Homemade Ginger Ale

Homemade Ginger Ale

 I’m not a superstitious person. I don’t believe in fate or ghosts or anything like that. Yet I still have these little habits that, if I don’t do them, I’ll feel very anxious. Most of them revolve around flying, which is even more strange because I’m not afraid of flying. I fly pretty often, I tend to split my year between the UK and Atlanta (it used to be a 50/50 split, but immigration got a bit unhappy with that so it’s more of a 70/30 split these days!)  so I’m flying back and forth fairly frequently. One little superstition I follow is putting the checked bag tag from a previous safe flight in the pocket of my suitcase for my next flight, it’s supposed to bring luck – I figure you can’t have too much luck when flying so it can’t hurt! The other is not so much a superstition, just more of a routine – when the flight attendants come round with drinks I always, always have a ginger ale. It doesn’t matter if I want a ginger ale or not, I have to get one! 

Homemade Ginger Ale

 

I guess it’s a good thing I love ginger ale! What’s not to love? It’s refreshing with a little zing, and it’s good for your tummy. Ginger ale isn’t really very popular in the UK, I think that’s part of the reason I got into the routine of drinking it on the plane. Most Americans grow up being given ginger ale when they’re sick, that wasn’t really a thing here, the only thing I got given when I had an upset stomach was milk of magnesia which, if I wasn’t sick before, I would be after taking that! On the bright side, ginger ale brings back no nasty memories of being unwell for me, just tasty memories! 

Homemade Ginger Ale

 That being said, ginger ale is really helpful at settling your stomach. I take a lot of medications which is not so kind on my tummy, so a little natural help to keep my stomach happy is always a good thing – the fact that I love the taste is a big bonus! I don’t know how much real ginger is in the store bought stuff, but I can be pretty sure that this homemade stuff is so much better for you! There’s minimal sugar, only natural preservatives (i.e. lemon juice) and lots and lots of fresh nausea killing ginger! This homemade ginger ale has a lot more zing to it and that’s why I love it, it’s not enough to blow your head off but it has a wonderful, refreshing kick to it! 

Homemade Ginger Ale

It’s really simple to make too – you just cook up the syrup, leave it to cool and mix it with carbonated water. Which is extra fun if you can break out the soda stream your best friend bought you for your birthday one year after you told her the story of how your mum wouldn’t let you have one when you were a kid because she said you’d never use it – well take that mum, I’ve had it 2 years and used it twice now! Of course, you can just use store bought carbonated water instead! You’ll want to keep to a 1 part syrup to 3 parts water ratio when mixing it up to get the best flavour and refreshment combo! And of course, you want to serve it over ice and garnish with fresh lime slices, because what other way is there? Well, there’s mixing in a measure of vodka too and having yourself an awesome Moscow Mule (this ginger ale is zingy enough you won’t miss the ginger beer). 

Homemade Ginger Ale

 October is Lupus Awareness Month and I’m trying to raise awareness for the cause. You can read more about this and enter my giveaway in this post, there’s only a few days left!

Today’s Lupus fact (click the photo for more info):

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 I hope the partiers at Fiesta Friday have a moment to grab a glass of this yummy ginger ale too, there’s still plenty left 🙂 

Homemade Ginger Ale
Zingy, homemade ginger ale
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Ingredients
  1. 50g fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
  2. 225g caster sugar
  3. 500ml water, preferably filtered
  4. Juice of 2 limes
  5. Juice of 1 lemon
  6. Carbonated water
  7. Fresh lime slices to garnish
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer, leave to simmer for about 15 minutes until sugar is dissolved and ginger softened
  2. Strain syrup and leave to cool
  3. Combine 1 part syrup with 3 parts carbonated water, pour over ice and garnish with lime slices to serve.
Notes
  1. Store syrup in sealed bottle and keep in fridge.
  2. Tip for peeling ginger: use a small teaspoon to scrape the peel off (as if you want to eat it), much easier than using a knife.
A Tipsy Giraffe https://www.atipsygiraffe.com/
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40 comments

  1. Kyla @HouseOfHipsters says:

    I’ll bet you that WOULD be really good in the Wild Indie Mule! I love ginger ale. I’m not a big soda drinker, but I always have ginger ale in the fridge…and yes, I was given that when I had an upset stomach. And you are right…you can’t really find it in Europe. I was at Oma’s house in Germany super sick and wanted ginger ale, but all i got was chamomile tea. That is her cure all =) Thanks so much for stopping over to my blog…btw, I’m hosting a giveaway tomorrow…stop by and enter! Love your blog! Will be back again soon!

    • Michelle @ Giraffes Can Bake says:

      I’m definitely going to have try out your Wild Indie Mule recipe with some of this ginger ale for sure. We don’t have ginger ale, but we do have alcoholic ginger beer – which I don’t think would be very good for an upset stomach, you were safer with the chamomile I’m sure! I’ll definitely be stopping by your blog again too, thanks for the heads up about the give away!

  2. Michelle @ A Dish of Daily Life says:

    I am so excited to find this here. We’ve never attempted to make our own, but my daughter only likes the organic stuff, which is not cheap. Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather her drink that for an upset stomach than the stuff you buy at the grocery store (once we looked and there wasn’t even ginger in the one we bought), but I’d be even happier if we learned how to make it! Thank you! I just pinned your recipe and I will share too!

  3. Stephanie says:

    WOW, I LOVE IT!! I love new recipes that you’d never think of making all on your own from scratch! My mom always gave me ginger ale when I was sick, (I fit into that category as you mention above!) and I haven’t had it in a while, I think it’s time! I like how you say that there’s a good zing to it, but not enough to blow your head off, haha! 🙂 Great that you’re raising lupus awareness too!!

    Happy Fiesta Friday Michelle!

    • Michelle @ Giraffes Can Bake says:

      There are some benefits to not having some of your favourite things readily available in your country, you’re forced to make your own version!
      We have a drink here called Crabbie’s and it’s alcoholic ginger beer (not sure if you guys have it over there) and it’s really tasty, but I can only drink half a bottle because the ginger is so strong it starts to burn your mouth after a while – that’s what I was thinking of when I was trying to make it zingy but not too zingy haha!
      Thank you for stopping by Stephanie, Happy Fiesta Friday! x

  4. Loretta says:

    Anything with ginger is bound to be good for one’s tum. What a clever lil recipe, I’ll have to try it out. Love ginger ale too, it’s about the only soda I drink. 🙂

  5. Andrea Fogleman says:

    My husband probably would like this recipe more then I would. It’s sounds wonderful. Thanks for sharing and thanks for linking up for Scraptastic Saturdays. This post will be shared via FB/Twitter/Pinterest. Have a wonderful day. Hope to see you Saturday.

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