Switchel

Print showing use of term switchel

Switchel, also switzel, swizzle, ginger-water, haymaker's punch or switchy, is a drink made of water mixed with vinegar, and often seasoned with ginger. Honey, sugar, brown sugar, or maple syrup were sometimes used to sweeten the drink instead of molasses.[1] In the U.S. state of Vermont, oatmeal and lemon juice were sometimes added to the beverage.

Switchel originated in the Caribbean, and had become 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 (RTD) beverage industry. As of 2015, there are several companies that produce and distribute switchel beverages throughout the U.S.

Switchel-based cocktail, with garnishes

It has also been used in recent years as a base in alcoholic cocktails, or as a mixer.[5]


See also

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ Uncle Phaedrus, Finder of Lost Recipes
  3. ↑ I and My Chimney by Herman Melville
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑

External links

switchel recipe, Maine Forest and Logging Museum at Leonard’s Mills

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