Taste The World: Emudro Recipe [West Africa]
Summer is here! We have reached the middle of the summer—the time where every weekend turns into a pool party or some kind of a cookout. If your summer activities are anything like mine, they usually turn into potlucks as well.
So, the next time you’re on beverage duty, I suggest you give this refreshing West African drink a try.
In Africa, it is common to mix ginger with lemon or lime, adding a bit of of sweetener to create a beverage that can be hot or cold. I took inspiration from West Africa for this recipe–specifically Ghana. In Ghana, they call this drink Emudro. It is known for its immunity properties as well as it’s refreshing/spicy kick. To learn more about FH’s current work in Africa, click here.
Emudro Recipe
What you’ll need:
1 extra large ginger root
4 limes
2 tbs of sugar
1 tsp peppercorn
3 cups pineapple juice
2.5 cups club soda
First, you’ll want to rinse off your ginger root. Then cut the root into semi-thin slices, leaving the skin on. Slice up your limes into fourths or smaller. Place everything into a blender or food processor, depending on what you have (both will work). Add about 2 cups of water and blend until you have a texture similar to a “slushie.” Then, you’ll want to strain all of the blended ginger/limes through a mesh strainer. Put the liquid in a bowl off to the side and discard the ginger pulp.
Next, you’re going to mix about 1 cup of water with 2tbs of sugar and either 1 tsp of peppercorn or roughly 35 “cranks” on a peppercorn grinder. Mix all in the blender until completely dissolved. Pour the mixture through the strainer and combine with the ginger/lime juice.
When in doubt, strain it out.
That’s right, you’ll want to pour the entire mixture through the strainer a third time to make sure none of the pulp is still in the juice. Make sure your concentrate is well mixed. Next comes the tricky part. Personally, I don’t handle spice very well so feel free to experiment with this recipe as you choose. The best combination I found was:
- 3 cups ginger concentrate (what you just made)
- 3 cups pineapple juice
- 2.5 cups club soda
Tip: If you are preparing this ahead of time, swap the club soda for regular water to ensure the soda isn’t flat, or add the club soda day-of.
Pour over ice and enjoy your Emudro!
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