{{Short description|Drink containing vinegar and ginger}} {{Infobox drink | name = Switchel | image = File:The-Switchel close-up(2).jpg | caption = A close-up of a switchel-based cocktail, featuring various garnishes. | type = | abv = | proof = | manufacturer = | distributor = | origin = British America | introduced = 17th century | discontinued = | colour = | flavour = | ingredients = | variants = | related = | website = | region = New England or the Caribbean }} '''Switchel''', '''switzel''', '''swizzle''', '''switchy''', '''ginger-water''', or '''haymaker's punch''' (of uncertain etymology, but possibly related to "{{wikt-lang|en|sweet}}"), is a drink made from water mixed with vinegar and often seasoned with ginger. It is typically sweetened with molasses, although honey, sugar, brown sugar, or maple syrup may also be used.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2011/page/2/ |title=2011 | Cornell Small Farms Program | Page 2 |publisher=Smallfarms.cornell.edu |date=2011-03-31 |accessdate=2016-10-08}}</ref> In the U.S. state of Vermont, oatmeal and lemon juice were sometimes added to the beverage.
==Origins== Switchel is believed to have originated in the Caribbean, although New England also claims credit for its creation. It became a popular summer drink in the American Colonies in the late 17th century. By the 19th century, it was a traditional drink served to thirsty farmers during hay harvests, earning it the nickname "haymaker’s punch."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/m093002.htm#1 |title=Uncle Phaedrus, Finder of Lost Recipes |publisher=Hungrybrowser.com |date= |accessdate=2016-10-08}}</ref> Herman Melville wrote in ''I and My Chimney'', "I will give a traveler a cup of switchel, if he wants it; but am I bound to supply him with a sweet taste?"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.online-literature.com/melville/160/ |title=I and My Chimney by Herman Melville |publisher=Online-literature.com |date= |accessdate=2016-10-08}}</ref> In ''The Long Winter'', Laura Ingalls Wilder describes a switchel-like beverage her mother sent for her and her father to drink while haying: "Ma had sent them ginger-water. She had sweetened the cool well-water with sugar, flavored it with vinegar, and put in plenty of ginger to warm their stomachs so they could drink until they were not thirsty. Ginger-water would not make them sick, as plain cold water would when they were so hot." [[File:Switchel.jpg|thumb|131x131px|Bottle and glass of a Brazilian switchel brand]]
==Modern recommendations== In his 1958 book ''Folk Medicine: A Vermont Doctor's Guide to Good Health'', the Vermont physician D. C. Jarvis recommended a similar drink, a mixture of honey and cider vinegar, which he called "honegar."<ref>{{cite book |title=Folk Medicine: A New England Almanac of Natural Health Care from a Noted Vermont Country Doctor |author=D.C. Md Jarvis |date=May 12, 1985 |isbn=978-0-449-20880-9 |publisher=Fawcett Publications}}</ref>
==Contemporary popularity== Switchel is experiencing renewed interest and has become a steadily growing category in the ready-to-drink beverage industry. As of 2015, several companies produce and distribute switchel beverages throughout the U.S., and Canada has two commercial switchel producers.{{Cn|date=August 2021}}
==Usage with alcohol== Switchel was sometimes mixed with rum, especially at sea,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=by0CAAAAYAAJ&dq=switchel+and+rum&pg=PA517 |title=The Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste |date=1862 |publisher=Luther Tucker |language=en}}</ref> and it was served in the U.S. House of Representatives, where it was "flavored with the finest Jamaica rum."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moore |first=Joseph West |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WOnOAAAAMAAJ&dq=switchel+and+rum&pg=PA253 |title=The American Congress: A History of National Legislation and Political Events, 1774-1895 |date=1895 |publisher=Harper & brothers |isbn=978-0-7222-7394-4 |language=en}}</ref> <!--- The Switchel recipe has been moved from Wikipedia to Wikibooks --->
== See also == * Ginger ale * Posca * Oxymel * Shrub (drink) * Sekanjabin
== References == {{reflist}} <!--- A traditional harvest drink? Comparison to modern rehydrators? --->
== External links == * [https://www.ruralsprout.com/switchel/ How To Make Traditional Switchel (Haymaker's Punch)] {{Commons Category}} {{Cookbook|Switchel}}
Category:American drinks Category:Caribbean drinks Category:Non-alcoholic drinks Category:Cuisine of Vermont Category:Vinegar
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