Salted/Salty Cocktails

[Rebecca263]

I had a bottle of vodka here in the house for the longest time. I'm not a vodka drinker, per se. However, I discovered an amazing drink. Beef and onion broth, with vodka. I went through the entire bottle in a week, drinking that lovely beverage. I even tried it with a broiled cherry tomato as a garnish (OK, I was alone in the house for too long, I admit it). So cute! But, the tomato did nothing for the drink, either way, really. The drink is delicious. I used 2 ounces of vodka to each mug of broth. I think that it would be really sweet looking with a tiny skewer of broiled beef chunks as a garnish.

I also tried chicken broth this way. DON'T. It was awful.

edited: bad spelling!

Edited March 27, 2007 by Rebecca263 (log)

[Dan Ryan]

Yeah, that's a bullshot. Spice it up the same way you would a bloody mary.

Edited March 28, 2007 by Dan Ryan (log)

[bostonapothecary]

Interesting. Earlier tonight, I tried a Daiquiri with a pinch of salt added. I found it oddly muted -- even after an additional squeeze of lime, it seemed flat and lifeless. It's the exact opposite of what I would have predicted.

Maybe salt is best left to grapefruit drinks. I'm planning to test that theory, tomorrow probably.

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i've been reading about using salt to lower the PH of dishes for wine pairing to match up better....

so in cocktails it may have the same affect. your daiquiri may be muted and you may not want to use it. in a margarita it may work better toning down the sharpness off the lime so that it can be tasted at the same time as the tequila and the **creole shrub**.... alot of chefs use salt in salads that have lemon juice and vineger.... the salt works to bridge the gap so that you taste them at the same time.....

salting meats may be a whole different story and it has to do with hitting savory taste receptors or something....

[slkinsey]

i've been reading about using salt to lower the PH of dishes for wine pairing to match up better

Um... Out of curiosity, where have you been reading this? To the best of my knowledge -- and I just asked some chemists -- table salt, which is to say sodium chloride, is not a buffer and does not have any effect on pH.

[Rebecca263]

I just made a drink with some gin, 2 1/2 ounces, with the juice and some pulp from a lime, shaken with 3 ice cubes, and poured into a small tumbler, that I rimmed with kosher salt. I liked this. It's probably already got a name, but as a plebian drinker, I don't know it. I wonder if a drink made with some tequila and pickled ginger would be good with salt, too. But, I've just had my drink for the week, so that will have to wait.

[bostonapothecary]

i've been reading about using salt to lower the PH of dishes for wine pairing to match up better

Um... Out of curiosity, where have you been reading this? To the best of my knowledge -- and I just asked some chemists -- table salt, which is to say sodium chloride, is not a buffer and does not have any effect on pH.

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"what to drink with what you eat" andrew dornenburg....

more or less all theory i use in cocktails i bring from wine....

[slkinsey]

Hmm. Andrew and Karen are good and generally reliable writers, but the chemists with whom I spoke told me that adding sodium chloride would have no effect on pH. Could you summarize what they wrote about pH and salt?

[bostonapothecary]

Hmm.  Andrew and Karen are good and generally reliable writers, but the chemists with whom I spoke told me that adding sodium chloride would have no effect on pH.  Could you summarize what they wrote about pH and salt?

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they didn't explain it from a chemists perspective....

they basically said you can use it to align the perceived acidities of food and wine.

it may only be a perceived acidity relative to the tongue and therefore a flavor trick....

someday i will play with it and figure out some practical ratios of sugar / salt / acid...

[Dan Ryan]

This is a perceived acidity effect. Like adding sugar to an acidic solution: the acidity remains the same, but the perceived acidity is much reduced.

Salt is much more powerful at counteracting bitterness though. Which is why it really brings out different nuances in grapefruit, and makes it taste quite sweet.

[bostonapothecary]

This is a perceived acidity effect. Like adding sugar to an acidic solution: the acidity remains the same, but the perceived acidity is much reduced.

Salt is much more powerful at counteracting bitterness though. Which is why it really brings out different nuances in grapefruit, and makes it taste quite sweet.

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enlightening....

does anyone think there is any salt added to orange liqueurs to tame the bitterness of seville orange to a managable level???

i made an interesting rum punch but got slighly too much bitter from the lemon peels.... i'm gonna add salt and report back....

this is progress.....cheers!

[slkinsey]

It's not clear to me that the peel oil of bitter orange is particularly more bitter than the peel oil of sweet oranges, just different (similarly, the peel oil of sour oranges is not sour). I think all citrus oil is fairly bitter when it comes down to it. Anyway, I would assume that the manufacturers are able to control the bitterness balance of their product without having to use salt. For one, they use plenty of sugar.

As for your rum punch, I wouldn't think of salt as a sure-all for excessive bitterness. Grapefruits are made to taste a little sweeter with salt, but when it comes down to it they're really not all that bitter to begin with and even the "adjusted" taste impression has bitterness. All the salt in the world isn't going to do much to change the taste impression of something that's truly bitter.

[KatieLoeb]

Hmm.  Andrew and Karen are good and generally reliable writers, but the chemists with whom I spoke told me that adding sodium chloride would have no effect on pH.  Could you summarize what they wrote about pH and salt?

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they didn't explain it from a chemists perspective....

they basically said you can use it to align the perceived acidities of food and wine.

it may only be a perceived acidity relative to the tongue and therefore a flavor trick....

someday i will play with it and figure out some practical ratios of sugar / salt / acid...

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Aren't salt and acid at opposite ends of the pH scale - salt being a base? Don't know if the actual pH is lowered by the addition of salt, but this is definitely the basic chemistry of food and wine pairing. Think of how a screechingly acidic Loire Sauvignon Blanc becomes the perfect foil for a briny oyster on the half shell and you get the idea. Try salting your hand (like doing a shot of tequila) and taste a little salt before an acidic wine and you'll definitely see the perceived effect if not an actual one.

[Dan Ryan]

Salt (sodium chloride) is pH neutral. I assume that its activity in counteracting acidity and bitterness comes from tongue receptor effects. Heston Blumenthal cites an interesting experiment on the salt / bitter effect, where salt is gradually added to tonic water making it taste sweeter and sweeter.

It will be interesting to see what umami can bring too. I did experiement once with a tamari martini, but the umami effect made the gin botanicals taste extremely harsh. Maybe I need to go back to work on this...

[hummingbirdkiss]

I think I made this one up but am not sure if I am wrong correct me ..but it is my version I guess of a watermellon blended margarita!

toss in the blender

2 cups of ice cold red ripe seedless watermellon

handful of ice

juice of 1 lime

3 shots of good tequilla

tble of sugar

pinch of fine salt

any fine salt mixed a little New Mexican chile with some grated zest of a lime

blend away

heavily rim your glasses with lime juice and lime salt chile combo and fill the glasses ...sweet hot and salty YUMMMM!!!! I should not be thinking about this drink at this time of the morning you know!

Edited April 10, 2007 by hummingbirdkiss (log)