Homemade Ginger Ale

I've never been a huge fan of sodas--too sweet and carbonated for me.  However, I do love to drink ginger ale or Sprite on the very rare occasion (Ale8 is a local ginger ale that's my favorite and delicious!).  When it comes to mineral water--I could drink my weight in it.  So when I stumbed upon this recipe for an easy homemade ginger ale, I had to give it a try.  Delicious is all that it was--not too sweet with a real ginger taste.  My next trick will be to make homemade Sprite!

{Homemade ginger ale!}

{Fresh ginger}

{Sliced ginger crammed into a mixture of water and undissolved sugar}

{You might not be able to tell, but at this point the sugar was dissolved}

{Simmer for 15 minutes to get all the gingery-goodness out!}

{Store in a mason jar.  I kept the ginger in there}

{I mixed mine with mineral water}

Homemade Ginger Ale

Makes 8-12 cups

(depending on how much syrup is put in each drink)

1 pound fresh ginger, sliced (don't bother peeling)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 liter club soda, plain seltzer, or mineral water

1. Combine sugar, water and ginger in a saucepan and bring to a simmer (right before it starts boiling).
2. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes--DO NOT STIR OR TOUCH!
3. When 15 minutes is up, pull pan off to the side to cool about 30 minutes.
4. Add lemon juice and store in an air-tight container; chill overnight.
5. Add 2 tablespoons of syrup in a glass with ice (a good starting point--add more or less according to your tastes).
6. Fill the rest of the glass with chosen sparkling beverage; gently stir to blend.

Do you have a favorite soda or drink that you make at home?  My next drinks will be Sprite (when I have a soda hankering again which might be a few months) and homemade lemonade (which happens to be my current craving)!

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