Make merry on languid summer days with zingy old-fashioned homemade ginger beer.
Styling Sally Fulham. Photography Jane Ussher.
4 cups sugar
3 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp tartaric acid
juice of 3 lemons
6 liters water
A handful of sultanas
Approximately half a dozen screw top bottles
Mix all ingredients in a large pot or clean bucket, then strain using a sieve. (If you use a muslin cloth you’ll remove the sediment and some of the ginger). With a jug and funnel, fill your clean bottles, leaving an air space at the top of each. Drop several sultanas into each bottle before corking or screwing on the caps.
In 3-4 days the sultanas will swell and rise to the top. When this happens you know the ginger beer is ready to drink.
The longer you leave the ginger beer, the fizzier it will get. After a few weeks you’ll need to loosen the tops to release the pressure – otherwise the bottles could explode!
Chill before serving.
