Whether you are suffering from a cold, allergies, or the flu, or are trying to replace electrolytes, or looking to get in a solid dose of probiotics then switchel is your Wonder Woman coming to save the day!

A Drink Named Switchel

Switchel is a fermented drink that dates back well over 100 years! Your grandparents may know it as Haymaker’s punch. It got this name because it was the preferred drink of dehydrated men who were working in the hay fields. While there are lots of different variations of this recipe, it’s essentially a mix of raw apple cider vinegar, honey, ginger, lemon, and cayenne pepper. Mix all the ingredients together, cover it with a tight lid, and let sit overnight in the fridge (allowing it to ferment). The next day your switchel is ready.

I like to make a big batch so that when a cold or allergies catch me off guard I can drink some immediately (by mixing ingredients and drinking right away… totally skipping the fermentation process) and a batch for the next day (by mixing the ingredients and letting it sit overnight to ferment).

When fermented, switchel is chock-full of vitamins, minerals, anti-inflammatory agents, and immune boosting enzymes. Thanks to the cayenne pepper you also stimulate the lymphatic system which helps your body flush out toxins.

I will typically drink 3-4 glasses daily when I feel sick or under the weather and within no time I’m feeling back to normal… or in the case of a bad cold, I’m at least feeling much better than I was.

If you really want to get frisky and switch things up here are some switchel variations:

Instead of honey use maple syrup or blackstrap molasses
Instead of lemon use lime
Add cayenne pepper or cinnamon (ground cinnamon powder or cinnamon stick work)
Add herbs like muddled basil, lemon thyme or rosemary