Thirst Quenchers

Thirst quenchers and beverages go great with any meal. Restaurants and
taverns all over the world serve a wide variety of beverages including soft
drinks, beers, wines, and other liqueurs. Anyone who owns a restaurant or a
franchise knows that having a great beverage menu available with the best
drinks money can buy is essential.
 

Try some of these traditional South African
thirst quenchers

Home Made Ginger Beer
Pineapple Beer
Rooibos Tea with Orange and Honey Syrup
Van der Hum Liqueur
Famous Beverages throughout history
Peppermint Liqueur
Orange Liqueur
Financing a restaurant and serving beverages
Lemon Juice
Roibos Tea Ginger Beer  
Equipment financing
Cherry Liqueur
Financing for a Beverage Bar or Restaurant

Homemade Ginger Beer

What can I say, it's to die for! There's nothing more refreshing on a hot summer's day!

4.5 litres water
30g root ginger, crushed
500 ml white sugar
15 ml active dry yeast

Boil the water, then add the ginger and sugar. Remove from the stove and cool till lukewarm. Add the yeast and leave, covered, for 1 to 2 days. Strain the beer and bottle in sterilized bottles and seal. Refrigerate and serve chilled, will keep in the fridge for a week.

Pineapple Beer

Be careful, it's got quite a kick!

Skin of one large pineapple, chopped. (Use the entire pineapple, not just the skin for a more intense flavor.)
7 litres lukewarm water
500 g white sugar or to taste
75 ml raisins
10 ml active dry yeast

Wash the pineapple and rinse well. Mix the pineapple , lukewarm water, sugar and raisins in a large container. Sprinkle the yeast over and leave to stand for 30 minutes. Stir well, then cover with a clean tea towel and leave to mature for 24 hours in a cool place. Strain through muslin and bottle in sterilized bottles. Cap the bottles after 12 hours and use after 1 - 2 days.

Rooibos Tea with Orange and Honey Syrup

Mix this syrup with rooibos tea to make a deliciously refreshing ice tea. 

250 ml honey 
125 ml fresh orange juice 
125 ml water 
10 ml finely grated orange rind 
30 ml orange liqueur (optional)

Preparation: 
Bring the honey, orange juice, water and orange rind to the boil. 
Simmer slowly for about 20 minutes or until the mixture has reduced to about 1 ½ cups (375 ml) 
Stir in the liqueur and allow to cool. 
Stir the syrup into 4 liters hot rooibos tea and chill. 
Serve with ice cubes and lemon or orange slices. 

The following interesting contribution comes from Kevin Walker , in Canada
Something that I found to be "conspicuous by their absence" on your FunkyMunky Web Site are Traditional South African beverages. I am South African born and bred and emigrated to Canada some six years ago with my family. Many years ago, my paternal grandfather owned a small wine farm situated between Paarl and Wellington in the Cape. ("Small", being a 96 ton quota of grapes a year, to the KWV).On occasion, my brother and I were shipped from the Orange Free State, where we lived, down to Granny and Grandpa on the farm for the school holidays. I have fond memories of helping the labourers harvest the grapes and load these into trailers for transportation to the KWV. Looking back now, my brother and I were probably more hindrance than help. While we could barely drag one bushel of grapes to the trailer between us, we watched enviously as the labourers carried a bushel over each shoulder, as well as another bushel between their teeth. Every Friday was pay day for the labourers and, in addition to the money they received for their hard work, they each received a tin mug of "Cape Smoke", a vile brandy my grandfather used to distil in the basement of the homestead. I once managed to surreptitiously obtain a sip of this beverage and, at the time, thought I had damaged my throat for life. My eyes watered, my nose ran, my throat burned and the heady rush I felt forced me to sit down for a few minutes, all of which attested to the strength of this liquor. In the evenings, after dinner, however, my grandfather used to sit in his study and sip on a glass of liqueur while he read to my brother and I. The liqueur he drank was Van Der Hum, made by my grandmother in the farm kitchen to a recipe passed down through various generations of families living in the Paarl area. While Granny made this Liqueur using the "Cape Smoke" Grandpa made in the basement, years later when I was offered a small "spot" to drink after dinner, I found the beverage to be most pleasant. While Van Der Hum Liqueur is commercially available in South Africa as well as some other countries around the world, I have found it to be horrendously expensive, especially when one considers what goes into the drink. So, here is a recipe I hope you would consider adding to your Web Page:

Van Der Hum Liqueur.
6 whole Cloves
1 stick Cinnamon
1/2 Nutmeg, grated
750 ml Brandy
30 ml sliced naartjie peel (Mandarin Orange peel works as well, since naartjies are not readily available in Canada)
50 ml Rum
250 grams white sugar
125 ml water
Bruise the cloves and cinnamon and tie, with the nutmeg, in a muslin bag. Place the muslin bag, brandy, naartjie peel and rum in a clean, sterilized jar and seal. Allow to infuse for one month, shaking the jar gently every day. Strain the liqueur through muslin. Boil the water and sugar until very thick, then combine with the liqueur. Decant into dry, sterilized bottles and seal.

Note: This Liqueur was named after Admiral van der Hum of the Dutch East India Company fleet who was fond of this liqueur to the point of distraction.

If anyone got sick while on the farm, Granny had the "farm recipe" and this was guaranteed to fix any ailment. If you were not back to normal within 24 hours, the doctor was called. (And in those days, the doctors still made house-calls!!). The recipe consisted of one tot of "Boegoe" Brandy, a tablespoon of honey, two aspirin, all stirred together in a glass and topped up with hot water. After having drunk this, the ailing person was put to bed with extra blankets to "sweat it out". The "Boegoe" Brandy was a Peppermint Liqueur, also known as Jangroentjie, and was made on the farm, again, using the infamous "Cape Smoke". I would not recommend Granny's "fix-all" recipe to anyone but the Peppermint Liqueur is a delicious after dinner beverage, especially after a heavy meal, as it settles one's stomach, aids digestion and helps one sleep. Peppermint Liqueur has been made in the Cape since before 1800. The Dutch colonists used a fig leaf base to give the Liqueur its characteristic colour and flavour. The base was made by simmering young fig leaves in hot water until the water turned green and had a distinctive fig flavour. The juice was then strained and boiled with sugar, lemon juice and a pinch of salt to make the syrup, which was then added to the Brandy to make the Liqueur. While Granny followed the traditional fig leaf recipe, the following is a bit of a "cheat" but still produces a very palatable, after dinner, Liqueur.

Peppermint Liqueur.
250 grams White Sugar
250 ml Water
500 ml Brandy
3 drops Peppermint essence
3 drops Green Food Colouring
Boil the sugar and water to make a thick syrup. Cool the syrup and add to the Brandy. Add the Peppermint essence and green food colouring. Decant into sterilized bottles and seal.

In addition to the two beverage recipes I have given you above, there are numerous other traditional South African recipes for beverages. For example, Orange Liqueur (similar to Grand Marnier but at a fraction of the cost), Ginger Beer (made with raisins), Pineapple Beer (very popular in Natal due to the abundance of pineapples in that region of South Africa), Apricot Juice, Grape Juice, and Lemon Syrup, to name but a few.
I trust you are not offended by my suggestion to include alcoholic beverage recipes on your Web Page but I believe these to be part of South African culture, along with Castle Lager and the proverbial "Braaivleis, sunny skies, and Chevrolet."

Orange Liqueur

6 large oranges
500 g whiye sugar
5 ml ground cinnamon
2 ml ground coriander
1 litre brandy

Using a potato peeler remove the rind from the oranges. Remove all the pith. Chop the rind finely. Squeeze the juice from the oranges and blend it with the sugar, cinnamon, coriander and rind. Pour the mixture into a large jar then add the brandy and mix well. Cover the jar and allow the mixture to infuse for 2 to 3 months. Strain through muslin into sterilized bottles. Seal and store. Wiil keep for many months in a cool dry place.

Lemon Juice

Squeeze out the juice from as many lemons as wanted. Strain to remove the pips.
Measure the juice and allow 12 cups of sugar for every 8 cups of lemon juice
(1 and ½ cups sugar for every cup juice!)
Put the mixture into a double pan or a large jug standing in a pot of hot water.
Stir and bring to boiling point but do not allow the juice to boil.
Make sure all the sugar is dissolved.
Strain and bottle in hot dry bottles.
This does not require sterilising and keeps for ages.

ROOIBOS TEA GINGER BEER

(makes 7 litres)
3 litre strong rooibos tea
20 ml instant dried yeast
800 g white sugar
3 litre cold water
30 ml ground ginger
75 g seedless raisins
5 ml cream of tartar

1. Blend a little lukewarm rooibos tea with the instant yeast.
2. Add the granular sugar to the remaining rooibos tea and stir until the sugar has dissolved completely.
3. Add the cold water and ginger.
4. Add the raisins and cream of tartar.
5. Cover and leave for 12 to 24 hours or until the raisins have risen to the top and the mixture begins to ferment.
6. Strain through a clean piece of cheesecloth and bottle. Store in the fridge.

CHERRY LIQUEUR RECIPE

Cherry liqueurs are among the easiest liqueurs to make at home, and it is also easy to obtain a flavor which is comparable with commercial cherry liqueurs. Homemade cherry liqueurs may be served with ice, and may also be used for making cocktails.

Ingredients:
1 lb. (450 g) sour cherries
3 cups (710 ml) vodka (or 1 1/2 cup pure grain alcohol + 1 1/2 cup water).
1 1/2 cup (350 g) sugar

Wash and check the cherries and remove stems. Place them in a jar, add vodka, cap with tight lid and mix. Stir daily during the first days, later at least once a week for 3-4 weeks.

Add sugar, and stir until most of it has dissolved. Stir again at least once a week for 3-4 weeks. Filter the mixture of berries and alcohol and transfer the liquid to a bottle. After three months strain the liqueur thru a cloth. Add some more sugar if necessary. The liqueur should mellow for at least 4 months before drinking, preferably for 8 months.

The color of the cherry liqueur is ruby-red and the flavor is delicious. This recipe can also be used with sweet cherries, but the flavor will then be slightly different.

If you wish to make a liqueur with a stronger hint of almond flavor you should pit 1/3 of the cherries, brake them with a hammer, and add the broken piths together with pitted cherries and whole cherries when making the liqueur.