Switchel, a drink dating to antiquity, is a refreshing way to cool off

[Celerity]

On hot days, try a pitcher of switchel, using vinegar, ginger, sweetener and water.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2024/05/16/switchel-history/

https://archive.ph/hQUsX

In pitchers from left: apple, plain and peach switchels. (Scott Suchman for The Washington Post/food styling by Lisa Cherkasky for The Washington Post)

It’s not surprising that on sweltering days, we turn to lemons for refreshment. A perfect lemon is a work of art, with its taste, aroma and spectacular good looks glowing as brightly as the sun against a brilliantly blue sky. Mix some of that sunshine with sugar and water, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a beverage. Apple cider vinegar, on the other hand, is a murky brown puddle swirling with moldy flecks that tastes like it wants you dead. I can understand why it’s not something most people reach for when they’re thirsty. Maybe this is why we’ve all but forgotten about switchel, which is unfortunate. Sure, vinegar might not have the sex appeal of lemons, but it’s tart and tasty just the same. Plus it doesn’t require you to squeeze a whole sack of fruit on the road to refreshment — if you can open a bottle, you can have a pitcher of switchel ready to go in mere minutes.

Also known as harvest drink, harvest beer, haymakers punch and – my personal favorite – “swanky,” switchel is a New World take on a basic beverage that’s been around for millennia. Ancient Greeks mixed vinegar, honey and water to make oxymel; ancient Romans did the same to make posca, as did ancient Persians to make sikanjabîn. As a byproduct of spoiled food, vinegar has always been cheap and plentiful in every corner of the world, and its usefulness went far beyond flavor. “Water of the time was often undrinkable, spoiled by dangerous bacteria,” writes Michael Dietch in his book “Shrubs.” “Spiking water with soured wine was a way to sterilize the water while reusing wine that would otherwise be wasted.” What makes switchel unique in the pantheon of vinegar-based beverages is its use of ginger, which balances the aggressive tartness and sugary sweetness with a surprising, spicy kick. (Shrubs, on the other hand, tend to rely on fruit for their flavoring.)



As is the case with most informal “recipes” of antiquity, no one can state its origins with 100 percent certainty, but it’s believed that the basic combination of water, vinegar, ginger and sweetener most likely originated on West Indian sugar cane plantations, where it was made with molasses. Through the sugar cane trade, sailors brought the drink from the Caribbean to the rum-distilling capital of the colonies — Boston — where it quickly became popular with farmers, laborers and anyone else doing backbreaking work under summer sun. As switchel crept across the country, people adapted the recipe with whatever sweetener was cheap and plentiful: maple syrup to the north, sorghum to the south and honey to the west.

Early America’s infatuation with switchel wasn’t just because of its flavor – it was also “science.” Back in the colonial era, people believed that it was dangerous to drink water to cool off on a hot day, and not because of bacteria or pathogens (of which there were plenty). If the body was hot outside, it made sense for it to be hot inside as well, or else who knows what could happen? Hysteria? Demonic possession? Spontaneous combustion? Even if switchel was cool, it tasted fiery enough to keep the body and its humors in balance. Prior to its existence, farmhands working the fields would “hydrate” with rum which, while cheap enough at the time, was bad for productivity. Bosses loved that switchel kept their beverage budget down, and kept their employees from hootin’, hollerin’ and whatever else goes down when you mix 100-proof spirits with heat and farming equipment.

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Switchel

https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/switchel/

https://archive.ph/wip/rNQ86

Sweet and tart, switchel, also known as haymaker’s punch, is essentially lemonade’s half-sibling, without all the squeezing. Made with fresh ginger and cider vinegar instead of freshly squeezed fruit, this nonalcoholic beverage comes together in a fraction of the time and is just as customizable. Use this recipe as a guideline, adding more sweetener, vinegar or water to taste. We have included two fruity options in the Variations, below.

[CrispyQ]

1. I would like this but I would use way more ginger than 2 teaspoons!

We drink hot ACV tea in the winter but I hadn't thought about icing it. Apple cider vinegar is really good for your gut.

[Nittersing]

2. This might be worth a shot!

Thanks for posting!

[surrealAmerican]

3. I've made this ...

... it's quite good with maple syrup instead of molasses.

You can also make a "condensed" version with half the amount of water, and mix that with seltzer for a pleasant fizzy drink.

[Marthe48]

4. I made a half batch

For my adult daughters to try. I just made it and it is cooling. I used a mix of golden monkfruit and maple sugar. I'll let you know if they like it or not