As a child I enjoyed going to weddings and other traditional celebrations, because gemere would always be served there. The name gemere is derived from the word Gemerr in the Afrikaans, which  means ginger. Most people in Botswana  refer to it as gemere…with the last ‘e’ pronounced). This traditional drink is the ultimate quench thirster after a day spent in the sun. With only a couple of ingredients, gemere is one of the easiest drinks to make. Also, just a disclaimer this drink, even though referred to as ginger beer, can be enjoyed by people of all ages, including children. I promise it will not get you drunk or tipsy! with that said, let’s see what we will need to make it:

Ingredients

1.½ gallons of water

3 cups sugar (Adjust it to your liking)

6 tbsp freshly grated ground ginger

1 packet tartaric acid

1 packet of cream of tartar

1 packet Raisins

1 pineapple (peeled and cut into small cubes) 

Method

1. Pour boiling water into a large pot,add sugar and stir until it dissolves.

2. Add ground ginger,simmer for 25-30mins and leave to cool.

3. Chop the pineapple into small cubes and grate the ginger.

4.Add the dry ingredients and fruits (ginger pineapple and raisins) when the mixture is lukewarm.

5.Stir the mixture every hour for the first 3 hours and then cover loosely with a lid.

6. Cover and let it rest for at least two days at room temperature 

7.  Chill and serve

 Tip: To prevent the gemere form fermenting further, place in a really cold fridge. You can  pour the gemere into jars or large bottles to store in the fridge.. Don’t worry too much  about it becoming alcoholic ginger beer…it takes roughly a week and half to 2 weeks minimum for this to happen.

I hope you enjoyed making this drink. Let me know by commenting below what other quick and easy drinks you like to make.

See you in my next post!

-M