Switchel, switzel, swizzle, switchy, ginger-water or haymaker's punch is a drink made of water mixed with vinegar, and often seasoned with ginger. It is usually sweetened with molasses, though honey, sugar, brown sugar, or maple syrup are sometimes used instead.[1] In the U.S. state of Vermont, oatmeal and lemon juice were sometimes added to the beverage.
Country of origin | British America |
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Region of origin | New England or the Caribbean |
Introduced | 17th century |
Switchel debatably originated in the Caribbean, but New England also holds credit as the source, and it became a popular summer drink in the American Colonies in the late 17th century. By the 19th century, it had become a traditional drink to serve to thirsty farmers at hay harvest time, hence the nickname haymaker's punch.[2] Herman Melville wrote in I and My Chimney, "I will give a traveler a cup of switchel, if he want it; but am I bound to supply him with a sweet taste?"[3] In The Long Winter Laura Ingalls Wilder describes a switchel-like beverage that her mother had sent for Laura and her father to drink while haying: "Ma had sent them ginger-water. She had sweetened the cool well-water with sugar, flavored it with vinegar, and put in plenty of ginger to warm their stomachs so they could drink till they were not thirsty. Ginger-water would not make them sick, as plain cold water would when they were so hot."
The Vermont physician D. C. Jarvis recommended a similar drink (a mixture of honey and cider vinegar), which he called "honegar".[4]
Switchel is experiencing a renewed interest and has become a steadily-growing category in the ready-to-drink beverage industry. As of 2015, there are several companies that produce and distribute switchel beverages throughout the US. Canada has two commercial switchel producers.[citation needed]
Switchel was sometimes mixed with rum, especially at sea,[5] and it was served in the House of Representatives where it was "Flavored with the finest Jamaica rum."[6]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "2011 | Cornell Small Farms Program | Page 2". Smallfarms.cornell.edu. 2011-03-31. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
- ^ "Uncle Phaedrus, Finder of Lost Recipes". Hungrybrowser.com. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
- ^ "I and My Chimney by Herman Melville". Online-literature.com. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
- ^ D.C. Md Jarvis (May 12, 1985). Folk Medicine: A New England Almanac of Natural Health Care from a Noted Vermont Country Doctor. Fawcett Publications. ISBN 978-0-449-20880-9.
- ^ The Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste. Luther Tucker. 1862.
- ^ Moore, Joseph West (1895). The American Congress: A History of National Legislation and Political Events, 1774-1895. Harper & brothers. ISBN 978-0-7222-7394-4.