Hassouni

Mine is in a small mustard jar (since I'm just experimenting) but I topped it up with juice, and it seems to be the consistency I want. Haven't tried this doctored version in a cocktail yet though.

I should point out I also don't use the stuff fast enough to make 1:1 without it getting pretty dodgy...

See, I find that yields a less than 1:1 sugar:water ratio, as the water fills in the gaps around the sugar grains before it's even dissolved

Stupid question, when you, the industry, and everyone says 1:1 or 2:1, does that mean by volume or weight? I've done by weight so far...

Holy crap. Sam, your method (with a bit less sugar) after refrigeration yielded a syrup almost as thick as jam. Does yours get like that when you make it?

Just made this using the Sadaf juice and the Sadaf concentrate. I didn't have nearly enough non-molasses-y sugar for 4:1 on the concentrate, but the final product is still ULTRA thick and viscous. Despite the presence of the juice (as opposed to my previous version with just concentrate), it tastes a lot more cooked and lacking in that bright flavor. I made two Bacardi Cocktails daiquiris with grenadine instead of sugar/syrup ( ), one with each of the grenadines I made. With the lime, Sam's grenadine is more balanced. to keep the 2:1 by volume sugar ratio my next batch might be 2:2 juice:sugar mixed with 1:4 concentrate:sugar, for a total of 3 parts pomegranate and 6 parts sugar, and to give a bit more of that fresh juice taste. This is purely aesthetic, but it gives drinks a sort of dull pinkish hue, almost like the color of pink grapefruit juice. Short of commercial synthetic dye, what's a good way to get it more reddish, to really give a rose color, to say, a Jack Rose?

Carrot and daikon are a mainstay of Vietnamese food (not to mention almost any nabe dish). Nothing wrong.

86 English proof or American proof?

Well, for a swizzle it helps to have something strong, due to all the crushed ice (I used Wild Turkey 101). How strong is the WR?

Just picked up some Sadaf juice from the Persian grocery - damn is it good stuff! Seriously the closest bottled product I've had to actually eating a pomegranate. I'll be trying variations on Morgenthaler's and Sam's methods

Mitch, my last batch was Pom & sugar with the shit shaken out of it. It tasted like slightly thicker, slightly sweeter juice, and didn't have a lot of sweetening or tart-ening power in a cocktail. Mind you, this was at 1:1 sugar to juice ratio. (btw, when people refer to 1:1 or 2:1 do they mean in terms of weight or the imprecise volume measurement? I do all mine by weight) Sadaf makes a bottled juice NOT from concentrate - I was considering trying that too, and may still yet.

I will say that after 18 hours or so, maybe a bit longer (I covered the glasses tightly in foil), the genuine 80 proof and the diluted-to-80 151 are a lot more similar to each other than they were last night. Also, navy proof Lemon Hart is an ass-kicker! Might try 100 proof next, cos GOD DAMN, it makes Smith & Cross look like child's play.

I'm going to drop by and try this soon. I've never been keen on gigantic fruity beach holiday cocktails but now I see yours I'm willing to be persuaded Nice mate. Feel free to pop up and see me any time on the First Floor at South Place Hotel during the evenings Tuesday - Saturday. It's soon to be members and residents only, but ask for me and it won't be a problem. Be sure to introduce yourself and the first drink is on me! We have a short list of five "Tiki" drinks that we're super happy with and work on an "if we have it, you can have" basis. I spent quite a bit of time tweaking and balancing and reckon they'll all meet eGullet pallates. We'll be adding more as popularity grows but for now it's five drinks, done really well rather than half-arsed attempts at every Tiki drink created. Any suggestions on drinks to use Pimento Dram in are welcome - I'm still learning the tropical drinks, myself. Sorry to hijack this thread with spam. I'm just trying to spread the cocktail love, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Blender. Consider the love spread. I'll be wearing a red rose and carrying a copy of the Times . And I'll give the eGullet handshake. And then I'll just introduce myself in words... Well here's a pimento dram number, again one I've noted down and never got around to trying: Lion’s Tail 2 oz. Bourbon ½ oz. St. Elizabeth allspice dram ½ oz. Lime juice 1 dash Angostura bitters You can adapt it by changing your bourbon for dark rum and the bitters for rock candy syrup (Jasper's Jamaican), and/or adding a few drops of absinthe. This drink works exceptionally well as a swizzle, too.

It actually has less than half that sugar in it (394g per litre, or 140g in 355ml), and on its own it has the consistency of a VERY weak syrup, very liquid and runny. It also is not sweet-tasting at all. I've made my last few syrups at 2:1 sugar:water by weight, which results in a VERY thick, and presumably VERY shelf-stable syrup. I made a test run in a very small jar, just a few ounces - 2 parts concentrate to 7 parts of my 2:1 SS, a dash of orange flower water, and a half teaspoon of pomegranate molasses (Cortas brand, dibis rumman in Arabic) with a little water to thin it out just a tiny bit. Tastes delicious. I need to use it in a cocktail and see what happens.

Well you seem to be more of a chemist than me, so I can't offer a good explanation I'm just going by what's on that Tiki forum thread

I'm no chemist, but according to Ed Hamilton diluting alcohol is not the same as diluting, say, juice, and for the best marriage between water and ethanol + flavor, it's best to take it gradually. As for letting it sit, I suspect it's for similar reasons as to why chili, curries, etc, taste better the next day. The poster on Tikiroom I think made a brief mention of his initial trial tasting diluted, but after adding water over 2 days and letting it sit a day, it tasted right and proper. (edit: here's the thread http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=42188&forum=10&start=0 - both pages are relevant)

I just picked up a bottle of Sadaf (read: Persian) pomegranate concentrate - it's just the juice at 8x the strength. It says to dilute it 7:1 water:concentrate. I did that, and it tastes just like eating a pomegrante, tart, astringent, and not very sweet. (So, authentic, anyway!) How would I turn this into a syrup? I have some 2:1 simple, would it be 7 parts of that to 1 of the concentrate?

Why 94? Because that's what gin usually is, and gin is typically designed for mixing? In any case....my initial experiment has proved interesting. After mixing 18ml of water into 30ml 151 over the course of a few hours, and letting it sit (covered) for a couple more hours, it seems they really are identical - except the diluted one tastes...diluted. Apparently over on Ministry of Rum and Tikiroom, the suggestion is to mix the water SUPER slowly (this guy did half a 750 over two days!) and then let it sit for a day to marry - and then it won't taste watery. I've also just now started the process of doing a navy proof one. Mind you, this is all in Glencairn glasses, so only an ounce or two at a time!

So, I'm in the middle of comparing my old-bottling Lemon Hart 151 to my newly acquired old-bottling Lemon Hart 80, by means of diluting the 151 down to 80 proof and doing a side by side (I'm adding water slowly, so it's not done yet), to see for myself if indeed the 80 is just weaker 151 I then plan to do this with the new bottling 151 (which I need to go out and buy), comparing that to the old 80. If it's close enough, I won't bother buying more of the 80 proof. But this got me thinking - I can make it any proof I want - I could go for Smith & Cross style Navy Strength, at 114, or London dry gin proof, at 94, or make it a bottled-in-bond 100 proof. Lemon Hart 80 is not really a sipping rum, but it does make canny cocktails - but personally I feel 80 proof spirits tend to get lost a bit. What's the general feeling here on the Spirits forum on higher proof spirits for mixing? What would be most versatile?

not to be nitpicky, but sushi by definition requires rice...

Check out recipes for shochu or soju, similar stuff

Syzygies, what do you use for acidic food, I'm a bit confused.

I second the rec for a Zojirushi set up - have at least three - one at boiling, one at a bit below boiling, and one at 175 or so. Nothing pisses me off like a cup of hot water and a teabag next to it.

Is the outside of the pan liable to rust as with cast iron? They don't mention seasoning that

Where are you located?