# Cold honey drink



## George Fergusson (May 19, 2005)

Try some switchel. It's an old beverage from yesteryear, typically made with molasses but often made with honey, sugar, or any combination thereof, I suppose depending on what you had available. It's the original Gatorade, a real thirst-quenching energy drink for hard working men; when I was a youngster the farmer down the road used to keep a jug of it in the truck when we were haying.

The stuff I used to drink as a kid, if I recall rightly, was made thusly, more or less:

1 gallon of water
1 cup molasses or honey
1 cup vinegar
1 tsp ginger
a pinch of salt

It was served out of the jug at ambient temperature which was usually around 95 degrees. It was a life saver. Sometimes Mother would toss in a handful of rolled oats which gave you something to chew on to stimulate conversation. At the end of the hay day we'd congregate in the yard and Mother would set a plate of molasses cookies and a pitcher of cold fresh milk on the kitchen window sill, and tall glasses. Those were the good old days.


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## Chef Isaac (Jul 26, 2004)

I can make the cookies..... and my friend can milk a cow for the milk!!!


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

Jezzzzzzz George...... that sounds gawd 
aweful.....   And seved warm..
yikes....... does it really taste good??


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## Jeffrey Todd (Mar 17, 2006)

wow, I have to agree with Bruce! What kind of vinegar, plain old white or apple cider? And the oats? I would think it might make you choke . . . but I guess it can't hurt to try to mix up a mini-batch and see.


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## nursebee (Sep 29, 2003)

Sounds like you are looking for a mead.

Honey encrusted nuts is kind of odd to make. Honey is a liquid and crust sounds like something crispy.

[ September 08, 2006, 10:05 AM: Message edited by: nursebee ]


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## George Fergusson (May 19, 2005)

>does it really taste good??

I never said it tasted good... It sure was refreshing though. It's been years since I had any, I'm going to mix up a jug this weekend and have a good old dose of nostalgia.

Most often Katie (Mother Macdonald) made it with molasses but occassionally she'd use honey, or both, and we liked that a lot. She used apple cider vinegar. The handful of rolled oats would settle to the bottom unless you swirled the jug around before drinking some.

I'm not making this up! Here's a few links I just found:

http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/m093002.htm
http://www.floras-hideout.com/drrecipes/recipes.php?page=drrecipes&data=f-j/Haymaker_s_Switchel

Most recipes I've seen so far call for molasses, probably because the drink supposedly originated in the indies.


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

Alright, alright........ Now I gotta give
it a go. I'm going to use the grand kids
as test subjects though.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

http://beesource.com/eob/hs.htm


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## Marta (Aug 20, 2005)

I make this drink all the time. Sounds horrid, tastes lovely. You do have to tweak the amount of vinegar slightly to suit your tastes. We typically use 2/3 cup rather than one cup. Adding a few slivers of freshly sliced ginger and letting the whole concoction sit in the fridge until cold really enhances the flavor. Tastes like REAL ginger ale--not like the wimpy stuff you buy from Scwhepps or others.

Marta


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## Maine_Beekeeper (Mar 19, 2006)

Ginger Honey Soda (DELICIOUS!)
4 oz fresh ginger (approx 6" piece of ginger
2 1/2 c water
1 cup honey
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
ice
seltzer water
Lemon or lime wedges

Peel ginger and cut into thin strips (julienne). Simmer ginger in water, covered for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and add honey. Let steep uncovered for 15 minutes. Strain pressing ginger solids against strainer to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids. Add lemon and Lime juices to ginger liquid, stir then let cool. Pour this "syrup" into a bottle and refrigerate. 
To make soda fill a tall glass with ice. Pour in 1/2 cup of syrup and top with seltzer. Stir and garnish with wedge of lemon or lime. 


I got this recipe from a book on honey recipes. It is fantastic tasting, refreshing, and good for you! Excellent after a hot day in the yard and easy! Once you've made the syrup (I ususally double the batch) you can whip up a refreshing drink in seconds.


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