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Old Fashioned Amish Rootbeer


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Here is the recipe I use from my Amish neighbor, Tana! :]

 

Old Fashioned Amish Rootbeer:

 

1 tsp dry yeast

1/2c warm water

2c granulated (white) sugar

1qt hot water

4tsp rootbeer extract*

 

Dissolve the yeast in the 1/2c warm water for 5 minutes. Dissolve the sugar in the quart of hot water while yeast dissolves. Mix together the dissolved yeast, sugar and rootbeer extract in a gallon jar. Fill the jar with warm water and stir until all ingredients are mixed. Cover jar and set in the sun for at least 4 hours. Let sit inside overnight then chill before serving.

 

I only set mine out during the summer, the rest of the year it sits on my kitchen counter overnight and it turns out exactly the same. This is NOT sugary sweet like the soda they sell in bottles! Also you can buy a rootbeer extract at most grocery stores, but I go one step further and make my own. I got the recipe off this website.

 

 

*Rootbeer Extract (from Foodie with Family Blog):

 

6c water

3oz dried sassafras root

1/2oz dried burdock root

1tsp dried whole coriander seeds

1 whole star anise

1 whole clove

1/4 cup dark molasses (not blackstrap)

3-4 wintergreen leaves or 2 drops (or 1/8 of a teaspoon) wintergreen flavouring or extract

up to 6 cups of sugar (preferably raw, but granulated white sugar can be used.)

 

Put the sassafras and burdock roots, coriander seeds, star anise and clove in a heavy-bottomed 2 quart saucepan that has a tight fitting lid. Pour the water over the top of the roots and spices and bring to a boil over high heat. Drop the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. If it keeps bubbling up and out, vent the lid just a bit.

 

Add the molasses, stir, replace the lid, and return to a simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, add the wintergreen flavouring or extract, replace the lid and let the mixture cool to room temperature. (I let mine cool on a cold burner on the stove overnight because I prepared my sassafras infusion late at night.)

 

Line a fine mesh strainer with cheesecloth, place over a large measuring cup with a pouring spout or a pitcher, and pour the cooled infusion into it to strain. Do not press on the contents, but let the roots rest in the strainer for about 30 minutes before proceeding. While that strains, rinse the pot in which you infused it to get any lingering bits of root or spice out of it.

 

Measure your sassafras infusion, return it to the rinsed pot and add an equal amount of sugar -by volume- to the pot. For instance, if you have 4 1/2 cups of infusion, add 4 1/2 cups of sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, drop the heat to low and let simmer for 5 minutes. Pour the syrup into canning jars, fix clean, new, two-piece lids on top and store in the refrigerator up to a year.

 

 

I prefer my rootbeer with the homemade extract, but my father makes his with McCormick rootbeer extract and it tastes just as good.

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  • 4 months later...

My student from Cali came over some years ago and brought with her some Root beer in her suitcase - it was one of the best beers I've ever tasted! The measuring of 1 tsp is this a teaspoon (5grams) or a Tablespoon (15-20grams)? Also your cup size, is it a Breakfast Cup holding around 5 ounces, or a teacup holding around 3 ounces? please? We have so many measures here in England. There are two coffee cup sizes the usual small coffee cup holding maybe 2 fluid ounces and the 5 to 10 fluid ounce cup holding the usual coffee blend and the last one holding the Cappuccino wide like a soup bowl and shallow-ish. Its a right pain measuring ingredients in England sometimes. I'm not your usual 'Englishman' supping tea all of the time either. I love my Coffee using various blends and grinding the beans myself and mixing different beans together to provide a unique flavour. I also love my Whisky from Scotland - My favourite is Highland Park and I've been supping this for around twenty years  - but I normally go for the 18 year-old brand. I am trying a different one which gets the thumbs up since its absolutely stonking! Its Jura Whisky from the Island of the same name in Scotland. i also love Jameisons Whisky but getting the vintage whisky you have to go over to Dublin, Eire  to get it - which is no hardship as I like to go back to the 'Old Country' and visit Cork - you can sit on a seat and gaze at the Stone circles and Ancient Monuments until the Cows come home! Beautiful! Slange! (That's Scottish Gaelic for Good Health!). My daughter and her husband live in Scotland and I'm hoping to join them soon and live there myself.  foxman

Edited by foxman
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I guess Scotland is really known for it's whiskey... My grandmother came to the US from the town of Bowmore on Islay. The first time I tried looking up info about it the top results were about whiskey. I had originally thought that Bowmore was maybe only the name of a distillery over there but apparently the town is just really known for it's whiskey. It's pretty much the only thing I could really find out about it at first which was somewhat frustrating lol.

 

Also, I'm pretty sure root beer isn't actually a beer, it's a soda. At least that's what it's sold as in stores here, maybe they remove the alcohol from it (?). Don't really know much about it.

Edited by Chloe
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Also, I'm pretty sure root beer isn't actually a beer, it's a soda. At least that's what it's sold as in stores here, maybe they remove the alcohol from it (?). Don't really know much about it.

 

To my knowledge, root beer is a soda or pop, as in sweet, carbonated type beverage.  If there are alcoholic versions, that would be great, because I really don't like root beer all that much.  If they added some alcohol, I might find it more appealing. LOL!

 

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Sounds nice but can't say I've actually tried proper root-beer. I've had alcoholic ginger beer (which is nice). I also love my Whisky and have been to the Highland Park distillery a few times. Though my favourite is Dalwhinnie - though am partial to the odd drop of Edradour, Laphroig and Lagavulin.

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To my knowledge, root beer is a soda or pop, as in sweet, carbonated type beverage.  If there are alcoholic versions, that would be great, because I really don't like root beer all that much.  If they added some alcohol, I might find it more appealing. LOL!

 

That's what I had thought but Foxman's comment about it being one the best beers he's tasted made me wonder if it was actually a beer if properly made. I actually really like root beer (although I prefer Birch beer). Pretty much the only sodas I'll actually drink but I specifically love putting icecream in a cup of it. That's pretty much the only way I'll have it now since I try avoiding soda mostly.

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In regards to " measurements " I pulled this information out of one of my old Cookbooks from 1989.  It's probably older than some of our Forum Members..... :wink:

 

Make sure all measurements are level.

 

Dash = 8 drops

1 Tablespoon = 3 teaspoons

4 Tablespoons = 1/4 Cup

5 1/3 Tablespoon = 1/3 Cup

8 Tablespoon = 1/2 Cup

16 Tablespoon = 1 Cup ( Dry )

1 fluid ounce = 2 Tablespoon

1 Cup ( liquid ) = 1/2 pint

2 Cup ( 16 ounces ) = 1 pint

2 pints ( 4 Cups ) = 1 quart

4 quarts = 1 gallon

8 quarts = 1 peck ( dry )

4 pecks = 1 bushel

16 ounces ( dry measure = 1 pound

 

US as compared to European

 

US * 1 teaspoon = 1 coffee spoon Europe

US * 1 Tablespoon = 1 soup spoon Europe

US * 2 Tablespoon = 1 English Tablespoon

US *  2 teaspoon = 1 English teaspoon

US * 20 fluid ounces = 1 English pint

US * 10 ounces ( dry measurement ) = 1 English Cup

 

Some may find this info handy when applying these to Craft working as well, I would expect.

 

At least in 1989 these were current for USA as well as European, the things One finds in old

cookbooks are amazing to say the least for me.  lol

 

Happy Concocting :smile:

 

Regards,

Gypsy

 

 

 

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