing at home. This texture of this ginger is harder, and the taste much bitter. This is not the gari I am used to tasting from the sushi bar.

The ingredients of the jar read "Ginger, water, vinegar, sugar, salt, FD&C red no 40. as colour, saccharin as sweetener, sodium benzoate and sodium metabisulfite as preservatives."

Do sushi restaurants do anything special to sweeten their gari?

Answer

There are two common varieties of pickled ginger in Japan (and a bunch of less common ones). The "gari" is "amazu-shouga" (甘酢生姜 or 甘酢しょうが) it's usually thinly sliced and often, though not always, left uncolored, or just colored enough to leave it slightly pink instead of yellowish-white. Due to generous use of sugar or other sweeteners, it's usually somewhat sweet, and that's right there in the name, which roughly translates as "sweet vinegar ginger".

Another variety, which typically comes in the shape of thick matchsticks, is a bit saltier and, because of the thickness, a bit firmer. It's called "kizami-shouga" or (きざみ生姜 or きざみしょうが). Kizami refers to the shape, not the flavor. Occasionally this will be labeled "beni-shouga" (紅ショウガ), which means red ginger. It's generally used to garnish and season things like yakisoba or okonomiyaki, but is not typically served with most types of sushi. The amazu shouga is more common for most sushi.

So it's possible that you've picked up kizami-shouga instead of amazu-shouga. While there's nothing stopping you from adding sugar or other sweeteners from the brine, that probably won't help that much. If you do have amazu-shouga, it's also possible you've just found one that doesn't taste that good. The quality of packaged Japanese pickles I've found in the US isn't all that great, though I've occasionally found decent umeboshi.

You might try a different brand, or consider pickling your own ginger. The basic process for pickling the ginger is a hybrid between salt pickles and vinegar pickles: You peel and thinly slice the ginger, and rub it with salt, leaving it for at least an hour or overnight to sweat. You'll then add a solution of sugar and rice vinegar, occasionally with a little bit of ume-zu, which is the salty brine extracted from umeboshi-making, or beet juice, if you want to guarantee a pink color.

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Is this a true? You should use garlic with pork and ginger with beef and never vice versa?

Question

"You should use garlic with pork and ginger with beef and never vice versa."

This is coming from my dad who says that fact has been handed down from generations and generations of Chinese cooking. He says if I mix it (i.e. cook pork with ginger and beef with garlic), there will be an unpleasant taste. Maybe he's just exaggerating, I'm not sure. Do you think there is any truth to this saying?

Answer

Whether or not it's a good idea is subjective, but the Chinese seem to break that rule a lot! For example, Northeastern Chinese sweet and sour pork (guō bāo ròu) is characterized by an intense ginger flavor. The Sichuan classic twice cooked pork (huí guō ròu) calls for boiling the pork with ginger. A common condiment for beef dishes/sauces is black bean garlic paste (蒜蓉豆豉酱). Perhaps this saying is associated with a specific Chinese regional cuisine?

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Is this a true? You should use garlic with pork and ginger with beef and never vice versa?

Question

"You should use garlic with pork and ginger with beef and never vice versa."

This is coming from my dad who says that fact has been handed down from generations and generations of Chinese cooking. He says if I mix it (i.e. cook pork with ginger and beef with garlic), there will be an unpleasant taste. Maybe he's just exaggerating, I'm not sure. Do you think there is any truth to this saying?

Answer

Whether or not it's a good idea is subjective, but the Chinese seem to break that rule a lot! For example, Northeastern Chinese sweet and sour pork (guō bāo ròu) is characterized by an intense ginger flavor. The Sichuan classic twice cooked pork (huí guō ròu) calls for boiling the pork with ginger. A common condiment for beef dishes/sauces is black bean garlic paste (蒜蓉豆豉酱). Perhaps this saying is associated with a specific Chinese regional cuisine?

Check more discussion of this question.