How to Make Ginger Syrup 

The pharmacy soda fountain was the original coffee shop, they did call it hot soda and terms like "java" and "cup of mud" and more were linguistic concoctions of soda jerks. You could also get your photography gear and chemicals at the pharmacy as well. Possibly down the road, I'll dig some stuff up.

Thanks! Another one being published this week.

Typically 1 to 2 oz of syrup for an 8 to 10 oz drink. Separation is only an issue if you plan on storing the soda for more than a few weeks and even then you can just shake/blend it back into an emulsion.

It will work for fresh ingredients, but they may be a little more difficult as they might gum up a bit. And yes, hibiscus and vanilla will work, in fact this is the method pharmacists used to make vanilla extract back in the 1800s.

Maceration is typically 7 to 14 days and the reason is when you macerate something, you need to use coarse materials, otherwise filtration is difficult. Percolation allows you to use fairly fine material, down to #40 mesh particle size, which speeds up the extraction. If you try macerating with #40 or even #20 mesh powders you end up with mud that doesn't filter well. There are no general formulas, just percolation takes 12 to 48 hours and maceration 7 to 14 days according to old soda and flavour manuals.

Everclear works great, you can use lower proof alcohol but the compounds in ginger are not water soluble so the higher the proof the better. And thanks, I'm glad you enjoy the content.

Glad you like the video. Contact Eisco www.eiscolabs.com they are the maker of the dropping funnel and they sell in 110 countries, so they'll have an EU supplier for you.

Take a look at the essence and/or the extract video on the channel. Though, violet syrup often has other flavours (vanilla, orange, etc.) and the violets are just used to colour. If I find an old recipe I'll let you know..

@@Artofdrink Thanks, that would be great.

Yes. Such stron abv is only useful for prototyping flavours and aromas. YOU COULD DILUTE YOUR ETHANOL TO 60%

Thanks, the powder is just clean quartz sand, it helps filter the mixture. Check out the How to Make an Extract video for a more detailed explanation.

@@Artofdrink Thank you Darcy for your prompt reply, you're a star.

Thanks. High abv alcohol over extracts non-water soluble compounds, which will seperate out in your syrup or soda (if bottled) and create an oil ring. It also makes your drinks cloudy. The best ABV is around 60%

Hey Marcel, it should be fine because of cold process method you are using. The acid isn't a big deal, if you are not heating the solution and if you are going through the syrup relatively quick. If you make a 6 month supply of syrup, you might notice some of the spiciness degrade.

Both are different, from the fresh or dried product you get the spiciness where as the oil you get more of the ginger flavour. You can use both together, but they are different.

It is possible but requires a little more knowledge. The bitter compounds in gentian are water soluble and that’s a good place to start. I’ll probably do a video on it in the future.

Yes you can, though I have no idea how it will turn out. I've put together a free recipe sheet for a Belfast Ginger Ale that is related and may help: www.patreon.com/posts/102219805

@@Artofdrink That makes two of us, Darcy! I'm going to give it a go and will let you know how it pans out, if you like. Thank you for your thoughtful reply and for pointing me to your recipe. I will certainly have a gander.

These extracts can be aged for years, and historically, they were. For example, Vernors Ginger Ale claimed that their extracts were aged up to 4 years before use, though not anymore.

There are other preservatives but those are for another video, but if you use sodium benzoate aiming as close to 4.0 is your only option.

@@Artofdrink Thanks!

I don't have any information on that, but shogaol is created when gingerol is gently heated (above 80°C in a dry to slightly moist environment, basically a dehydrator, and the reaction is a dehydration of the gingerol molecule) but in a liquid, at high temperature (boiling) shogoal may change form. I just don't have any info at the moment.

@@Artofdrink Thanks!! I love your videos btw - very helpful.

I think it might be a chromatography column?

It is an open-mouth dropping funnel, 250 ml version. In the "How to make an Extract" video I have all the details and links. Check it out here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EvkbCkg9bPs.html

@@Artofdrink Just received mine this morning after a little over a month on order. Finished gathering the supplies to try my hand at the Abbott's bitters but will be back to try some ginger syrup.

@@vhovar1 awesome, I'm pretty sure you are going to enjoy this piece of glassware. It opens up a whole new world of flavours.

@@Artofdrink Darcy, I purchased the 500ml funnel and it seems you have been using the 250 in the videos. When I tried the Abbott's bitters this weekend my mixture was much less than what I'm seeing in the videos. Do you think that is an issue with the quality of the extraction? I'm a little concerned that 1oz of grated ginger is going to be a rather thin "bed" of material for the 500ml funnel. I will add, I think the bitters extracted nicely (however, I'm not much of an aficionado in this realm). The aroma is amazing and I've tried some in a simple glass of soda water and enjoyed the flavor. Looking forward to sharing them and trying them in more drinks.

It's sand but you need to watch the "How to Make an Extract" video that I mention because it explains the process: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EvkbCkg9bPs.html

How did you make that saccharum like syrup?

Though glycerol is often touted as an alternative to ethanol as a solvent, it's not that great. People seem to shoehorn glycerol into the same class as alcohol, but it's not quite there, though it is helpful. Oils typically don't dissolve in glycerol easily, as you noted it is thick, and for extractions, even with heat, it is not as efficient as alcohol. I'll be doing a video on it in the future.

What if Glycerine is diluted with water for exctraction? Will it end up with the same story here ? Thaks alot for this video

It would be different, but not necessarily in a bad way. Raw ginger has difference flavour compounds than dried, so there couple be a happy spot somewhere in there.

preferably with a spoon

Check out the How to Make and Extract video, it gives the details: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EvkbCkg9bPs.html

@@Artofdrink Thank you for the replies! I found the link for the dropping funnel, but am having a hard time finding the base and funnel clamps.

@@authenticginger this is the clamp: 3 Finger Extension Clamp on Swivel Bosshead 3.4" Max Opening Product: 12100 and ay lab stand should work like Rectangular Retort Base & Rod Set, 2.75 lbs - Base: 8"x5" - Rod: 23.6"L

The peel is much thicker than 1 cell, and will have an adverse effect on taste.

I don’t think you could use stevia but you could look into using allulose+stevia combo. allulose cooks more like sugar and is also a naturally derived non-sugar sweetener

Coming soon.

Basic quarts sand, no colouring. Beige or white works fine.

@@Artofdrink Awesome! Thanks

Sure, it would work fine.

I gonna try that! Great idea!

Ethanol is the alcohol in vodka, so yes.

Did you test it yet? How was the result?

@@Artofdrink Here El Salvador we have en mass cheap RUM. I was thinking to buy from the supermarket and destille it as much as I can. Good idea?

@@liamhotspur9182 yes , it works!

You can use vodka, and you can add 10% to 20% glycerin to the vodka to get a better extraction. And for the book, I'm located in Canada, but you can download it free here: artofdr.ink/ftp2022

@@Artofdrink ooh thanks a lot for the book and i also can't use vodka 🤣🤣

@@wrathking2554 I'll work on a video for non-alcoholic extracts. There are some alternatives out there, I just haven't tried them, but I will.

@@Artofdrink This it the entry of the rabbit hole...

When you mix the extract with the simple syrup according to the video, the syrup is non-alcoholic. Basically, 30 ml (1 oz) of syrup will contain less than 1.5 ml of alcohol.

You can, though I've never tried it, so if you give it a shot let me know, I'd love to hear how it turned out. And super juice could work, give it a test.

Amazon has them, just got mine last week.

Thank you. You could shred the fresh ginger then dry it in the sun and them powder it. As for the alcohol, it is hard to avoid it when making an extract. So many compounds just don't dissolve in water easily or when they do, they change form, which is the case with the compounds in ginger. It is something UI need to figure out because I get many requests for non-alcoholic extracts.

Having oil just float on top of the drinks isnt’t appealing to most. Emulsification is that everyone making drinks from oils and extracts needs to consider.

@@Artofdrink If you add the syrup and the extract to the shaker first, isn't that exactly what you're doing as well? With extract I mean the solution combined with alcohol.

You combine 30 ml alcohol with 1 ml cinnamon oil. This we'll call cinnamon extract. You can now just add 10-20 drops of this to your shaking tin. Or am I missing something?

These extract work in alcoholic drinks, but not soda. Nobody puts soda in a cocktail shaker, well maybe they do it once. Second, 10 to 20 drops of extract is a bit excessive, think 1 to 3. And you are missing a lot of details, watch some more of the videos and it explain what you are missing.

Ya, one of the channels (actually originally blogs), Art of the Drink, started pretty much the the same time I did back in 2005. Anthony and I have coexisted without issues and even had a drink together at Tales of the Cocktail. The other ones are just copycat channels (based of the blog name) and I really can't do much about it.

Unfortunately, there isn't a solvent that captures the flavour compounds as well as alcohol. Though you should know that the alcohol levels are so low (less than 0.1%) that you will find more in fresh fruit drinks (natural spontaneous fermentation) and even some types of bread contain alcohol.

@@Artofdrink Yeah it is insane how much alcohol is actually in food. I'll talk with my doctors as I need a liver and kidney transplant. Came across your channel and if I ever get transplants I'm going to start crafting my own soda. I hardly like soda but drink one for dinner as its good for washing food down but never on its own.. ll started in search for a Soda to replace Dr. Pepper or Coke - tastes not found in nature. If you didn't know what a coke of dr pepper was you wouldn't be able to explain it. So I was trying to find a soda that wasn't cherry, vanilla, insert (citrous/berries) and realized there are none! Root beer always has that vanilla smooth creme after taste. Ginger Ales like Canada Dry Bold are close but still missing something. Anyway if I get one I'm going to slowly build up a lab. Try my attempt with ginger ale and work from there. One flavor i wish I could even buy or recreate is pomegranate. It is odd that it is such a beloved flavor but there are very limited syrups or extracts and oils.

@@Artofdrink OS sorry about ranting. Anyway your videos have definitely piqued my interest in a new hobby. Is there a word to describe a soda like Dr. Pepper or Cola? Someone once said Fantasia - tastes not found alone in nature.

@@dianapennepacker6854 no problem, and you do mention the exact reason I do this. The world is stuck on about 20 flavours and there is so much more out there to be experienced but people need the skills to develop sodas to their own tastes, that my goal. And hopefully something really cool will get made and commercialized. And the word you are looking for is a bit boring, but it is artificial. Coke is an artificial flavour made from all-natural ingredients, at least is was at one point. Artificial is a loaded word, but it means something, like a flavour, that doesn't exist in nature, that cola flavour being one. Artificial doesn't necessarily mean made from non-natural ingredients, so you can make a completely unique flavour that no-one has ever tasted from natural compounds and essential oils, but it would still be considered artificial.

@@Artofdrink Yeah wish people would experiment more with what I call... Concoctions haha. But yeah if the universe wills it I will definitely be stabbing my hand at it. Do you have a basic starting video that talks about equipment and most commonly used products. Like I said I'll start with other recipes. There is so much science involved and the way flavors change depending on X Y and Z. How the heck we got here is mind blowing TBH.

Some compounds are created with dehydration (heat, not water), and for ginger heat and water makes a different, less desirable, compound. My chemistry explanation is solid.

Idk about this method. I recently tried 99.99% pure ethanol + fresh ginger and I was disappointed. I'm going to try boiling ginger in water tomorrow to see if it works better. I did buy like 15 lbs of ginger so I have many experiments to run.

I just want that hot Reed's ginger beer level or as much better as I can get.

You are confusing isothiocyanate in horseradish/garlic with shogaol (related to capsaicin), so tuck your stupidity back in, because it is showing and stop saying things are moronic when you obviously have no understanding of what you are talking about.

Maybe you shouldn't base your education around TikTok videos.

That is my style!

What a well laid out argument. You sure got him there 🙄