Homemade Ginger Ale Syrup

Ingredients (makes ~500ml syrup / about 3L finished soda)

• 120g (4 oz) fresh ginger, unpeeled, sliced thin
• 400g (2 cups) white or raw cane sugar
• 400ml (1⅔ cups) water
• Zest + juice of 1 lemon
• ½ tsp citric acid (optional — adds authentic tartness)
• Pinch of sea salt

Method

1. Combine ginger, sugar, water, and lemon zest in a saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar fully dissolves.
2. Simmer 5 minutes only — no vigorous boiling. Slow heat preserves aromatic ginger compounds.
3. Remove from heat. Add lemon juice and citric acid. Stir, taste. Adjust tartness with more citric acid or lemon.
4. Cool to room temperature, then strain through fine mesh. Squeeze ginger solids to extract all flavor.
5. Bottle and refrigerate. Keeps 3–4 weeks sealed.

Making the Soda

Add 40–60ml syrup to a glass over ice. Pour 250–300ml cold sparkling water gently over it. Stir once. Standard ratio: 1 part syrup to 6 parts sparkling water.

Variations

• Spicier: Add 1 tsp cracked black pepper or a sliced jalapeño to the steep
• Ginger Beer style: Double the ginger, dilute 1:4 instead of 1:6
• Honey Ginger: Replace sugar with equal weight of honey