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Mara: Hello, I'm here with Kelly in Kenmore's kitchen and today she's going to be making a colonial beverage for us.
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[♪ Music dies out ♪] Kelly: We'll be making 'switchel' today which was particularly popular in New England  
but it served a really important purpose. One of the things that it was able to do was really  
replenish the body in a way that they didn't 
understand what was going on but they knew that it worked.
Mara: Okay now Kelly what is in 'switchel?' 
Kelly: There actually are a lot of different potential ingredients in 'switchel' but today we're going to focus on 3.. 
The first thing we have here is powdered ginger; about a tablespoon. We have 1/2 cup of molasses [Mara comments: Okay..]
and we have about a 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar. [Mara asks: So you're gonna mix it all together and make me drink them?] 
Kelly: Well there's water involved if that makes you feel better. [Mara replies: Oh okay, I'm excited! Now what was the purpose  
that this drink served?] Kelly answers: The real purpose that it served was one that as I said was not known  
to 18th century people. It essentially 
replenishes electrolytes because the  
ingredients contain potassium.. [Mara comments: Okay so this is sort of a colonial-style 'Gatorade']
Kelly: Yeah, that's a good way to think about it! [Mara claps her hands together and says: Alright, I'm excited. Let's do this..] Alright..
Kelly: So we'll add the ginger, we'll add the cider vinegar... [sound of liquid ingredients being poured into pitcher]
And if you'd like, you can add this.. [sound of metal dish being set down on counter] [Mara comments: Oh. Yum!]
[Sound of bowl being scraped of ingredients with spoon]
Mara: This is a very interesting combination of ingredients... It's a first for me. [Kelly chuckles] Alright!
Kelly: The next step is just essentially stirring the ingredients together. [Sound of switchel mixture being stirred in pitcher]
Mara: Oh, it dissolves pretty quickly! [Kelly comments: Yes, it does, it really does!]
[Sound of liquid mixture of switchel being poured in to cup] Mara: It's a lovely dark brown color.. yumm.. 
Mara: Shall we? [Kelly replies: Absolutely!]
Mara: Cheers.. [Kelly: Cheers..] [sound of cups klinking together]
Mara: Wow, that I actually wasn't expecting that to be tasty but it's not bad at all. It is kind of refreshing.
The vinegar gives a little bit of tang and 
the molasses, some sweetness. I can taste the ginger  
it's not too overpowering though. This isn't bad! [Both Kelly and Mara chuckle] Kelly: Glad to hear it!
[Mara asks: Did Virginians drink 'switchel?'] Kelly: It seems that it wasn't as popular in Virginia as it was in New England.
So much so that a Virginian writing to a friend of his includes in a letter, essentially ranting about New Englanders 
and one of the things that he says in it is that they "drink 'switchel' as if it were champagne."
Mara: Okay, I don't know if this is as good as champagne but I mean it's totally drinkable!
Mara: So what did Virginians drink when they needed a refreshing beverage?
Kelly: There were a few things that were particularly common; one of which 'small beer' which was beer, just like it sounds. 
It only had probably 2 to 4% alcohol content. So it was just enough... [Mara: Yeah, to make it safe to drink 
if the water was, for the most part, contaminated..] Kelly: A visitor to Virginia comments on the fact that small  
children will drink rum diluted with a few 
gallons of water. [Mara comments: Oh my, so things have changed quite a bit since.] [Mara chuckles]
Mara: Well thanks so much, Kelly. I really appreciate it and thanks for introducing 
me to a very interesting to taste sensation
[Both Kelly and Mara chuckle] [sound of cups klinking]
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