May 20, 2007

• Golem Juice Works!

  Warning- Cook’s terrain ahead
  

  I was driven to try some Golem Juice this morning, and it was a bit of a task to make- I shall admit. Rather enjoyable in a way, since I have not cooked in a while. Not really all that difficult, either. The only tedious part was waiting at the end for it to boil properly- that, and almost running out of honey. As a result of my work, I recommend trying it with the lowest amount of ginger recommended in last entries’ recipe, as well as a full cup of honey (unless you are going for more of a ‘mild tea’ taste- my goal is a warm, soothing beverage, not necessarily a tea) and as for the water… I’d recommend 7 cups, but the good thing about water is you can easily add more later on to your cup, or when you are heating it up later to drink.

  It is quite a spicy drink when done with fresh ginger- I got the full effect of it because I happened to have a larger section of the root I made my slices from. So even though I used the least number of slices- well, it was perky, and I definitely needed to add water. That lemon juice was strong too, but the good thing about the fact you are cooking it slowly is that it makes the lemon flavour more mild.

  The slow boil part is important!! By a slow boil, they mean heating it at a medium heat to gradually allow the ginger to flavour the beverage without over-cooking any of the ingredients. I turned up the heat two seperate times at the end to let it finish off the job, but didn’t turn it to ‘high’ until the last step where it was partially boiling but not at a rolling boil yet. And, well, with any tea-like drink you want to top it off with a good rolling boil. I’d say it took maybe 20 minutes at least, total, to cook. To speed it up a little, what I might recommend doing is heating the water up from cold while you prepare the other items- don’t turn the heat up past medium, and if it starts to get hot then go ahead and toss the ginger in first while you finish prepping the other stuff. Once the honey is in, make sure to keep stirring occasionally. This’ll slow it down some, be warned.

  Much Better

  So, if anyone does want to try Golem Juice and needs a clearer guide than the recipe I put up or above, just let me know. It’s fun to try, but be prepared to adjust it a bit- and to adjust your own tastes a bit, since it is a very NEW flavour. The goal is to adjust it to the point where it is comfortable, not overwhelming- but your mouth still has to get used to the ginger. At first, I was thinking “Hmmm, no real quick relief… it doesn’t seem to be particularly working.” But I kept sipping it while watching a show. I got used to the flavour after a bit, and I noticed halfway through that my throat WAS hurting less than before! In fact, near the end of the large mug my throat felt better than it had in days. The relief really lasted, too. It was a gentle kind of relief, not the clear, vivid kind you tend to expect from most cold medicines we take these days. Americans tend to expect to take a medicine and within ten minutes feel a sudden, dramatic BOOM- wow, I can tell I’m feeling better!

  This was more gentle, but it was quite a pleasant relief.

  Oh, and I recommend waiting for it to be cool enough to comfortable drink. I for one despise sipping hot drinks- my mouth is too tender.

  So now, as I drink more golem juice this afternoon in preparation for singing tonight, I only hope it is enough to make it bearable.

  -Patrick

  • 5:04 pm
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