Make your own ginger ale

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 100 g ginger, fresh, peeled
• 180 g cane sugar or brown sugar
• 100 ml water
• Lemon juice, fresh
• ice cubes
• 2 tbsp syrup per jar
• Carbonated mineral water, cold

Instructions

Working time approx. 25 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 minute; Total time approx. 26 minutes

First, peel the ginger. This works best with a teaspoon. Then, finely grate the ginger and place it in a small saucepan with the sugar and water. Heat until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup has boiled. The syrup should then be allowed to cool completely. The ginger should remain in the syrup until it can release its remaining flavor. Only when the syrup has completely cooled can it be processed into this delicious, sparkling drink. Sieve out the grated ginger, and add 2-3 tablespoons of syrup, fresh lemon juice, and ice cubes to each glass. Top up with cold, sparkling mineral water. The syrup will keep in the refrigerator for about a week. It is best stored in a sealable jar. A variation of the old, classic version with alcohol: Instead of mineral water, use still water and add half a teaspoon of dry yeast to one liter of water. The syrup, along with lemon juice, water, and dry yeast, is poured into a sterile bottle and left to stand overnight at room temperature. The yeast and sugar in the syrup initiate alcoholic fermentation, producing the typical carbonation. If you want to slow the alcoholic fermentation process, store the ginger ale in the refrigerator. Don’t let it ferment for too long, or it will taste like beer.