Iced, cold ginger ale on a hot summer day is a wonderful refresher especially when you make it yourself with real, fresh ginger! Ginger is actually an herb and can be bought either fresh, dried or powdered. The medicinal values of this “spice” have been used for centuries by many cultures—not only does it add a zing to many Asian and Indian dishes but it has many therapeutic benefits, as well.
Ginger is a popular herbal remedy and preventative for stomach issues like nausea, dizziness, motion sickness, morning sickness, colic, upset stomach, gas and diarrhea. Because ginger contains gingerols, a potent anti-inflammatory, it has been shown to reduce inflammation and ease menstrual pain, arthritic pain muscle soreness, respiratory tract infections, cough and bronchitis. Ayurvedic texts claims that ginger has aphrodisiac properties. There have been studies that indicate that ginger may also inhibit the growth of human colorectal cancer cells and be capable of killing ovarian cancer cells. Every slice of ginger contains 18 amino acids and various vitamins and minerals, including calcium, magnesium, omega-3 and -6 fatty acids, iron and Vitamin C.
I’ve always been a fan of ginger ale but most commercial brands use an artificial ginger flavor or very little natural ginger with high fructose corn syrup. In pursuit of a ginger ale that is more natural, healthy and authentic, I formulated the following recipe.
