James is the ultimate sassafras root finder! It is not uncommon for us to come into the kitchen and see him cleaning, chopping or boiling sassafras in one of our large pots.

If you don’t feel like digging up your own, you can always buy it at your local market.

6 cups of water

3 ounces of sassafras roots

1 ounce of burdock root

1/4 cup molasses

1 clove

1 star anise

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

2 drops wintergreen extract or peppermint extract

6 cups sugar

Chop the sassafras and burdock roots into small pieces, about 1/2 inch or smaller.

Put the roots in a medium-sized heavy pot with the clove, star anise and coriander seeds and cover with the water. Cover the pot and bring it to a boil. Simmer this for 15 minutes.

Add the molasses and simmer another 5 minutes.

Turn off the heat and add the wintergreen or peppermint extract. Put the cover back on the tea.

When the mixture cools, strain it though cheesecloth to remove any debris.

Return it to the pot with an equal amount of sugar. Stir to combine. Bring it to a simmer and cook it for 5 minutes, uncovered. Pour into quart mason jars and seal. Keeps a year in the fridge.

To assemble the root beer, fill a glass with ice cubes, add the syrup and soda water in a 1:2 ratio, so 1/3 cup of syrup to 2/3 cups of soda water. Add more soda water if you want it more diluted, add more syrup if you want it stronger.

NOTE: ™ = Trademark. All trademarks are property of their respective owners. Results may vary. All recipes are valid for non-commercial useotherwise written permission must be obtained from the The Jim Bob & Michelle Duggar Family. © Copyright 2011