Ingredients
Base
- 1 kgsweet potato or cassava, peeled and grated
- 3 litreswater
- 400 gbrown sugar
Spices
- 4cloves
- 2cinnamon sticks
- 50 gfresh ginger, grated
- a strip of orange peel
To start
- a crust of bread, or 3 tbsp of a previous batch
Directions
- Peel and grate the sweet potato or cassava.
- If you use cassava, boil the grated root in plenty of water for 15 minutes and discard that water before going any further. Cassava should never be fermented raw for a drink at home.
- Boil the 3 litres of water with the sugar, cloves, cinnamon, ginger and orange peel for 15 minutes.
- Pour the hot liquid over the grated root and leave it to cool to lukewarm.
- Wait until it is genuinely lukewarm before anything else goes in. Hot liquid kills the starter and cold liquid stalls the whole thing.
- Strain out the solids, pressing them well, and discard them.
- Add the crust of bread, or a few spoonfuls of a previous batch, to start it off.
- Cover the vessel with a cloth rather than a lid and leave it at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
- Cloth, never a sealed lid. It needs air, and a tightly closed container builds pressure with nowhere for it to go.
- Taste it after two days. It should be lightly fizzy and faintly sour, and at that stage it is a soft drink rather than anything stronger.
- Strain it again, bottle it loosely, and refrigerate.
- Open the bottles carefully for the first day or two, because it goes on producing gas even in the cold.
- Drink it within a week, very cold. It is a homemade Christmas drink of Guyanese villages, brewed a few days ahead and drunk through the holidays.
Technique
- Two to three days is the whole ferment. Left longer it keeps going and becomes something other than a soft drink.
- Ginger and cloves are used generously. It should taste sharply spiced rather than merely sweet.
- Sweet potato gives a rounder, earthier drink than cassava.
Substitutions
- Bottled ginger beer starter, if you keep one.
- Raisins in place of the bread crust, which carry their own wild yeast.
Variations
- Made with more ginger for a fiercer drink.
- With a piece of orange peel and a bay leaf.
- Strained finer and served over ice with lime.
History
A homemade Christmas drink of Guyanese villages, brewed a few days ahead in bottles and drunk cold.
Frequently asked questions
What is Fly?
Fly is a drink from Guyana: lightly fermented sweet potato or cassava drink spiced with ginger and cloves. A homemade Christmas drink of Guyanese villages, brewed a few days ahead in bottles and drunk cold.
How long does Fly take to make?
Fly takes 30 min plus 3 days fermenting of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 3 litres. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Fly?
Yes, within limits. Bottled ginger beer starter, if you keep one. Raisins in place of the bread crust, which carry their own wild yeast.
What is the most important thing to get right in Fly?
If you use cassava, boil the grated root in plenty of water for 15 minutes and discard that water before going any further. Cassava should never be fermented raw for a drink at home.
