Rock candy, so popularly associated with garishly colored sticks and strings, makes its first appearance in world culinography in 9th century Iran. It seems even at such an early time in human history we had already learned to grow sugar crystals. And why would we be growing sugar crystals? Keep reading!
Hitting the gym and getting sweaty? When you're finished with a workout your body needs a boost of minerals in addition to a healthy dose of H2O. Shake up this quick drink and bid adieu to bottled sports drinks. You've got the ingredients on hand already, electrolytes full steam ahead!
Once you've graduated from the Strawberry Shrub, it's time to incorporate fresh herbs. A noseful of basil pairs well with most fruits and I am partial to swooning over its combination with fresh plums. Indeed, on the road to this shrub I ate fistfuls of torn green leaves wrapped around slices of bleeding plums.
A shrub is nothing more than fruit preserved in both sugar and vinegar. The resulting brew is a bracing syrup, at once sweet and sour. Stir this into sparkling water all summer or shake it up with a cocktail and startle your palate. Vinegar has remarkable health benefits, but let us forget those in favor of its obvious flavor strength. Brew once and let this jar of power support you in the coming months.
Preserving fruit with sugar is a centuries-old tradition that seems to rear its head every Christmas. As we celebrate Christmas in July with Hallmark, take to heart some candying tips. Get started on this now and you'll have gifts aplenty on your shelf to dole out come December!
Packing citrus fruit with salt is a technique used the world over, but when we talk about preserved lemon we mentally fly to Morocco. This is a terrific way to make use of your leftover winter crop, concentrating the flavor of lemons into a salty, tender, treat.
What began as an experiment in the Moroccan tradition of preserving lemons turned into a mason jar proliferation of cured citrus. Once I cracked the code on preserving lemons (not terribly difficult) I decided to try the technique on every kind of citrus I could find at the market. Now I've got jars of lemons, meyer lemons, limes, valencia oranges, blood oranges, and grapefruit, sitting in my cabinet awaiting their debut on my dinner table!