From my Shelf

It’s hot. It’s so hot that even the white collar workers are rednecks today. Soon, people will be complaining that it's too cold. After mowing my yard and pulling weeds, I agree. When you’ve been working outside, there’s nothing like a cool glass of switzel.

I grew up drinking switzel. My Grandma would make a cold pitcher for my dad and me when we were hauling wood or doing chores. Just what is switzel? Switzel — also known as switchel, swizzle, ginger-water or haymaker's punch — is a beverage made of water mixed with vinegar and honey, then seasoned with ginger.

Switzel is believed to have originated in the Caribbean, where molasses was often used as the sweetener. By the late 1600s, it had become a popular drink in the American colonies and by the 1800s it had become a traditional drink to serve to thirsty farmers at hay harvest time, hence the nickname ‘haymaker’s punch’.

Sugar, brown sugar, or maple syrup is also used to sweeten the drink instead of honey. In Vermont, oatmeal was sometimes added to give the drink extra body. Lemon juice is also occasionally added to the beverage.

My grandma and mom only ever made switzel with honey. The ratio of sweetener and vinegar to water varies widely in traditional and modern recipes, but here’s a basic recipe to get you started:

8 cups water

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon ground ginger

For more great recipes with honey, I recommend checking out The Healthy Honey Cookbook.  There are recipes from around the world, including old German, Croatian, Slavic, Russian, Polish, Canadian, and American. 

There are twelve categories of honey recipes here: for cooking, baking, canning, roasting, barbequing, freezing and more — and all for eating or drinking. 

The majority of the recipes are “sugarless” meaning they require no white sugar. A few, however, do call for sugar as well as honey, as the author did not wish to alter the ingredients of these long-treasured secrets.

The Healthy Honey Cookbook is more than just a book of recipes. It’s filled with fascinating facts about the social insect which produces honey. For example, there are 500 honeybees for every human being.

Larry Lonik also includes a brief history of the honeybee in North America. The honeybee is not native, but introduced to the continent by early settlers.

Honey has been a part of mankind’s history. In many cultures, honey has associations that go beyond its use as a food. The Egyptians sometimes used honey for embalming, and in the Roman Empire, honey was possibly used to pay taxes instead of gold. 

The Old Testament has many references to honey, the most famous being from the book of Exodus describing the Promised Land as a “land flowing with milk and honey.” 

Yes, the fate of man and honeybee are intertwined. It has been said that “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left”…

Switzel? Gatorade or an ice cold beer? Tell the Blue-Collared Bookseller what you drink. 

KevinCoolidge_bio_2021.jpg

Kevin Coolidge is currently a full-time factory worker, and a part-time bookseller at From My Shelf Books & Gifts in Wellsboro, Pa. When he's not working, he's writing. He's also a children's author and the creator of The Totally Ninja Raccoons, a children's series for reluctant readers. Visit his author website at kevincoolidge.org

 

 

 

Keep your news local

Access to independent, local news is important, do you agree?

We work hard to deliver timely, relevant news, for free. 100% of your contribution to NorthcentralPa.com goes directly to helping us cover news and events in the region.

Thank you for saying that local news matters!