I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have every intention of overeating on Thursday. I plan on eating so much that my stomach will need a little comforting after the fact. Is it wrong? Perhaps. Will that stop me? Not for love nor money. I have a little trick up my sleeve, though, that I’d like to share with you today: Ginger Stomach Soother.
This strong ginger syrup is made ahead of time and can be mixed with fizzy, plain soda water (seltzer) or with still, tap water (if you prefer) and does a yeoman’s work of soothing my poor overwrought tummy. It’s not strictly a Thanksgiving saver, though… I serve this up any time our household’s stomachs are objecting in ways large or small.
Ginger is known to help alleviate nausea and indigestion, whatever their causes. Mixing it with fizzy water gives you something of a ginger ale effect but it’s different in three important aspects.
- The strength of the syrup allows you to create a fizzy ginger beverage FAR stronger in ginger than anything but the most robust ginger beer on the market. The bigger the ginger presence, the more effective it is at calming the stomach.
- There’s no junk in this Ginger Stomach Soother: no preservatives, no food dyes. It’s just things you recognize and stuff you can pronounce.
- Because this Ginger Stomach Soother is originally made as a syrup, you can decide just how strong you want it and how fizzy (if at all) you’d like it to be. When my kids are feeling particularly green around the gills, they’ve been known to swallow a straight up spoonful of the Ginger Stomach Soother Syrup.
I prefer it mixed with fizzy water, but then I’m a bubble lover. And once your stomach is back to rights, you can use this same fizzy water Ginger Stomach Soother combo to mix up one mean Moscow Mule.
Cook’s Notes
- The easiest way to peel fresh ginger root is to use the side of a regular old teaspoon. Just hold it in your hands and use the ‘bowl’ of the spoon to scrape the skin away. For this recipe, you don’t need to scrape it perfectly clean, just mostly clean.
- I prefer this made with raw sugar, but you could substitute white granulated sugar if you’d like. If you’re looking for a ‘cleaner’ version of the recipe, use maple syrup, but the maple may compete a little with the ginger for flavour dominance.
- The reason you add the ginger in two ‘installments’ is because you want to infuse the syrup with a couple of levels of ginger oomph. The one that simmers longer will give a deeper background ginger flavour while the one added after boiling will give it some fresh bite.
- If kept in a tightly lidded jar, the Ginger Stomach Soother Syrup should last up to two weeks.
Ginger Stomach Soother
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 pound fresh ginger root scraped mostly clean of its skin and roughly chopped then smacked with the side of a knife or meat tenderizer, divided
Instructions
To Make the Ginger Stomach Soother Syrup:
- Stir the raw sugar and water together in a saucepan over medium high heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add about 2/3 of the ginger root and bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, then carefully add the remaining ginger root, remove the pan from the heat, cover and let stand for 30 minutes. Strain the syrup into a jar. Fix a tight fitting lid on the jar and store in the refrigerator.
To Make a Ginger Stomach Soother Drink:
- Pour about 1/4 cup of the Ginger Stomach Soother over ice. Top off with fizzy or still water, as desired. Stir gently and sip to relieve an overindulged or sick stomach.
his is my twenty sixth post in my commitment to post every. single. day in November for NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month), or NaBlahBlahBlah as I prefer to call it. Follow the craziness all month as I share recipes, family anecdotes, and throw a couple of giveaways in for good measure!Â
Sania says
Recipe looks good.. would like to try.. Thank you for sharing
Rachael Bear says
Thank you for the recipe. I have tummy problems. Gonna make it tonight. I grow fresh ginger in my garden, dug some up. Actually never used it….sad, I know. Lol. I’ll keep you posted 😊
Rebecca says
I’m so jealous that you can grow ginger in your garden!!! I hope this yelps soothe your stomach!
Gina says
Tried.. unfortunately just didn’t do it for me.. BUT it actually doesn’t taste bad at all! Heck better than Pepto!
Rebecca says
HAHAHAHA. It is a heckuva lot better than pepto! I’m sorry it didn’t settle your stomach, but at least it was tasty. 🙂
Poppie Oosthuizen says
Morning Rebecca,
Thank you SO much for the recipe of the ginger syrup.
Could you kindly tell me how much ground ginger I should use for the recipe.
I live in South Africa and fresh ginger is not always available here and when we are fortunate to obtain it it is at a very high price.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful blog with us.
Sincerely,
Poppie Oosthuizen
Rebecca says
You’re so welcome, Poppie! I found some conflicting information on how much to use, so I’d advise you to start lower and move higher as needed, according to taste. Here’s the range I saw: “The information we have on substitutions varies, from 1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger for each 1/8 teaspoon of ground ginger to 1 teaspoon of minced fresh ginger for each 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger.”
Kathy says
These look delicious! Can the syrup be frozen if not used in two weeks? ((I will be the only one drinking it). Thanks!
Kathy
Rebecca says
You bet you can, Kathy!! I’d say about 2 months would be max for the best quality.
Kathie says
Thank you for this, very excited to whip a batch up tonight! I like to enjoy a few drinks on the weekends, but I have a terribly sensitive stomach. I stick to Moscow Mules religiously when I go out because of the soothing ginger beer and the fact that quality vodka (like Titos) seems to agree better than most spirits. I love the idea I can make something similar from scratch at home 🙂
Rebecca says
That is fantastic, Kathie! I love Moscow Mules, too, and made with this? Home run!
Stephanie says
This is a miracle for morning sickness. I may have to make it in bulk.
Mary says
I may need about a gallon of this today. Can’t wait to try it!
Lisa says
This looks great though as for a Moscow mule, I am more partial to the Dark and Stormy (made with dark rum). Much better!
Karen says
Ginger syrup and a cup of hot water make ginger tea. A lovely evening cuppa.
Amanda says
This is fantastic! LOVE THIS!!!
Carol at Wild Goose Tea says
This certainly was the perfect post for this time of year. And useful year round.
Uvon says
Just curious about the “smacked with the side of a knife” bit. Is this similar to the way you’d smack a clove of garlic to get the last skin casing off?
Rebecca says
That’s exactly what I mean. 😀