Switchel, the 1856 Harvest Drink
Reader ratingsCold water, molasses, cider vinegar and ground ginger shaken in a jug: the haymakers’ switchel, scaled from the 1856 Harvest Drink to a liter of water.
- Recipe makes
- About 1.1 liters, 5 glasses
- Prep
- Total
Switchel in a tin cup beside a gray stoneware jug, at the edge of a hayfield.
The story behind the recipe
Switchel is cold water sweetened with molasses, sharpened with vinegar and warmed with ground ginger. This one comes from a Philadelphia Quaker weekly, which gave it by the ten-gallon batch in 1856 as a “Harvest Drink.” The Friends’ Intelligencer promised that harvesters would “stand their labors well” on it, and it is the earliest switchel recipe with amounts that we have found.
A temperance drink for the hayfield
The recipe was meant to take the place of rum, which farmers had long sent out to the men mowing and raking in July. The Maine Farmer ran the same lines that month, and fourteen years later the Maryland Farmer printed the identical proportions for farmers who kept away from spirits, promising that the mixture would “slake the thirst admirably.” The Maryland version named cider vinegar, and an 1879 description names it too.
In the field, switchel lived in a jug or a pail kept out of the sun. Augusta Larned, writing in the Christian Union in 1873, describes a farm woman measuring out ginger, molasses and vinegar and shaking the lot “in a large gray jug, with a delightfully cooling swash and gurgle.” None of these sources mentions ice: the cool came from the water and the shade.
Read more about this recipe
The ratio, kept
This version keeps the 1856 proportions exactly, scaled to one liter of water: ten parts water to one of molasses, a splash of vinegar and a teaspoon and a half of ginger. It comes out cloudy and amber-brown, sweet and sharp together like a plain lemonade, with some heat from the ginger. Use ordinary molasses, since blackstrap is bitter; period molasses varied, so add more if you want it sweeter. The ginger never dissolves and settles to the bottom, so shake or stir before every pour.
Swap the molasses for maple syrup and you have the Maple Switchel with Ginger and Cider Vinegar. The rest of the farm year, up to the cider barrel, is in What Did Early Americans Drink at Harvest?. The Roman army had its own vinegar and water, posca, though without the molasses.
Ten gallons of cold water, 1 gallon of molasses, 1 quart of vinegar, and ¼ lb. of ground ginger, well stirred together, make a healthful and refreshing drink for the harvesters, with which they will stand their labors well—a thousand times better than with rum.
Recipe makes: About 1.1 liters, 5 glasses
Ingredients
For About 1.1 liters, 5 glasses. Quantities are shown as written.
Quantities as written here, for About 1.1 liters, 5 glasses.
- Cold water1 l
- Molasses, not blackstrap100 ml
- Cider vinegar25 ml
- Ground ginger3 gAuthor measures: about 1 1/2 metric tsp (5 ml per tsp).
Measurement notes
Ingredients as written here
- 1 l cold water
- 100 ml molasses, not blackstrap
- 25 ml cider vinegar
- 3 g ground ginger (about 1 1/2 tsp)
Equipment
Large jug or jar with a lid, about 1.5 liters
Measuring jug and spoons
Instructions
Put the molasses and ground ginger in the jug and stir them to a smooth paste, so the ginger doesn’t clump. Add about a quarter of the cold water and stir until the molasses has dissolved.
Add the cider vinegar and the rest of the water. Put the lid on and shake hard for about 30 seconds.
Taste, and add a little more molasses if you want it sweeter.
Keep the jug cool and out of the sun. Shake or stir it again just before pouring, since the ginger settles, and serve cool in cups or glasses, without ice.
Nutrition
80calories per serving
- Recipe makes
- About 1.1 liters, 5 glasses
- Servings
- 5
Roughly estimated from USDA FoodData Central values for molasses; the vinegar, ginger and water add almost nothing.
Recipe notes
When adjusting quantities
Every amount here is the 1856 recipe divided by about 38. Keep 10 parts water to 1 of molasses by volume when you scale.
Notes
Quantities mentioned in these notes don’t change when you adjust the batch.
The 1856 measures are US: a gallon of 3.785 liters, a quart of 946 ml and a quarter pound of 113 g. Divided by 37.85, they give 1 liter of water, 100 ml of molasses, 25 ml of vinegar and 3 g of ginger.
The recipe says only “vinegar.” Cider vinegar follows the 1870 printing of the same recipe and keeps the drink in the orchard. Standard 5% vinegar diluted this far leaves the switchel only mildly acidic, far less than a shrub.
Switchel isn’t fermented and has no alcohol.
Storage
Keep it covered in the fridge and drink it within two days.
Scaling changes the ingredients only; glassware, ice and timings need their own judgment. To adapt this recipe further, try the recipe tool at TuneMyRecipe (opens in a new tab), our sister site.
Sources and attribution
“Harvest Drink,” Friends’ Intelligencer (Philadelphia), vol. 13 no. 16, July 5, 1856, p. 254
Recipe details
- Drink
- Alcohol-free
- Drink family
- Sodas & Soft Drinks
- Region
- American
- Era
- 19th century
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Occasion
- Dry January
- Season
- Summer