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Tomek

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Posts posted by Tomek

    Adventures with sodium alginate

    in Cooking

    Posted

    Does alchol break down the skin of the sphere?

    A friend of mine just made spherified Cointreau in champagne.

    Did your friend use "straight" cointreau for that ? I've had problems with getting 40% alcohol to form spheres ? I did some reading and thought that indeed tooo much alcohol doesn't work. From my experience around 20 to maximum 24% alcohol seems to work.

    Can somebody shed some light on this ? I'm using the Biozoon alginate and calcium.

    I also wanted to check on another thing as well.

    I made Chambord liqueur caviar recently which was put in sparkling wine.

    After a while the contents of the caviar seemed to be displaced by the sparkling wine. Is that just some sort of osmosis type process?

    Molecular Cocktails

    in Spirits & Cocktails

    Posted

    I'm still getting my head round the German instructions which are not as easy as I thought. Even a German I met at the weekend had trouble to explain it to me. However the 2 ingredients that I mentioned are:

    Riboflavin (E101) and Beta-Carotin (E160a)

    gallery_52569_5903_20854.jpg

    The Riboflavin is supposed to make drinks "glow in UV light". Unfortunately I don't have a UV at home to see what the effects are.

    gallery_52569_5903_18968.jpg

    The Carotin is meant to give "deeper colour" to drinks

    gallery_52569_5903_9124.jpg

    The other ingredients are Agar Agar, Sodium Alginate, Calcium Chloride, Methylcellulose and Xanthan.

    gallery_52569_5903_7280.jpg

    The set comes with a metal measuring spoon, 2 3ml dropper pipettes, a measuring cup up to 25ml, a plastic spoon and book - instructions and recipes.

    gallery_52569_5903_12376.jpg

    As soon as I get my head round the Geman obstacle and have any results I will definately report back. I'm a complete novice to this game. :hmmm:

    The one thing that struck me so far with all the ingredients of the set is that they seem to be dosed with the metal spoon that comes with the set. No weighing involved i.e. Dissolve 4 spoons of alginate in 120ml of water. Then mix 20ml of the mixture with 40ml of cocktail. 4 spoons of Calcium Chloride in 130ml of water to make the bath.

    That is if my guesses of the German are correct.

    Molecular Cocktails

    in Spirits & Cocktails

    Posted

    I received my Biozoon Cocktail Pro set today. I was wondering if anyone has bought or used this set ? http://www.biozoon.de/shop/product_info.php?info=p28_.html

    There's a great book that comes with the set with around 50 recipes. Unfortunately it's in German so I have to start learning it soon.

    However the set looks very professional and is intended specially for cocktails. It also has 2 interesting ingredients that I never came across before. One is some sort of dye and the other something that makes drinks glow in UV light as far as I can tell.

    Homemade Liqueurs

    in Spirits & Cocktails

    Posted · Edited by Tomek (log)

    Wow thanks for the explanation slkinsey.

    The rectified spirit- that's how it's labeled on the bottles here - I would say is very clean and neutral. If you dilute it with water it's very drinkable. I'm not an expert but I know that from experience in a way. My dad uses it every Christmas to make a traditional hot drink that we always have at Christmas dinner with honey, lemon, cloves and cinnamon. Of course it's diluted down with water as well - but always served very hot. Very good for cold winters in Poland ;)

    Eje here are two recipes from my dads family liqueur book that was kind of passed down to him from my grandfather. He has quite a few but here are two he gave me today.

    He always makes them in 5 litre bottles/jars. Its a bottle that's really wide at the bottom and gets narrow at the top with thatched cane around 2/3 of the bottle.

    Wild or blackcherries

    2kg blackcheries

    400g natural honey

    3/4 l of rectified spirit (90 ABV I think)

    1 1/2 l of vodka

    Put them together for 6 weeks and then bottle and leave for as long as desired. Obviously the longer the better.

    Funnily enough he doesn't filter it when he puts it in bottles but rather "takes it" off the top from the big container using a rubber tube. A bit like siphoning it. I hope my English is understandable :)

    The second one is the Walnut one made with green walnuts. He stressed that you have to make sure that the shell hasn't started to form yet. He makes this one around early july here.

    So here goes:

    24 green walnuts cut into quarters

    15 prunes

    i stick of cinnamon

    1 stick of vanilla

    1/2 kg of brown sugar

    One star anise

    Some unground pepper corns

    2 l of vodka

    1/2 l of rectified spirits

    Put it in the same kind of 5 l container.

    After 2 weeks he ads half a lemon that was soaked in vodka for 1 day.

    This is then left until the end of September until it's bottled.

    Have you tried to make one with Rowan - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorbus_aucuparia ? It's very popular here.

    Homemade Liqueurs

    in Spirits & Cocktails

    Posted

    Hi Everyone,

    I wanted to try to get some information about something that is very traditional here in Poland (sorry about the long post).

    We have a tradition here of making infusions or what the dictionary translates into English as "tinctures". The basic idea is pretty much standard - take something from nature and put it in vodka or usually the recipes specify "rectified spirit" - the really potent 90 ABV flavourless alcohol and sugar. They are usually left to mature for months and if possible even years and almost always dilluted with water at some point in the process.

    Making these "nalewka" as they are called is a tradition in our country that goes back centuries and autumn is the time to make them. Some of them are considered to have medicinal properties (like the gralic ones).

    My dad always makes one with black cherries or wild cheries and wallnuts using the unripe nuts in their green shells.

    And this is pretty much my question - has anyone tried to make infusions/tinctures with things like:

    Rowan - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorbus_aucuparia

    Wild rose berries or fruits

    Blackberries

    Prunes

    What is the difference between an infusion and a tincture ?

    Is it just the amount of time that the flavouring part is left in the alcohol ?

    Can anyone also tell me if there is a difference if I use vodka or rectified spirits from a chemical reaction side?

    Any help will be greatly appreciated.

    Infusions, Extractions & Tinctures at Home: The Topic (Part 1)

    in Spirits & Cocktails

    Posted · Edited by Tomek (log)

    Hi Everyone,

    I wanted to try to get some information about something that is very traditional here in Poland (sorry about the long post).

    We have a tradition here of making infusions or what the dictionary translates into English as "tinctures". The basic idea is pretty much standard - take something from nature and put it in vodka or usually the recipes specify "rectified spirit" - the really potent 90 ABV flavourless alcohol and sugar. They are usually left to mature for months and if possible even years and almost always dilluted with water at some point in the process.

    Making these "nalewka" as they are called is a tradition in our country that goes back centuries and autumn is the time to make them. Some of them are considered to have medicinal properties (like the gralic ones).

    My dad always makes one with black cherries or wild cheries and wallnuts using the unripe nuts in their green shells.

    And this is pretty much my question - has anyone tried to make infusions/tinctures with things like:

    Rowan - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorbus_aucuparia

    Wild rose berries or fruits

    Quince (I think I saw one in the previous posts)

    Blackberries

    Prunes

    Anna N - this is a recipe I'm going to try today. I don't know if it will help to achieve what you want to make:

    100g Caraway Seeds

    3/4 L of Rectified Spirit

    1/4 L of Water

    Orange peel from 1/4 Orange

    300 g of Sugar

    The recipe is something like this:

    Crush the caraway seeds and put in a jar with the spirit, water and orange peel for 2 months.

    After this time add the sugar and leave for 2 weeks. Then pass through a seive/cloth to clear. Bottle and leave for another 2 months.

    What is the difference between an infusion and a tincture ?

    Is it just the amount of time that the flavouring part is left in the alcohol ?

    Can anyone also tell me if there is a difference if I use vodka or rectified spirits from a chemical reaction side?

    Any help will be greatly appreciated.

    Polish Liquor

    in Spirits & Cocktails

    Posted · Edited by Tomek (log)

    Hi Larkien,

    Being Polish and living here below is a translation of one recipe I found. By the way you put me onto something I'd never heard of or drank previously so respect to you :)

    Apparently Warzonka comes from the Silesia (Slask) region of Poland and should be drank hot. In the silesian dialect "warzyc" means "to cook". All the recipes I checked are pretty much identical so here goes:

    Miod pszczeli 3 lyzki - 3 spoons of honey

    Cytryna 1 szt. - 1 lemon

    Spirytus 300 g. - 300g of i think what you call everclear - very high content alcohol with abv. of 90 or 180 proof in american terms.

    Cukier 10-15 dag. - Sugar 100-150 grams

    Woda 2 szklanki - 2 glasses of water

    Cynamon,gozdziki - cinammon and cloves

    And the recipe is more or less like this:

    From the sugar make a light yellow coloured caramel, add the lemon juice, honey and blended herbs according to taste together with the water. Combine everything very well until the caramel has melted (or dissolved), boil and then remove from the heat. In an enamelled pan with the simmering mixture VERY carefully add the everclear and stir witha wooden spoon.

    Serve hot

    Przepis:

    Z cukru sporzadzic karmel o jasnozlotej barwie,dodac do niego sok z cytryny,miod,zmielone korzenie wedlug smaku oraz wode.Wszystko dokladnie wymieszac do chwili rozpuszczenia sie karmelu,zagotowac i zdjac z ognia.Do wrzacego w emaliowanym garnku plynu bardzo ostroznie wlac spirytus,zamieszac czysta drewniana lyzka.Podawac na goraco.

    I hope that hepls you if you have any other Polish recipes you need help with then just give me a shout :)

    I must say that it seems very similar to Krupnik which my father always makes on Christmas eve.

    Tomek

    The Ice Topic: Crushed, Cracked, Cubes, Balls, Alternatives

    in Spirits & Cocktails

    Posted

    Thanks for all the tips I must say however that:

    1. I tried the hot water version

    2. I've used mineral water and boiled water

    3. I've turned my freezer downs as far as possible

    And the results still aren't satisfactory.

    I haven't tried distilled water as yet but will do in the near future and I definitely can't afford an ice machine at the moment.

    The bottom freezing idea seems interesting but my home fridge/freezer has the freezing element at the top.

    I'll keep trying I guess until I finally get that all important clear cube at home

    The Ice Topic: Crushed, Cracked, Cubes, Balls, Alternatives

    in Spirits & Cocktails

    Posted

    Hi All,

    I was wondering if anyone has any home tips for getting ice cubes without those annoying white bits in the middle.

    I've recently managed to get some of those IKEA molds here in Poland but I'm really dissapointed with those white areas in the cubes.

    From what I've managed to read here and there it seems that the way to get lovely transparent cubes is in a machine where the water "runs through" the cube elements.

    Any help on this would be greatly appreciated

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