Ingredients
Ginger
- 250 gfresh ginger, grated
- or 100 g ground ginger
- 3 litreswater
To flavour
- 600 gsugar
- or 500 g brown sugar
- juice of 3 lemons
- 1 teaspoonground cinnamon, optional
- a few cloves, optional
To ferment
- 10 gdried yeast
- or 100 g raisins
- 1 litrewarm water
Equipment
- a large clean bucket or pot
- clean plastic bottles with caps
- a fine sieve or clean cloth
Directions
- Use strong plastic bottles instead. Never leave them sealed and forgotten. Grate it on the coarse side of a grater. Put the three litres of water in a large pot. Add the grated or ground ginger. Add the cloves and cinnamon if using them. Bring the whole pot up to a boil. Let it simmer for about fifteen minutes. Take it off the heat entirely.
- Cover the pot and let it stand. Give it at least two full hours. Pour it through a sieve or a clean cloth. Press the ginger against the mesh. That keeps extracting as it ferments.
- Stir the sugar into the warm liquid. Stir until it dissolves completely. Brown sugar gives a deeper flavour. Squeeze in all of the lemon juice. Taste it and adjust the sweetness. It should taste too sweet at this stage. Let it cool right down to lukewarm. It must be below body temperature.
- Mix the yeast into the warm water. Let it stand five minutes until it foams. Stir it into the cooled ginger liquid. Fermenting it takes a day or so. Cover the bucket with a cloth. Do not seal it up at this stage.
- Leave it somewhere warm to work. Give it about twenty-four hours. Strain it again if there is sediment. Pour it into clean plastic bottles. Fill each only three quarters full. Leave a clear gap at the very top. Building the fizz takes another day.
- Leave the bottles somewhere warm. Give them twelve to twenty-four hours. Squeeze them every few hours to check. A rock hard bottle must be released now.
- Chill it for at least four hours. Serving it is done properly cold. Stir or shake the bottle gently first. Pour it out into cups or glasses. It keeps two weeks refrigerated. Check the bottles every few days.
Technique
- Gemere is treated as a soft drink and served to everyone including children, but fermentation still produces some alcohol, and a long warm ferment produces noticeably more than a short cool one.
- Fermentation produces carbon dioxide that builds real pressure in a sealed bottle, so use strong plastic rather than glass and release the gas daily once a bottle goes hard.
- Bojalwa, the traditional sorghum beer brewed by women across Botswana, is the lightly alcoholic drink served to adults alongside it at the same gatherings.
Substitutions
- Ground ginger works in place of fresh, and many households use both together.
- Raisins carry wild yeast on their skins and stand in for dried yeast.
Variations
- Some households leave the ginger in through the fermentation.
- Brown sugar gives a deeper flavour than white.
- Similar home-brewed ginger beers are made across southern Africa.
History
Home-fermented ginger beer, sweet and fizzy, brewed for weddings and church gatherings as the non-alcoholic counterpart to bojalwa.
Frequently asked questions
What is Gemere?
Gemere is a drink from Botswana: homemade ginger beer served at celebrations. Home-fermented ginger beer, sweet and fizzy, brewed for weddings and church gatherings as the non-alcoholic counterpart to bojalwa.
How long does Gemere take to make?
Gemere takes 30 minutes plus fermenting of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 4 litres. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Gemere?
Yes, within limits. Ground ginger works in place of fresh, and many households use both together. Raisins carry wild yeast on their skins and stand in for dried yeast.
What is the most important thing to get right in Gemere?
Use strong plastic bottles instead. Never leave them sealed and forgotten. Grate it on the coarse side of a grater. Put the three litres of water in a large pot. Add the grated or ground ginger. Add the cloves and cinnamon if using them. Bring the whole pot up to a boil. Let it simmer for about fifteen minutes. Take it off the heat entirely.
