This punch is easy and yum. My mother used to make it when we were young and this year I made it for Christmas day. We don’t have a punch bowl, so I mixed this in a jug and left out the fruit so that it was pourable. The only problem was that I grabbed the soda water bottle instead of the lemonade bottle, so it was a little on the dry, not-so-sweet side. I didn’t mind it (soft drink (soda) is usually way too sweet for me), but it wasn’t sweet enough for the other non(grog)-drinkers. If you prefer your punch less on the sweet side, then substitute the lemonade for soda water.

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Our corner of Queensland has a few common food crops, pineapple and ginger are just two of them. So what better combo for a refreshing summer drink.

Method

1. Process pineapple in a food processor in batches until a smooth puree
2. Place water, sugar and ginger in a large saucepan over low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Add pineapple puree, bring back to the boil, then simmer for another 2 minutes or so.
4. Strain mixture into a clean bottle, discarding pulp and ginger. Press pulp with the back of a spoon to get all the juice out.
5. Chill.

This makes about 1 litre. Serve with water or soda water. This cordial isn’t as sweet as commercial cordials, so add a generous amount to the glass. I imagine that this would also be nice with a splash of white rum and a few ice cubes and soda water, maybe a few mint leaves!