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ginger ale
Fresh ginger brings a new level of flavor to this bubbly soda fountain favorite.
Prepare Ingredients
Ginger Syrup
Ginger Ale
Gather Cooking Equipment
For the ginger syrup: Place ginger on cutting board. Use chef’s knife to cut ginger crosswise into slices about ¼ inch thick. You should have about 1 cup sliced ginger.
In medium saucepan, combine sliced ginger, water, sugar, honey, and salt. Bring to simmer over medium heat (small bubbles should break often across surface of mixture).
Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally with wooden spoon, for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and slide saucepan to cool burner.
Stir in lime juice. Let mixture cool completely, about 30 minutes.
Line fine-mesh strainer with triple layer of cheesecloth. Place strainer over medium bowl. Pour cooled ginger mixture through strainer into bowl, pressing gently on ginger pieces to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard cheesecloth and ginger pieces. Pour strained ginger syrup into jar with tight‑fitting lid. (Ginger syrup can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.)
Food for Thought
Soda-lightful
Before sodas were available in cans or bottles, they were made one at a time by a server at a soda fountain, or a counter in a shop (often a pharmacy) that served carbonated drinks. “Soda jerks,” as the servers were called, would mix up flavored syrups and then add water that was carbonated by a machine with a tank of carbon dioxide gas inside. Today, sodas are usually manufactured in bottling plants, but the process remains similar. Manufacturers mix up huge batches of syrup, add water, chill everything down until it’s very cold, then inject the mixture with carbon dioxide gas while it’s under pressure. That mixture is sealed inside bottles or cans, keeping all of the carbon dioxide gas inside, ensuring that your drink will be bubbly whenever you pop it open.
