Switchel 2044500 216974061 2008-06-04T01:26:43Z Stlemur 152327 recipe has been moved to Wikibooks; comment to this effect {{Refimprove|date=July 2007}} '''Switchel''', also '''switzel''', '''swizzle''', '''ginger-water''' or '''haymaker's punch''', is a [[drink]] made of [[water]] mixed with [[vinegar]] and [[molasses]], and seasoned with [[ginger]]. [[Honey]], sugar, [[brown sugar]], or [[maple syrup]] were sometimes used to sweeten the drink instead of molasses. In the U.S. state of [[Vermont]], [[oatmeal]] and lemon juice were sometimes added to the beverage. Switchel originated in the [[West Indies]] and had become a popular summer drink in the [[American Colonies]] in the late 1600s. By the 1800s, it had become a traditional drink to serve to thirsty farmers at [[hay|hay harvest]] time, hence the nickname '''haymaker's punch'''. [[Herman Melville]] wrote in ''[[I and My Chimney]]'', "I will give a traveler a cup of switchel, if he want it." In ''[[The Long Winter]]'' [[Laura Ingalls Wilder]] describes the beverage that her mother 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." Switchel was sometimes kept in a hollow ring-shaped [[canteen]] which could be carried over the shoulder or arm or on the belt. The [[Vermont]] physician [[D. C. Jarvis]] recommended a similar drink (a mixture of honey and cider vinegar), which he called "honegar."<ref>{{cite book |title=Folk Medicine: A New England Almanac of Natural Health Care from a Noted Vermont Country Doctor |author=D.C. Md Jarvis |date=May 12, 1985 |isbn=978-0449208809 |publisher=[[Fawcett Publications]]}}</ref> <!--- The Switchel recipe has been moved from Wikipedia to Wikibooks ---> ==See also== *[[Energy drink]] *[[Gatorade]] ==References== {{reflist}} <!--- A traditional harvest drink? Where from? History? Comparison to modern rehydrators? ---> ==External links== {{Cookbook|Switchel}} [[Category:Non-alcoholic beverages]] [[Category:Vermont culture]] [[Category:Vermont cuisine]] {{drink-stub}}