Don’t you just hate it when you google random recipe ideas and you come across sites of an adult nature? And you’re doing it in public so people see you doing this? While innocently looking up recipes for my 1 kilo bag of fresh ginger, I inadvertently came across what I thought was a ginger lovers site. It turns out to be a site for people who are hot for ‘sexy redheads’. I was trying to find something exciting to do with the ginger beyond the usual ginger beer cordial that I make Mr NQN every week but alas, the internet well ran a bit askew that day.
Absolutely no offence should be taken by redheads, I am about to confess that I am quite fascinated by red headed children. I can’t get enough pictures of Amy Poehler’s baby. Speaking of ginger, my flame haired friend Joan Holloway tells me of a story of when she was young and her grandmother had a cat with the same ginger fur. The cat, jealous of its similarly tressed new rival sat above the cot and tried to push and swat at baby Joan. Clearly, there was to be room for only one redhead in that household.
Is that not the best expression on a baby, ever? Source: Suri’s Burn Book.
Anyway, I’m babbling, clearly a little surprised at my little introduction to the world of ginger lovers. This recipe is for the other ginger lovers out there (although by no means are they mutually exclusive). Unable to find anything else to make for Mr NQN I simply made more of his absolutely favourite item, ginger beer.
He would drink this entire thing in a day if I let him, it’s only that there’s quite a bit of sugar in it that I don’t. But a glass of this refreshing, chilled gingery drink is worth the minimal effort. You just won’t go back to bought ginger beer after this, I promise you. This is the sort of drink that will have you murmuring about how warming and delicious it is and how much more flavour it has compared to shop bought ginger cordial. I only know this because we used to buy it and now Mr NQN doesn’t like any of it as much as this. The strength of the ginger is potent and has that wonderfully warming spiciness to it but you can control how much you have by adding more soda water.
If you’ll allow me to suggest it, and if it isn’t too early to bring up the C word-that is Christmas, this would make a fantastic Christmas present. Undiluted, this makes 1 litre or 2 pints of ginger cordial. Pop it in one of those tall bottles, wrap some festive red and white twine and a label and suddenly people will mistake you for Nigella or Martha. Just probably not Joan Holloway.
So tell me Dear Reader, are you ready for Christmas yet? And will you be making any food for Christmas gifts? Are you a fan of ginger? And would you rather be mistaken for Nigella, Martha, Joan Holloway, Peggy Olson or Betty Draper?
Made From Scratch: Ginger Beer
Makes 2 litres
- 125g/4 ozs ginger
- 1 litre/2 pints of water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 litre cold soda water
1. Put a litre of water onto boil. Peel the ginger-I don’t bother getting the creases and crevices of it all, just the larger, smooth edges and slice fairly finely to get more surface area exposed.
2. Add to the water and simmer for about 15 minutes. Then add the sugar and boil for about 5 minutes and then cool. You can serve this warm and diluted with water (or straight which is how Mr NQN likes it). Once cooled, strain and to a glass, add 50% of this ginger cordial and 50% soda water.
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69 Comments | Add your own
I love this root, but love ginger hair too… ;-P A delightful beverage!
Cheers,
Rosa
Mmm, I can almost smell the ginger from here!
Love this! I did in fact make something similar for Xmas gifts about five years ago. This is how I remember it. I made my ‘ginger syrup’ for my family, bottled it and gifted it and then my family were baffled by what to do with it. It would have been better on my part to add tags but at the time it didn’t occurred to me. I use it myself mainly for adding to tea.
I’m absolutely not ready for Christmas yet! Although I didn’t start baking yesterday I haven’t done any shopping. I love ginger beer and have made my own alcoholic version but ever a cordial type thing. This looks delicious!
i remember making ginger beer during chemistry class in 9th grade–was really fun!!this would be good with fruit toast
Delicious! We love ginger, and Pete would adore this recipe, thanks Lorraine!
Yummo, ginger is such a fantastic ingredient and dabbles in both savoury and sweet recipes so easily!
I’ll make this for my family, they’ll be so happy we don’t allow cordial in our house
If you thought ginger was tricky to look up, you should NOT look up anything about Barbie. We found that out the hard way, and had to do some quick damage control to a shocked 4yr olds burning eyes! (I’ve since discovered you have to use ‘Mattel’ in there as well)
Love, Love, Love anything ginger. I used to dye my hair red, it was quite the look! I think I’m coming down with a cold so this will be perfect. I think I’ll make a batch tonight.
Christmas, I don’t have many people to buy for so I’m almost done all my shopping! I just put up the lighted wreaths in the studio because we had the Santa Claus parade last Sunday. We’ll start playing Christmas music in the office soon.
JT and I are off to cut our tree down on Sunday…it’ll be decorated by December 1st for our second progressive dinner in our hood! I’ll start Christmas baking as soon as I’m done with this cold. Love Christmas!
Hi Lorraine
I love ginger and will try this recipe but using Natvia instead of sugar. I’ll let you know how successful I was.
Cheers Ulrich
Thanks so much Ulrich!!
My uncle used to make his own fermented ginger beer when i was young. This always had an element of risk to it as every now and then a bottle would explode all over their laundry!
That mug is very hipster!
Sounds really yummy actually. I love ginger. My favourite baked treats are those with ginger and spice. Even though we’re in Australia it does scream Christmas doesn’t it?
I’m afraid I wouldn’t be mistaken for any of those ladies. Perhaps Julia Childs – tall and portly at the same time.
Thank you so much for not posting something to do with Thanks Giving! Every blog I have read today with along the lines of “how to roast the perfect turkey” second of all…i love ginger beer, and its really hard to get a hold of in Mexico. I will def give this recipe a try! Thanks for sharing
Haha this is brilliant – I love that baby’s expression!
Paul and I are both lovers of ginger beer. I’m thinking a hamper full of ‘NQN made from scratch’ products will be a fantastic Christmas gift
My grandma has a ginger beer recipe I’ve been meaning to try for ages. Might just have to dig it out.
I’ve started thinking about Christmas and planning recipes but I’m far from ready!
OMG that’s it?
I can’t believe it! It’s SO easy to make wow ~ that’s amazing hehe I really do need to try this recipe!
And also make it for my dad too because he loves ginger beer! And with his health condition I can control how much sugar goes in! YAY!
Thanks Lorraine! I’m definitely NOT ready for my first ever Xmas party!
Love the look that babies giving the photographer. I used to make ginger beer when I was at boarding school. So refreshing. Unfortunately one week all the bottles exploded. I was in big trouble and the cellar became ‘out of bounds’. This looks like a much more straight forward recipe and just as refreshing. Can I be Betty Draper some days and Nigella others? GG
What a simple idea for summer. Love it.
I like to plan ahead, so bring on the Christmas recipes. I have been charged with a dessert for the extended family and in trying to keep it simple was thinking of a beautifully presented fruit platter with some kind of dipping sauce or flavoured cream. Haven’t fully researched it yet, so any ideas would be great.
Oh I would love to be Nigella – that honeyed voice and those boosies!!!!
Aaaah, the joys of the internet! I found some strangely eye-popping sites when I innocently googled Herdwick sheep! (a la Beatrix Potter)
I love ginger in sweet things, especially those New Zealand slices with ginger icing.
Loving the styling in this post!
Happened to me too, looking for recipes than adult sites appear in fron of me.
No, I’m not ready for Christmas, just think about decorating the house makes me very lazy.
Love ginger beer, too!
My fascination is with strawberry blonde hair, TRUE!
Friends affectionately call me Martha of Redwood Park, funny as can be!
Always look for that next unique present to create for a recipe!
Yum, I love ginger and what a wonderful idea for Christmas gifts, certainly a lot less labour intensive than my normal gift of Tomato Relish.
We’ll try to resurrect it this weekend.
Just a couple of questions Lorraine, do you store it in the fridge or pantry, and how long will it last for?
I love Gin & Ginger Beer, I can imagine this in a long tall glass with ice and a thick wedge of lime.
We made a double batch of our Tomato Relish last weekend for Christmas gifts but used a different brand of curry powder and I think the whole batch is a big fail
LOL…whoopsie on the Ginger Ninja searching. I like your ginger beer – seems so simple. How do you make the cordial (or is this the recipe for cordial)?
Heather with the fruit platter – try this recipe for a fruit dip http://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipe/delicious-kahlua-dip-L321.html
Just wondering … has anyone tried this with a sweetener other than sugar? If so, was it successful … need to adapt for a diabetic. Thanks!
Hi Jenny! Ooh good question! I think that it should be ok unrefrigerated but I usually keep it in the fridge just in case. Although one might end up with a real fermented beer if one leaves it out!
Hey thanks Jenny. I’ll give it a try this week.
Oh my!!! What a story :0 who would have known there would be a site like that!!! Great recipe, I love the pics
Hi from a long time lurker! Love ginger beer and I’ve been bringing back Buderim’s cordial mixer everytime I’m back in Melbourne but will be making this now from now on. Looks so simple.
Hi Rhonnie! Ooh you know I’ve never tried it with sweetener but hopefully dear reader Ulrich might give it a go and let us know how they go?
Ha Spooky – we are making Ginger Beer this weekend – tho the alcoholic variety – using a River Cottage recipe.
Christmas is a big event in my house, we have been in plans since September, well thats what we’ll admit to.
This year we are making some of our gifts – already have bottles of natural vanilla extract as per your recipe steeping as we speak.
Oh yes! Needed to see that! Mr and I love ginger beer – heavily diluted (think 10:1) because of the sugar so this is perfect for us! We can omit sugar altogether! I will be giving some food gifts this year, mainly some allergy-friendly things. Can’t wait!
I love ginger but unfortunately since I got sick with M.E.four and a half years ago anything ginger makes me feel faint.
For Christmas presents I am making home-made vanilla essence. I am also refining my caramelised onions recipe so I can make some of that for gifts too.
Oh wow I never would’ve thought of making my own ginger beer! Excellent idea
I am glad you said it as it happened to me too. Not in public though but in front of my teenager, which is even more embarrassing…
Oh yes, most of my gifts will be consumable food gifts, and some with ginger… I always wander how is it feels to celebrate Christmas in the middle of the summer? I want to experience it one year…
Love,love, love ginger. Never have made ginger beer cordial, but you can bet I now will. I do make a good ginger-saffron-cardamom hot milk beloved in the Middle East though…Love Christmas food gifts, bot to make and to receive, but am no where close to being ready for anything. Nigella. I’d always opt for sultry.
Yum, can’t wait to try this on a summer day! Loving your photographs as well. That blue table of yours is gorgeous
Hmm I want to try make some sort of exotic Christmas themed tart with coconut custard/cream and lots of summer fruits … but I haven’t figured out the details yet.
p.s. Betty Draper, she is just too gorgeous even if she’s a bit of a nut-case!
Ah what a nice and simple recipe!
never knew it was that easy to make, sounds like it would be great for curing colds too!
My friend’s husband would love this – he buys a ginger drink and has it every day.
Even though he is very slim, Mr NQN had better watch his triglyceride level as he gets older, with all those carbs he eats.
Oh! I thought this was actually going to be the ginger beer plant! My brother has had one for years that every month or two he has to divide and makes up many bottles of ginger beer from (non-alcoholic). This appears to be ginger cordial. I’m happy to have the recipe – as I do buy ginger cordial, but I was really hoping for the ginger beer recipe to create the plant. As far as I can remember it needs ginger, sultanas, sugar, and possibly other stuff. You have to feed it ginger and sugar through the month (its in a glass jar and full of liquid, so don’t be afraid its like an attack of the triffids!!) and then you dilute with stuff and halve the plant to go on for the next month.
Anyhoo – just a thought in case you come across this in your travels. I think it may have slightly less sugar than the cordial, but at most would be the same. You need to have a lot of bottles that are sealable as they need to sit for a couple of weeks before drinking and they can erupt if you don’t have good bottles. I’ll see if I can get the recipe from my brother – if so I’ll e-mail it to you to try.
Cheers
I had to giggle! So many innocent keywords seem to lead to not so innocent sites
I love the idea of homemade ginger beer as you can adjust how gingery you want it. Some commercial ones are a little too insipid while others are too punchy. Definitely trying this for Christmas! 
Ooh! My other half loves ginger beer and this is definitely healthier than store bought ones. Thank you for sharing.
Oh, and what a hilarious ginger cat! (My cat’s a ginger too, but lucky neither of us have red hair….)
Ginger beer’s my all-time favorite softdrink and this looks like a great way of ensuring I can always have a drink whenever a craving hits. (Since, alas, ginger beer/ale are still rather rare in my neck of the woods.)
This sounds lovely! I’ve got to try this soon! Sounds like v minimal effort as well.
I love your glass mug and straw! Love the feel they give to your photos.
Thanks Lorraine, my brother in law loves ginger beer so I’m going to make a bottle for him (and myself too!) Not really ready for christmas but same each year lots of rushing around but it all works out in the end
Ginger beer, how delicious and perfect for the coming Summer!
I used to have a ginger beer bug as a child and every Saturday I would divide it and make a dozen bottles of ginger beer. I haven’t tried making your kind of ginger beer but I know I would love it. And ginger is so good for you – this would be great if you had a sore throat! xx
I love ginger! especially when I have a ‘windy’ stomach :p oh and pickled ginger is awesome too! Thanks for another made from scratch recipe. I guess it’s bye bye to Bundaberg..
we actually brew our own ginger beer it tastes great will never drink the stuoo from the shops again ours tastes superior
oh how I remember those exploding ginger beer bottles in the laundry! This looks like a much safer way of getting our ginger hit!
Oh I love this stuff and I have made it a couple of times. I always order it in Caribbean restaurants. I think your version is easier. I love ginger, the one to eat. I know lots of men who like the other kind lol. I have done zero for Christmas yet.
So that’s your method
I remember looking up a recipe for cherry pie once years ago, my mum waiting patiently looking over my shoulder- we were both rather surprised at the image results!!
Love this recipe & post! OMG that baby….so cute! Love Amy Poehler.
Heidi xo
Your recipe for Ginger Cordial says to use ‘cold soda water’. I can’t see the purpose of using soda water to make the cordial (whereas, of course, it IS required to make a Ginger Beer). Is this a typo? PS Love your website.
Hi Neil! Yes indeed, the cold soda water is for the end step once the cordial is made to water it down to become a cool ginger beer
Thank you so much!
Hi Lorraine
Just made a batch using 1/4 cup Natvia for baking. It’s a bit too sweet for my taste have to dilute it 1/3:2/3. Next time I’ll try 2 level tbsp (3 level tbsp = 1/4 cup). But it works well, thanks Lorraine!
Hi Ulrich! Thanks so much for letting us know! I’m going to try it with that next time to cut down on the sugar
I’ve never made ginger beer but I make candied ginger syrup. Next step – a drink. I’ll be making Christmas baskets for close friends and I think I’m on schedule.
It most certainly IS NOT too early to be thinking about Christmas! I already have plans for NEXT year’s Christmas gifts (yes, that’s right 2013 – NQN’s vodka vanilla extract,in a hamper of home grown / made preserves). Then again, in my job as a professional Christmas tree decorator (yes – it IS a real job), I suppose I think about Christmas more than the average person! It looks like this ginger beer will be in those hampers too…
i love christmas, but i won’t be ready for it until december 25th.
this is a great do-it-yourself recipe, lorraine!
Taking into consideration all the benefits from the ginger this looks like a refreshing and healthy option. Thank you Lorraine!
Awww – love this recipe. I like the smells of ginger, especially during these cold days. Perfect!
Wow, I’m impressed. The thought had never occurred to me to make ginger beer myself at home. There are so many supermarket varieties and I’ve probably tried most of them now.
I’m not a huge fan of ginger in general but as my mother tells me, it is necessary in cooking for certain foods. However, I seem to quite enjoy a glass of cold ginger beer.
I love home-made ginger beer & yours looks so good, so tempting too!
A must make!
Hahahaha. That’s hilarious. I saw Will Arnett on Conan talking about his son with Amy P. (Do you guys get Conan in Australia?) Anyway, he turned to Conan and said, with a completely straight face, “Yeah, we have a ginger. (Pause) It’s terrible.” It was so funny. Not that gingers are funny. I just love Will Arnett! I’m very upset that he and Amy broke up.
67 comments and no-one has mentioned Tim Minchin’s song Prejudice? For shame!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVN_0qvuhhw
Sounds YUM ! I will make some today. Any idea how long it will keep in the fridge once bottled ?
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