Recipe for Switchel, a quick-to-make fermented beverage that is traditionally cultured with water, honey, vinegar, and ginger. It quenches thirst during hot weather like nothing else.
Switchel, also called Haymakers Punch, is a refreshing drink that originated in the Caribbean. It is a tasty, slightly effervescent, sweetened beverage made of water mixed with vinegar.
Sweetened with raw honey, molasses, stevia, brown sugar, or maple syrup depending on the locality, it is also typically flavored with ginger.
My favorite recipe below uses raw honey as the healthiest, most probiotic, and enzyme-rich version.
Switchel History
Switchel made its way from the islands to the American colonies becoming a popular summertime drink by the late 1600s.
Gradually over the next 200 years, “switchy” became the traditional drink of choice to serve to thirsty farmers harvesting hay. This is how it came to be called Haymakers Punch, another popular name.
It is the perfect beverage to make if you are out of kombucha or Jun tea and need a beneficial probiotic beverage that can be made quickly.
By comparison, homemade kombucha and Jun tea both take about a week.
Switchel can be compared to ginger beer or homemade ginger ale, which uses lemon or lime juice and a starter culture. Switchel uses (raw) vinegar instead of juice and requires no starter making it super simple for first-time home brewers.
You most likely have all the ingredients you need to whip up a batch of Switchel right now in your pantry!
You won’t believe how thirst-quenching switchel is! No wonder it was the preferred beverage for centuries of those working hard in the summertime heat on a farm.
“Switchy” for Digestion
A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (ACV) in a glass of water is an old-time reflux remedy for those suffering from GERD. It works better than antacids, which have the downside of increased risk for heart attacks and possibly cancer as well over the long-term. (1)(2)
If you’ve been using the ACV plus water trick to manage GERD symptoms, you simply must try Switchel! Drinking this traditional cultured beverage provides all the benefits of ACV and water but tastes a whole lot better!
In fact, Haymaker’s Punch is so tasty that almost everyone will love it whether they suffer from acid reflux or not.
Just note that while this beverage works well as an acid reflux remedy, ultimately you have to get to the source of the problem.
This article on making your own natural reflux remedy includes a detailed discussion of this issue.
ACV Brands to Use
Be sure that the apple cider vinegar you use to make switchel is authentic. This means it must be raw, undiluted, unfiltered, proper acidity, and with the mother. Packaging in glass only is critical as well.
After literally scouring the market, I recommend ONLY these ACV brands if you choose to buy rather than make your own ACV. Hint: Braggs is NOT one of them.
ACV is like kombucha. It is acidic and has the potential to leach toxins from a plastic container. To make sure you don’t get a dose of hormone-disrupting chemicals with your glass of switchel, stick to ACV packaged in glass only!
Preparation Tips
This recipe below makes about a half gallon.
You can blend, chill and enjoy it within minutes! Serve over ice or at room temperature as you prefer.
Switchel is a great stand-in when you need a fast-to-prepare fermented beverage.
By comparison, homemade root beer, probiotic lemonade, ginger ale, and orangina take a couple of days to culture plus another 48 hours or so to carbonate if you wish to go the bottling route.
How to Make Switchel
Traditional recipe for Switchel, a quick-to-make fermented beverage cultured with honey, ACV and water that quenches thirst like nothing else.
Ingredients
- 2 quarts filtered water
- 1/2 cup raw apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup raw honey
- 2 tsp ground ginger or 2.5 Tbsp freshly grated
- 1 tsp ground turmeric optional
- 1 pinch cardamom optional
Instructions
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Place all ingredients together in a large bowl and mix very well. You can add ice and drink the switchel immediately at this point if you like.
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Optional step: If you prefer a more carbonated beverage, then take this additional step: slowly pour mixture into large glass bottles with wire and ball stoppers (I like these) and fasten the lids. Alternatively, you can mix up the switchel with cold, sparkling mineral water (I prefer this brand) and get the bubbly right away without bottling.
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If you are fermenting in bottles instead of drinking immediately, leave the sealed bottles on the counter for at least 2-3 days (up to a week or two is fine also if your kitchen is very cool) to add carbonation and then refrigerate. Open in the sink slowly and only when the beverage is very cold to prevent explosions or the switchel foaming out of the bottle and making a mess.
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If you used fresh ginger, sieve the switchel as you pour it from the bottle into your glass.
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Sip and enjoy either alone or with ice. Refrigerate unused portions in glass containers only.
Buying Haymaker’s Punch?
Unfortunately, the vendor I used to recommend for Haymaker’s Punch who used ACV, maple syrup, and ginger appears to no longer be in business. 🙁
The closest thing to homemade that you can buy is the line of apple cider vinegar drinks from Braggs. However, I no longer recommend Braggs since the company was acquired. The product is now considerably cheapened, and it may even be toxic at this point.
It appears that at the present time, making your own Switchel is the best and perhaps only way to go.
Sarah, I tried it with all molasses but it did not taste good 🙁 Going to try with honey according to your recipe now 🙂
Thank you for letting us know! This is valuable input to the recipe 🙂
Thanks for the recipe. Never heard of Switchel before. I’ve made it twice and am enjoying it. I wanted to post the photo but I don’t want to give Pinterest access to my photos. I tried to copy and paste the photo of my homemade Switchel to no avail.
Will do! I’ve got it “brewing” right now!
HI Sarah, if I wanted to use molasses as in the original recipe, would I use the same amount as honey in your recipe?
I haven’t made this recipe with molasses, so not sure. If you try it, let us know how much you use and how it turns out!
Can one drink too much Switchel. I made a batch using about half whey from making chèvre. . As I’m a cheese maker. I’m having horrible yeast issues and truly need to combat it.
Yes, you can drink too much. Go slow and I would suggest no more than 1 or 2 glasses per day. Candida problems won’t likely be resolved by drinking fermented drinks alone. I would suggest looking into the GAPS or AIP diets.
Yes, I second that question: can we use a mason jar with a pickling air trap device on top? (as opposed to a bunch of flip top bottles).. this would eliminate the risk of accidentally leaving the flip top bottles fermenting too long and exploding.
HI, Sarah .. question my body reacts to honey it gives me fast heart rate, can i add a substitute or take it out, or i was just thinking try it for once and see what happens.
Thank you.
You can use date syrup if you like.
Would there be a benefit from using Manuka Honey? which has so many health benefits.
Yes, you can absolutely use manuka honey. Two things … be sure it is raw. So much of the manuka honey on the market is NOT raw. Secondly, be aware that the beverage may not taste as good. Manuka honey is very strong tasting and best used as a home remedy/natural antibiotic than for natural sweetening of a beverage IMO.
Hi Sarah…I have a question that I’ve researched but can’t find the answer to…you’re the only one I know that could probably answer it. I made your Switchel and used1/2 Coconut Palm Sugar and 1/2 Organic Raw Sugar Cane because I didn’t have enough honey…do you know if it’s ok to add 1/4C Raw Whey to increase the ‘good bugs’? Thanks for any help figuring this out. Appreciate all that you do; you and your work helped me recover from an auto-immune condition (7 yrs)…forever grateful ❤
Yes, of course you can add some raw whey if you like. Great idea 🙂
Can the amount of honey be reduced?
Of course you can reduce it … I don’t think the drink would taste very good though.