1/2 cup peeled and coarsely grated fresh ginger (about 3 ounces)
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup raw cane (turbinado) sugar
Sparkling water or club soda
Instructions
Peel ginger with a paring knife, and coarsely grate.
In a small saucepan over medium high heat, boil 1 1/2 cups water. Pour 1/2 cup of the boiling water into a small heatproof measuring pitcher. Add sugar and stir to dissolve.
Place grated ginger into the remaining 1 cup boiling water in the saucepan and return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Turn off heat, cover and allow to steep 20 minutes.
Place a strainer over a small bowl. Pour steeped ginger-water mixture through strainer. Press ginger to extract liquid. Discard ginger pulp. Add sugar-water mixture and stir. Pour ginger syrup into pint jar, cover and chill.
For 8-ounce serving, place ice in a tall glass and pour in 2/3 cup sparkling water or club soda and 1/3 cup of the ginger syrup. For other quantities, ratio is 2 parts sparkling water to 1 part ginger syrup. Stir and enjoy.