Jamaican Homemade Ginger Beer: Fiery Non-Alcoholic Ginger Soda for the School Thermos

Roughly chop the ginger, then blitz it in a blender with 2 cups of the water until it becomes a coarse, fibrous pulp.

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 8 oz (225g) fresh ginger root, unpeeled and scrubbed
• 8 cups (2 liters) water, divided
• 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar, or to taste
• 1/4 cup (60ml) fresh lime juice, about 2 limes
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice (pimento)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 whole cloves
• Pinch of fine salt
• Sparkling water, to top (optional)
• Lime wheels and ice, to serve

Instructions

1. Roughly chop the ginger, then blitz it in a blender with 2 cups of the water until it becomes a coarse, fibrous pulp.
2. Pour the ginger pulp into a large saucepan with the remaining 6 cups of water, the cinnamon stick, cloves and allspice. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Turn off the heat, cover, and let the mixture steep for at least 2 hours or overnight in the fridge. The longer it sits, the fierier it gets.
4. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth into a pitcher, pressing hard on the pulp to extract every drop of ginger juice. Discard the solids.
5. Stir in the sugar and lime juice while the liquid is still slightly warm so the sugar dissolves. Add the pinch of salt, which rounds out the heat. Taste and add more sugar or lime as you like.
6. Chill thoroughly for at least 3 hours. Serve over ice with a lime wheel, topping each glass half-and-half with sparkling water for fizz.
7. For the thermos, leave out the sparkling water and pack it still and very cold. It keeps in the fridge for a week, and the ginger only mellows a little.
8. Ginger beer has been brewed in Jamaica since the 1700s, when the island grew some of the finest ginger in the British Empire and every household had a crock of it fermenting in the corner. This quick non-alcoholic version skips the fermentation and gets its punch from an overnight steep with allspice, the native Jamaican pimento that gives jerk seasoning its warmth. Sweet, sour and hot enough to make you blink, it is a favorite with Jamaican kids and the ideal antidote to a stuffy September classroom.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 85 kcal
• Protein: 0g
• Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 22g
• Fiber: 0g
• Sugar: 20g
• Sodium: 40mg