Flavor Up Your Cocktails
Think fruitcakes without the heavy batter. Or lime-infused waters, except with booze. Soaking fresh and dried fruits in alcohol is a traditional way to preserve fruits and create new flavor combinations. It’s a delicious way to use extra fruits when there’s a bountiful season. Best of all, these keep indefinitely and get better with time.
Vodka is a good choice to start because it’s neutral in flavor. Consider whiskey or bourbon to combine with spices. Tequila makes sense with jalapeño. Add fruits, flavorings and liquor to clean glass jars or wide-mouthed bottles. How long to infuse? Eight hours for infusions made with herbs, spices or hot peppers may be fine. Three or four days works for others. Here are some tried-and-true combinations to get you started.
Dehydrated Fruit + Liquor
• Dried oranges, allspice berries, cinnamon stick, cloves (use sparingly) + whiskey or bourbon
• Dried mango, dried lime, dried starfruit + rum
• Dried lime, fresh or dried jalapeño + tequila
• Dried pineapple + rum
Fresh Fruit + Liquor
• Fresh ginger, lemon zest + gin
• Fresh strawberries, basil + vodka
• Loose tea + herbs + vodka
• Vanilla beans, crushed coffee beans + vodka
Flavors to Use
• Allspice berries, fresh or dried
• Lemongrass
• Kaffir lime leaves
• Flor de Jamaica
• Fresh herbs: basil, oregano, mint, thyme, rosemary
• Coffee beans
• Cocoa nibs
Spicy Pineapple Vodka
Dried fruits usually work better than fresh because they’re concentrated in flavor, but this spicy pineapple vodka uses fresh pineapple for its bright, tropical flavors.
1 ripe pineapple, peeled and sliced
2 jalapeño peppers, sliced in rings (use gloves)
1 750ml bottle vodka
Combine pineapple, peppers and vodka in a large jar and cover. Store in a cool, dark place for up to three days. Strain out fruit and peppers.
Dehydrating Fruits and Veggies
What you’ll need:
• Clean quart- or pint-sized mason or apothecary jars with lids
• Fine strainer
• Coffee filters or cheesecloth
• Funnel
• Dehydrator
Basic dehydrators can cost as little as $40 to upwards of $150. You can also use your oven if you’re able to set the temperature at 120-140 degrees F (“warm”). Place foods on a cookie sheet with a cooling rack to allow airflow. If you have a convection oven, read instructions for dehydrating.
What to Dehydrate
• Citrus: Lemon, key lime, orange, grapefruit rings
• Tropical fruits: Mango, pineapple, dragonfruit, carambola (starfruit)
• Vegetables: Tomatoes, peppers
