We called it farmer’s punch, haymaker’s punch or harvest punch. I’m not sure where the name of switchel comes from, I have mostly heard it used in America. You make it with either rainwater, filtered water or lemon barley water as a base. I prefer the latter, to me at least it tastes better, and is certainly better for you. Always prepare and store it in glass, enamel or ceramic containers, because acids in the liquid will leach plastic containers, giving ‘off’ flavours to the drink, and the chemicals that leach out of the plastic will do you no good whatever. My gran used to make it in a big ceramic container which I think was originally a pickling crock, but I have seen it made in Greece in an old ceramic bread crock, and in Australia in a glass demijohn. (That is also what I use). She served it in her big ceramic kneading bowl for everyday use, or for fancy occasions like harvest feast in the good crystal punchbowl, decorated with flowers of borage, pansies and violets. If you do that, make sure the flowers you use are edible ones!
To start:
. Make the lemon barley water, which is a good drink on its own, both for general refreshment purposes and especially as a drink for kids with fevers, convalescents, or anyone with cystitis. To do this, take a gallon (around four litres) of rainwater or filtered water. To this add four cups of pearl barley which has been soaked overnight, then rinsed. Add a teaspoonful of salt, and in a covered pot bring it slowly to the boil, then turn the heat down so it is just simmering, and cook until the barley is soft and the grains are plumped up. This will take at least half an hour, longer if the barley is hard. Turn off the heat and let it stand, covered, until it is completely cold. At this stage you will have a sludgy mass which can vary from the texture of runny glue to the texture of rice pudding. Don’t panic, it is supposed to do that!
Pour the sludge into a fine sieve, a jelly bag or a piece of clean muslin and let it drip into a large bowl to collect the liquid. When as much liquid has come out as is going to, rinse the barley grains by pouring tepid boiled water over them and collect the liquid, which is added to that from the first straining. Then comes the fun part, or at least the part I and my brother most enjoyed when we were kids. Press out any extra liquid from the barley, and add it to the liquid you already have. We used to do this by taking one end each of the cloth in which the barley had been left to drip and twisting it against each other over the bowl, until the last bits of jelly-like liquid had been forced out and mixed with the previous lot.
The cooked barley grain left over from this process can then be used in soup. I usually add it to my mixed bean, barley and vegetable soup.
You now have a bowl of barley-infused sludgy liquid. It looks disgusting but tastes very good. Stir in the juice of four or more lemons, according to taste. I like more, but tastes vary, plus about a cupful of honey, molasses, sugar or maple syrup, depending on what you have, and bottle it for storage. We used to keep it in the springhouse, along with the butter and cheese, because we had no electricity so no refrigeration. In summer you might need to keep it in the fridge, or in a cool cupboard.
It is served like a cordial, diluted in either hot or cold water, about one part of lemon barley water to five of water, and is very refreshing.
Or you can use it as a base for making switchel/haymaker’s punch/harvester’s punch instead of using plain water.
SWITCHEL, HARVESTER’S PUNCH, HAYMAKER’s PUNCH, FARMER’S PUNCH:
. Start with about a gallon and a half (about five and a half litres) of fresh water, either filtered or rain water. Or a similar amount of lemon barley water, made up with one part of the cordial mix I have just described to five parts of water.
. To this add about two cups of good quality raw cider vingar, or more or less to taste.
. Add about two cups of honey, brown or demerara sugar, maple syrup or molasses, again to taste.
. Add herbs and spices to taste. I like extra lemon juice and zest, finely shredded ginger and turmeric, a few cinnamon sticks and a few crushed cardamon pods, but many people use a few teaspoonsful of dried ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Depends on taste and what you have.
. At this stage you can serve it, well stirred to mix it thoroughly and decorated with such things as slices of citrus fruit and cucumber with sprigs of mint, thyme, or melissa and edible flowers, and with or without ice. This is a still drink. If you want it slightly spritzig/carbonated, stop at that stage where all the ingredients have been well mixed but not yet decorated, and decant the stuff into bottles. I use the same pickaxe bottles used for beer or ginger beer, or the old fashioned ball-and-wire sealed grolsch bottles if I have them, and leave it for a few days to a week to ferment in a cool place. Once it is slightly carbonated it is served as described. OR you can just add a couple of bottles of mineral water to the still version if you are in a hurry.
Sorry this is so long and complicated, but there are a number of ways to do this, all good. Work out which one you like best.
