What's in our Cordials? & a Simple Ginger Cordial Recipe

Homemade Simple Ginger Cordial mean that you know what you're drinking – just three ingredients!

Cordials. Most of us have them in our homes because they taste good, are relatively affordable in the shops and add a variation of flavours to our endeavors to keep hydrated.

When my son was diagnosed as gluten intolerant, I needed to take a look at everything with a label. Now, I must say that I have a list of firm-favourite cordials that are still in my house and still get consumed. Please don’t assume that my home is perfectly nasty-free but I’m here to highlight that there are ‘cleaner’ options and they taste good, too!

Before we get to the recipe for this delicious ginger cordial, I want to have a look at our family’s (maybe Zimbabwe’s) favourite cordial - Mazoe Orange. Have you ever taken a look at it’s label? I’ve got it next to me on my desk and here is the list of ingredients:

1. Water

2. Sugar

3. Orange Juice Conentrate

4. Acidulant (Citric Acid)

5. Orange Falvouring

6. Preservative (Sodium Metabisulfite)

7. Colourants (Tartrazine, Sunset Yellow, Azorubine)

Three points I want to make here:

1. Sodium Metabisulfite is an inorganic compound of chemical formula Na₂S₂O_5. It may cause an asthma-like allergy. Future exposure can cause asthma attacks with shortness of breath, wheezing, cough, and/or chest tightness. Sodium Metabisulfite can irritate the lungs. Repeated exposure may cause bronchitis to develop with cough, phlegm, and/or shortness of breath. It is also known to trigger migraines in people who are sensitive to it.

2. Yellow Tartrazine is a synthetic food dye, suspected to be linked to health problems ranging from allergies to hyperactivity in kids to cancer.

3. Azorubine is a synthetic red food dye that has been linked to consumers getting skin rashes, such as hives and eczema.

So what should we take away from this ingredient list? Well, that’s up to you, obviously. Do the facts presented above sit well with you? Maybe what sits better is to not have them in your home but be open to consume them if it’s the only option when out and about? Perhaps it’s better for you to cut down on the store-bought cordials you consume? Perhaps you want to eradicate all store-bought cordials from your life.

And of course, remember that this is just one ingredients list from one cordial in Zimbabwe. Perhaps there are cordials in the world that have wonderfully benign lists - Hoorah! But maybe the point of this very rudimentary exploration is to remind you to check the ingredients lists of what you buy.

Again I say, It’s up to you.

But if you’d like a cleaner option … that’s what I’m here to provide. I have a few recipes up my sleeve, and this is …

Simple Ginger Cordial

• 1 fresh ginger root roughly chopped

• 1 cup sugar (brown sugar will darken the cordial nicely, but I use white)

• 1 cup water

• 1 lemon halved

• sparkling or still water

• ice cubes

Instructions

In a saucepan, mix together the chopped ginger, sugar, and water. Heat the mixture over medium heat and bring it to a gentle simmer.

Let it simmer for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the ginger flavor has infused into the syrup.

Remove from the heat and let the ginger syrup cool completely. Once cooled, strain the syrup into a jar and discard the ginger pieces.

To serve, fill a glass with ice cubes. Add 2–3 tablespoons of ginger syrup and squeeze in the juice from half a lemon.

Top with sparkling or still water and stir well to blend.

Enjoy your homemade ginger ale!

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