Rhubarb & Ginger Cooler

5 from 5 votes

This Rhubarb & Ginger Cooler is a refreshing soft drink perfect for keeping you hydrated on those hot Summer days. Serve well chilled with mint & lemon!

Course Drinks

Cuisine British, International, Polish

Keyword cooler, rhubarb drink, rhubarb lemonade, soft drink

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 25

Chilling 2

Total Time 30

Servings servings

Calories 72kcal

Author Jo Allison

Ingredients

500 g rhubarb cleaned and cut into 2 cm chunks
1.5 ltr water
6 tablespoon golden caster sugar or regular caster sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar *see Recipe Notes below
1 thumb size piece fresh ginger grated
mint & lemon to serve

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Clean the rhubarb and cut it roughly into 2cm long pieces.
Put sugar(s) in a large, dry pan and distribute it evenly. Put the pan on a low heat and let the sugar melt but watch it carefully and don't let it burn as things do happen quickly.
Add chunks of rhubarb and grated ginger and fry them for couple of min together with caramelised sugar which will now form little hard clusters which is to be expected.
Pour in the water and give it a mix. You might need to scrape hard cluster of caramelised sugar off your spoon. Cover the pan and let it come to gentle boil (it will take roughly 20-25 min). Give it a stir now and again to prompt those sugar clusters to melt. They should be completely dissolved by the end of cooking. Taste and adjust the amount of sugar as required.
Strain your cooler through the sieve (you can keep rhubarb pulp if you want to top your yoghurt or overnight oats with it) and chill really well. It is the best when really cold.
Serve chilled with ice cubes, lemon and mint leaves for natural and refreshing summery drink!

Notes

Feel free to adjust the amount of sugar although I find it perfect to counteract tartness of the rhubarb. Remember it is easier to add then take away so you might want to start with 4 tablespoon caster sugar and go up from there if you want to.
If you don't have vanilla sugar you can add 1 teaspoon of vanilla paste or extract or seeds scraped out from half vanilla pod. Check out this post for details on how to make your own vanilla sugar.
If you would like a drink with a real ginger kick you might want to add more than a thumb size as this amount provides only a gentle back heat.
Feel free to skip caramelising sugar step. You can simply add all ingredients to your pan and bring to gentle boil giving it a mix once or twice to help sugar dissolve. Simmer on a low heat covered for 20-25min and proceed as per recipe above.

Nutrition