Root Beer Float

I have been taking several classes this semester and they are keeping me very busy. One of the classes I am taking is a Molecular Gastronomy and Micro Biology class. The course work generally includes simple cooking experiments which include the use of Microorganisms. The following is a portion of the paper I wrote to accompany my project. Have fun and enjoy the spring weather!

In order to write an appropriate narrative discussing this topic, I had to do more research than I would have expected. In the past, research papers have been dull, boring and quite plainly, not very enjoyable. I believe I have found the solution to actually enjoying the paper writing process; Food. Not just any food either, some would say that this sweet and savory treat can be enjoyed in a multitude of ways, but I know, especially now after weeks of research and sampling that there is something magical about this beverage called Root Beer. Add sweet, creamy, frozen cultured milk to the mix and you have a frothy glass of caramel colored gold. I now know why an old adage such as “Over the lips and through the gums, lookout stomach, here it comes” becomes so endearing to some folks. Maybe it is because the goofy old men and women who use those cliché phrases know something the rest of us don’t. I have to imagine that when my Grandmother, “Nanny” would say something like this, it really meant something. When I think about it, many of us have become so accustomed to the “pre-made” lifestyle that it is amazing to us that we can actually create something better than what we so easily go to purchase from the Supermarket. Thank- you Nanny for being so inspirational, in your own, weird way.

There is really never a simple explanation for describing what a thing is. Beer, though most commonly thought of as an icy cold, heady beverage consumed most passionately by avid fans is not really the only use for the term. There are three major uses for the word beer and only one of them are alcoholic. The term beer can also mean a brewed medicinal liquid. This beer was made by doctors and physicians for the purpose of curing simple, common ailments. One article I read even stated that “the thick, bitter beer served at breakfast with cooked potatoes and roasted meat, commonly curses the moderate hangover”. In my opinion, what more needs to be said?

Another use for the term Beer is a brew made by housewives around the turn of the century for family consumption. Usually this “Root” beer is made from indigenous ingredients found locally around the land where the family lives. It a variety of seeds, roots, barks and a variety of sweeteners including vanilla bean, cinnamon, clove and anise. The sweetness came from “mashing” grains and creating wort (un-carbonated, malted solution where the natural sugars have been extracted from the grain). Sucrose would then be added in small amounts to offset the bitterness that the extracted tannins in the “beer” caused. Common modern variations of this beverage include Birch Beer, Sarsaparilla, and what we fondly know today as Root Beer. Modern root beer, although is really nothing like the traditional home brewed beverage that was common around the turn of the century. Our interpretation of this household favorite is quite sweet and not nearly as aggressive as what traditional brews were.