Be Not Afraid... of Ginger... Ale!

Be Not Afraid... of Ginger... Ale!, originally uploaded by Dessert Night.

Ginger is one of those ingredients that I find intimidating. It's spicy kick and strong flavor is one to know and to respect. While I can't say I've done a lot of cooking with ginger (and hey, I guess I don't need to since this is a dessert blog and not a cooking blog), I can say that homemade ginger ale tops any ginger ale that you can buy. And I mean it. AND it's so simple, you should definitely give it a go.

All you do is make a simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar), add some slices of ginger, and let it simmer for at least 30 minutes (longer if you'd like) to let the ginger infuse the syrup. Then add some cold sparking water with ice and mix to taste, and tell me that's not good! For those of you that really must have a recipe to follow here:

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 piece of ginger (about the size of your thumb) sliced up

1. Put sugar and water over med-low heat to melt sugar.
2. Add pieces of ginger and bring to a simmer.
3. Simmer for 30+ min.
4. Mix with sparking water and ice.
5. Enjoy!

Tip on peeling ginger: use a spoon! If the ginger is good, the skin should come off easily using a spoon to scrape at it. Have fun!