North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Richard L. Wagner" <rewagner@centurytel.net>]

  About 40 years ago I used to make a lot of Root Beer. Basically the 
same process. I bottled it in recycled beer and pop battles. Once I was 
making a short trip, about 30 miles, in hot weather when I heard the 
bottles bursting in the back seat. About a dozen as I recall. What a 
mess. 

Another thing is that it doesn't keep long as it has a very short shelf 
life, no more than a week in warm weather, after which it becomes 
syrupy and slimey fit only for the pigs. When it was fresh though the 
kids loved it and drank their fill worth at every opportunity. 

Quoting Jay Cutts :
> Since we're talking about food, here's a favorite summer preparation. It
> can be made with fruit or with other sugar sources (maple syrup, for
> example, but not honey.)
>
> This is a rough recipe for making a gallon of home made carbonated
> drink. I like to make it with ginger. I blend up fresh ginger (maybe
> half of a piece you'd get in the store) and strain it so I just have the
> liquid. Pour the liquid into the gallon jug. Add some maple syrup. 
> "Some" is a technical measure! You have to try out proportions for
> yourself. I put maybe a half a cup or so for a gallon of water. By the
> way, I usually blend the ginger pulp in water a few times to get out all
> the good stuff. Then I top up the jug. I like to add the juice of one
> lime, sometimes more. This is all to taste by experimenting. 
>
> Now you add maybe a teaspoon of bread yeast. I actually keep the yeast
> culture going in the jug once I have it started, so I don't need to add
> any more each time. In fact the yeast grows and increases as time goes
> on. The first time you can use the bread yeast and if you want, you can
> proof it first (put it in a small amount of warm water with some sugar
> until it starts to show signs of activity.)
>
> Put the jug in a warm spot. In cooler weather I put it in the oven with
> the oven light on. It only takes about 6 to 8 hours for the brew to be
> finished. Chill it before opening, as it may bubble over otherwise when
> you open it. The jug needs to have a tight lid to hold in the
> carbonation but if you let this go too long, there is the danger of too
> much pressure build up. 
>
> The drink is very refreshing and costs a fraction of buying carbonated
> drinks or carbonated water. It has a slight yeasty flavor, which you may
> have to get used to before you start appreciating it. The yeast
> provides certain vitamins, so enjoy it. 
>
> There is no reason that you can't add anything you want to the basic
> concept - a sugar, water and some yeast. I've added fruit juices or
> pulps (pulps tend to make the jug a bit messy) and even have a gallon of
> fizzy solution of Rose's Lime Juice at the moment, which is a big hit. 
>
> If your result is not very fizzy or if it lacks sweetness, add some
> sweetener. It will continue to ferment slowly even in the fridge,
> gradually becoming fizzier and less sweet. One word of caution is that
> honey doesn't work very well. It seems that many yeasts can't handle honey. 
>
> If your brew is very fizzy (especially when you first open it) you'll
> find that as you pour it, it kicks up the yeast goop from the bottom and
> you have to stop pouring. With time and as the jug becomes emptier, the
> fizz decreases. 
>
> Regards,
>
> Jay
>
> Jay Cutts
> Director, Cutts Graduate Reviews
> Lead Author, Barron's Test Prep Publications
> (800) 353-4898
> In New Mexico, (505) 281-0684
> 10 am to 10 pm Mountain Time, 7 days
>
>
> On 9/5/2011 12:40 PM, Naomi Counides wrote:
> > I made one. I followed Lou's recipe sort of. I wish I had followed it a
> > little closer because my oven is a fancy bird with a circuit board
> > controlling everything and it decided to take some time off (went dead)
> > before the inside of the pie was cooked. The crust looked grand. So I put
> > the pie in the microwave and hopefully cooked the filling. That was the
> > part of the recipe I did not follow, that and I did not measure how many
> > grapes I put in. I did it raw instead of precooked. If I had done things
> > the right way the dysfunctional circuit board would not have been an issue. 
> > Anyway, I will find out what I did at dinner time. 
> >
> >
> >
> > I made a white peach ginger ice cream so there is a back up. I did not
> > follow a recipe on that but it does taste very nice. Fresh raw, peeled
> > Peaches with bits of candied ginger, half and half and honey. 
> >
> > Naomi
> >
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