Sylvia’s Ginger Beer
"All meals were always eaten by us all together at the family dining room table, with place settings, cutlery properly set out, serviette rings and tablecloths” - John
Now, I’m not one to boast, but I made home-made ginger beer. I repeat. HOME-MADE GINGER BEER! I was beyond excited when this recipe was put forward to me as I have been thinking that I have been terribly unfair to our equally as important liquid recipes.
This recipe belongs to Sylvia. For those of you who don’t know, Sylvia is the mother of John, the handsome man who gifted us with the Hearty Beef Stew when Recipes on Paper first launched. As I said back then, John really does have a beautiful way of telling stories, so here he is again to share with us memories of his beautiful Mum. It is definitely worth the read.
Words from John
Memories of Mum, Sylvia, (and Mum’s cooking and our home life)
As I was (the first of three) born in late 1945, my early memories of Mum and the kitchen and mealtimes are definitely with post war dictated food choices and customs. Mum managed the home and family full time, and Dad, was occupied fully with his business.
It was a special era, when one breadwinner's income could usually support the household, whilst the mother would be the main child raiser, and home maker.
In our eyes, Sylvia was always full of fun, energetic, beautiful, and so competent in the home. She was yes, the “chief cook and bottle washer”, but also the nurse, gardener, seamstress, comforter, and care giver. She always seemed so content to just be there for all of us. The whole community seemed to love the energy and fun of my Mum.
Usually, breakfast consisted of porridge with sugar and cream, and “dipping" eggs, or eggs and bacon, or lambs fry or brains and bacon, mince done every way, and baked beans. Mushrooms from the neighbour’s paddock, in gravy, were a favourite. Homemade marmalade jam and toast, baked beans, or spaghetti on toast yes, but from a tin - how funny that seems now.
And for dinner, shepherd’s pie, grilled meats, or roasts and three veg. And of course, “pudding”, a delight in which one could not partake without first having eaten everything that preceded it. Apple crumble and cream, or mashed bananas and sugar and cream, and of course, rice puddings or “frogs eggs” (sago/tapioca) and anything with rich homemade custard.
Other now rarely considered food creations being “pigs brawn” (boiled pigs head, meat and jelly removed, all packed into a loaf tin and chilled into a block of delicious tasty meat) for use over the week.
And tripe, lambs tongues, pig trotters, all cooked from scratch. Ox and lamb hearts with kidneys and bacon, lambs fry and bacon, oxtail soup. All in all, an offal led recovery from the “great depression” and then wartime, managed to a careful budget.
She enthusiastically baked cakes, scones, and biscuits for community fetes and street stalls.
All meals were always eaten by us all together at the family dining room table, with place settings, cutlery properly set out, serviette rings and tablecloths. Nobody lifted a fork until Mum sat down, and then we said Grace. And of course, face to face conversations.
Mum and Dad gave us such a great start to life with music, piano, singing sea shanties with gusto, and books around a family fireplace... Outside, we boys (unaccompanied) roamed the paddocks, bicycle adventures, beach and fishing.
What a blessed time when there was no social media or mobile phones, and face to face communication skills grew naturally with family and friends. It was a fortunate and privileged life indeed.
Thank you, dear Mum and Dad.
Ginger beer could arguably be donned the king of all summer drinks. It’s as refreshing as getting sprayed with a fire hydrant on a summer day and its spiciness is the right amount of kick-you-in-the-pants-you’re-late-for-dinner kind of thing. I have always been a lover of ginger beer. As a kid I relished in the tooth achingly sweet stuff, but these days, I love a strong ginger hit and this recipe dances perfectly between the two.
Sylvia’s Ginger Beer
Recipe taken from family recipe book.
Ginger Beer
For the Ginger Beer “Bug” as Mum used to call it, mix together 1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon ground ginger, the juice of 2 lemon and 1 quart of water. Keep covered and allow to stand for 3 days. Then pour off nearly all the liquid and feed the plant daily and 7 days with 1 large teaspoon sugar and 1 level teaspoon ground ginger. It may be used after four days.
To make up the Ginger Beer –
Put 5 cups sugar and 5 cups boiling water into a vessel large enough to hold the ingredients. (China or earthenware is best). Stir with a wooden spoon till the sugar has dissolved. Add 1 small breakfast cup of strained lemon juice and a scant pint of the ginger beer “bug”. After thoroughly stirring add 1 dessertspoon ginger and 10 quarts cold water. Stir well, cover. Stir well again in about 2 hours. Cover. Stand 24 hours without moving. Strain all clear liquid through muslin, bottle, cork, use in 3 days. Put sediment back into jug, cover, or put into a 2lb honey bottle. Feed daily as directed with 1 level teaspoon ginger and 1 teaspoon sugar. Keep covered.
Makes 10 to 12 quart bottles filled below neck. This ginger beer may be made from the plant many times.
