By Karen Talbot
In our busy lives, consuming supplements and powders mixed into morning smoothies is helpful in keeping ourselves looking and feeling better. But the foundation of true self-care begins at ground level with unprocessed food and drink, which deeply nourish our health and well-being and prevent a call to the doctor’s office.
A North American recipe for old-fashioned soda made from roots, barks, and herbs is one component of that foundation. It benefits many bodily systems and contributes to “Dr. Jones” wondering where you’ve been. But how did root beer originate and what are these healing plant ingredients?
When colonists arrived in the new world, there were no familiar grains to homebrew “small beer”, a fermented low alcohol beverage that was safe to drink rather than the bacteria-contaminated water back home. The generosity of Native Americans taught them how to make healthful wild root teas, which evolved into root beers through natural fermentation. They began to make their own teas and remedies from their newly acquired knowledge. I can imagine many of the following wild and cultivated ingredients used in this recipe are related to their foraging experiments, but I know these plants will certainly benefit the immune system, improve digestion, and cleanse the liver from toxins. They create a healthy brew far different from the chemically induced sodas found on supermarket shelves today that even contain petrochemicals. Real Root Beer is, as my mother used to say, “Delicious, nutritious, makes you feel ambitious!” And if you can’t or don’t want to forage, you can order them online, and some may already be lurking in your kitchen cupboard. My favorite suppliers for the rest are Mountain Rose Herbs, Frontier CO-OP, and Starwest Botanicals. The following is a list of what I use to make Real Root Beer:
- Sarsaparilla: blood cleanser, improves vitality, and benefits
the hormonal system - *Sassafras: spring tonic, blood cleanser after a long winter of
heavy foods - Astragalus: for immunity, heart health, anti-viral
- Dandelion Root: diuretic supplying its own potassium
- Birch Bark: Vitamin C, immunity, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, for eczema and dermatitis
- Burdock Root: for elimination, skin problems, internal healing
- Licorice: for depleted adrenal glands and hormonal balance
- Fennel Seed: primary herb for digestion and flatulence
- Ginger: for digestion, helping to alleviate nausea and motion sickness, warming
- Mint: for digestion, flatulence, and as an expectorant
- Stevia: (unprocessed whole or powdered leaf recommended) 50x sweeter than sugar, good for diabetics,
and/or - Molasses (blackstrap): a sweetener that alleviates anemia, menstrual cramps, constipation
- Vanilla Bean: adds luscious flavor but may also be an antioxidant and protects the nervous system
My basic recipe is a combination of what appealed to me in recipes by Rosemary Gladstar, Hunter-Angler-Gardener-Cook, SpiceJungle, Learning Herbs, and Recipefairy.com.
The roots, barks, and herbs above are only some of the wild and cultivated ingredients to make Real Root Beer. After making it, you can add your own herbs to suit your taste such as coriander seed, wintergreen, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and any other plant that appeals to you and that you think will be appropriate.
You can forage several of these plants yourself or buy from reputable herb companies online. Digging up roots is usually done in the fall, but roots like burdock can be dug up in early spring before flower stalks appear signaling that all the energy is now moving up in preparation to make seed. Dandelion roots are sweeter in the spring before flower buds emerge. Do your own research and experiment with different plants for flavor and benefits.
Herbal Benefit References: Rosemary Gladstar, Dr. Andrew Weil, WebMD, Dr. Glen Nagel
To make Real Root Beer, you only need roots and sweetener to make a syrup to mix with sparkling water. Sassafras roots are what have that familiar root beer fl avor, but I also used several other types of roots that I had on hand. It is a forgiving recipe you can make simply with sassafras roots, cinnamon bark, allspice berries, fennel seeds, molasses, and sugar. Pick and choose at least 5 ingredients (including sassafras) and adjust the amount of sweetener and water. Here’s how I made 1 quart of Root Beer syrup, enough for approximately 12 servings:
- ¼ C sassafras rt
- 1 C sassafras twigs
- ¼ C dandelion rt
- ¼ C sarsaparilla rt
- ¼ C burdock rt
- 2 Tbsp fennel seeds
- 2 2-inch cinnamon sticks
- ¼ C wild cherry bark
- 1 whole vanilla bean
- 1–1½” ginger rt
- 1 Tbsp allspice berries (or star anise)
- 6½ C water
- Sweetener
Place chopped ingredients in a large pot, bring to a boil, and then turn heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. While still warm, add sweetener (about 1 C sugar). I used about ¾ C spruce tip syrup for my sweetener made last spring. It is basically a Simple Syrup: simmer a quart of spruce tips in 3 C water, straining, adding 3 C sugar, and cooking down to a syrup consistency.
