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

[Kerry Beal]

Ah - that does kind of obligate you to use the peel I guess.  I've got lime, grapefruit, lemon, petit grain, and bergamot oils.

 

Oh yeah - and a whole buddah's hand sitting in 95% ETOH.  Couldn't let it go rotten and was too lazy to do anything like candying it.

Edited August 31, 2014 by Kerry Beal (log)

[Hassouni]

Do these oils mix with alcohol?

[Kerry Beal]

Do these oils mix with alcohol?

yup - they are essential oils - so they mix quite nicely with a variety of things.  I can put them directly in chocolate without causing it to seize and also mix them with liquids.  

Edited August 31, 2014 by Kerry Beal (log)

[lesliec]

 

Oh yeah - and a whole buddah's hand sitting in 95% ETOH

 

By 'in' you mean 'above', I hope.  That recipe doesn't need the fruit to actually contact the alcohol.  The amount of oil/flavour/aroma sucked out with the fruit suspended above for a few weeks is amazing.

 

With Buddha's Hand, I'd suggest two weeks rather than three.  It's incredibly aromatic.  Three, which I did, is fine; I just don't think it needs that long.

[Kerry Beal]

Nope - it's in - don't have a container big enough to suspend that baby over it.  Just bunged it in the ETOH several months ago - it's still in there.  The spirit is quite lovely and perfumed.  I take a little out to put in various chocolate centers when I need some booze in there. 

 

It's sitting on the steps in my chocolate room - it's scared a couple of people.  Shall try to take a picture of it when I get home from work later today.

[lesliec]

They are quite scary beasts - particularly once they go pale after a bit of time around alcohol.

 

Just had a thought.  How about including a finger of Buddha's Hand in a Zombie?

[Kerry Beal]

They are quite scary beasts - particularly once they go pale after a bit of time around alcohol.

 

Just had a thought.  How about including a finger of Buddha's Hand in a Zombie?

Brilliant idea!

[Kerry Beal]

 

Here it is.

 

 

[Tri2Cook]

It's sitting on the steps in my chocolate room - it's scared a couple of people.  Shall try to take a picture of it when I get home from work later today.

 

IMG_1545.jpg

 

Here it is.

 

I'm picturing people thinking Dr. Beal is collecting souvenirs and then trying to figure out how to leave quickly without raising your suspicion.

The local store actually brought a few of those in once. I didn't grab any that day and when I went back they were gone. I wasn't too disappointed because I have no idea what I would have done with them.

 

[Kerry Beal]

That's how I ended up with this one - saw it in a local grocery store (that doesn't carry that sort of thing ever) - figured I'd better grab it.  Of course had no plans for it so it sat until I decided that booze was the only hope for it.  

[Hassouni]

What Kerry said. Although in your high-volume setting an experiment seems called for. Can you do a small batch of 'infused final product' and see what it's like?

 

This is what I did, it worked great!

 

 

Now, back to a more general question:

 

Is there any higher quality neutral grain spirit than Everclear available in the US?

[KD1191]

Now, back to a more general question:

 

Is there any higher quality neutral grain spirit than Everclear available in the US?

 

Funny you should ask...DrinkUpNY just sent me a note about a new 191.2 proof 'vodka' that looks to be perfect for crafting Molotov cocktails (handy 375ml bottle). And, it's from Brooklyn, squeeee.

[lesliec]

191.2? Eek. My still struggles to get that high on a good day!

As we speak, a new batch of gin is coming out of the still and smells wonderful. Juniper, coriander, angelica/liquorice/orris root, cinnamon, chamomile, orange and lemon zests and kawakawa for a local touch. It's coming out at around 80% (pot stilling, so I expect lower alcohol but retained flavours) and when it's finished I'll take it down to 43ish.

One day I'll get around to starting a new topic so I can really show you what I'm up to.

[bostonapothecary]

Funny you should ask...DrinkUpNY just sent me a note about a new 191.2 proof 'vodka' that looks to be perfect for crafting Molotov cocktails (handy 375ml bottle). And, it's from Brooklyn, squeeee.

 

I just visited the producer of the stuff, Industry City Distilling, the other day and it was pretty amazing. They are basically a maker space with a print studio and giant machine shop that set up a distillery to help subsidize the costs. Its not exactly a normal distillery but could be seen as a concept distillery and its staggeringly brilliant. Their team built pretty much all their equipment themselves. Part of the concept is that its a model for what other people can achieve around the world. It is small foot print, low energy consuming, does not consume a lot of water, and does not produce a lot of hard to dispose of waste. Because they are on the sixth floor in an urban environment they use sorghum instead of grain (easier to dispose of and can be worked with in smaller foot prints). They built an UV sterilizer for the sorghum. They ferment the most exotic way I've ever encountered which involves growing their own yeasts and encapsulating them in alginate beads. I think the objective with the exotic ferment is to produce a very low congener content so less has to be stripped away later. They probably have the smallest continuous still in the world.

 

Its a pretty darn exemplary business. People should go and study what they are doing and I think a photographer really needs to get in their and document it because its just not the norm. Industry City only makes vodka and this high proof spirit which has never really been my thing, but once you visit, it ends up being an amazing, unprecidented work of art. The amount of disciplines these guys mastered to build everything keeps blowing my mind.

 

The product is great and speaks for itself, but keep in mind when you consider buying it that you're supporting one of the coolest groups of inventors I've ever come across.

[Hassouni]

Those prices are way too high, unfortunately.

[bostonapothecary]

Those prices are way too high, unfortunately.

 

 

when you scale the price for the ethanol content its will seem more affordable. pretty much smirnoff money.

 

its also a really unique organization. I just read all the research papers they based their unique fermentation process on. the unique aspect is the use of immobilized cell technology which basically encapsulates the yeasts in alginate beads which is a process many chefs are exploring. it gives them a small foot print and spectacular efficiency to make them very environmentally friendly.

 

the technique sounds industrial but its already making its way into sparkling wine production because it makes it easier to disgorge and prevents yeast aroma from leaking into more delicate wine varietals. for these varietals it wasn't previously possible to make a delicious sparkler. its also creeping into dessert wine production and its likely the secret fermentation technique I think Denis Dubourdieu uses in his Doisy Daene Barsac which is one of the great dessert wines of the world (unconfirmed but I really think I'm correct).

 

so yep, you are also buying a bunch of design precedents and in the art world that is what makes things expensive. unfortunately in the highly ephemeral culinary arts nothing is around long enough for anyone to realize that, and if you are ahead of your time you are too often doomed.

[Rafa]

I love what the Industry boys are doing and am extremely impressed by the systematic yet inventive approach they've taken to distilling and intrigued by their results. Did you get to try any of their collection of micro-cut distillates, Stephen? They organize them by flavor profile, which is probably unheard of for a vodka distillery. I can't wait to see what they do next. I'd love to work with them. 

[bostonapothecary]

I love what the Industry boys are doing and am extremely impressed by the systematic yet inventive approach they've taken to distilling and intrigued by their results. Did you get to try any of their collection of micro-cut distillates, Stephen? They organize them by flavor profile, which is probably unheard of for a vodka distillery. I can't wait to see what they do next. I'd love to work with them. 

 

We talked for hours but I didn't get a chance to taste through all their cuts which I know they separate into small bottles. All their fractions are a little wacky because their ferment is so clean due to the UV sterilized mash, ICT yeast process, continuous still with staggeringly high alcohol percentage draw.

 

I would have to go back to various schools for more than 20 years to learn all the disciplines of engineering, machining, electronics, advanced fermentation, etc. that it took to create their setup. They didn't invent the ICT processes, but they are from fairly current research papers and I bet no one would have thought anyone could have applied them to a commercial project in such a short amount of time, especially the sixth floor of a Brooklyn warehouse on a shoe string budget.

Edited September 17, 2014 by bostonapothecary (log)

[Hassouni]

So seriously how the bloody bastard in hell do you filter or clarify infusions at anything but a snail's pace? I spent a lot of money on a Büchner funnel setup, which is a giant pain in the ass (the filters are crazy thick and pumping the air out isn't the most fun activity), and then I saw Jamie Boudreau's post agreeing with me that it's a pain in the ass, and that he now uses a Pur water filter. I got the one linked in his blog, and it's operating at a slower-than-glacial rate. He says it takes a few hours, but that's for 750ml, I'm only doing about 120-130, and at the rate it's going, it may take days.

 

Is gelatin the way to go? Büchner funnel with normal coffee filters? 

Edited September 24, 2014 by Hassouni (log)

[Hassouni]

I saw some homemade liqueur blog that said first strain through a nylon bag or cheesecloth, then do two rounds of paper towel filtering, then do coffee filters. 

Maybe this is the way to go? I ordered a fine nylon straining bag from Amazon that allegedly strains out a lot of gunk. I'll report back....

 

 

Alternatively, there's the gelatin fining approach (both frozen and non-frozen varieties), and Dave Arnold's agar clarifying technique...may try these too.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Hassouni (log)

[bostonapothecary]

So seriously how the bloody bastard in hell do you filter or clarify infusions at anything but a snail's pace? I spent a lot of money on a Büchner funnel setup, which is a giant pain in the ass (the filters are crazy thick and pumping the air out isn't the most fun activity), and then I saw Jamie Boudreau's post agreeing with me that it's a pain in the ass, and that he now uses a Pur water filter. I got the one linked in his blog, and it's operating at a slower-than-glacial rate. He says it takes a few hours, but that's for 750ml, I'm only doing about 120-130, and at the rate it's going, it may take days.

 

Is gelatin the way to go? Büchner funnel with normal coffee filters? 

 

 

sometimes I use an acme centrifugal juicer to filter liquids. it works because the walls aren't slanted like others to create a pulp ejects. you just put extra filter pads in it or coffee filters then trickle the liquid through it in a slow stream so it doesn't go off balance. this type of filtration does aerate the liquid so for sensitive stuff you have to de-aerate afterwards which you can do with a tap cap or my champagne bottle manifold.

 

high pectin stuff or gelatin stuff can be down as well. the liquid doesn't go through the filter paper but gets blocked and fills the spinning basket. so you let it build up at a trickle (to stay balanced) and be centrifugally separated. then when you stop you let the liquid improperly run out the bottom where the lock nut is. its a not too graceful maneuver. undo the lock nut, lift the basket quickly and put your finger under it to block it, then finally drain it into something else.

 

the agar clarifying technique does strip a ton of flavor which can be a flaw or a feature depending on the context.

Edited September 24, 2014 by bostonapothecary (log)

[Hassouni]

sometimes I use an acme centrifugal juicer to filter liquids. it works because the walls aren't slanted like others to create a pulp ejects. you just put extra filter pads in it or coffee filters then trickle the liquid through it in a slow stream so it doesn't go off balance. this type of filtration does aerate the liquid so for sensitive stuff you have to de-aerate afterwards which you can do with a tap cap or my champagne bottle manifold.

 

high pectin stuff or gelatin stuff can be down as well. the liquid doesn't go through the filter paper but gets blocked and fills the spinning basket. so you let it build up at a trickle (to stay balanced) and be centrifugally separated. then when you stop you let the liquid improperly run out the bottom where the lock nut is. its a not too graceful maneuver. undo the lock nut, lift the basket quickly and put your finger under it to block it, then finally drain it into something else.

 

the agar clarifying technique does strip a ton of flavor which can be a flaw or a feature depending on the context.

 

Well that's no good.

 

As for centrifuges, I already have way way way too much shit in my kitchen...

[bostonapothecary]

Well that's no good.

 

As for centrifuges, I already have way way way too much shit in my kitchen...

 

not really a centrifuge like you'd think, they are small juicers. so using them as a typical centrifuge is sort of a hack. pricey when new, but they can be had affordably on ebay.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I have one.  How would you use it as a centrifuge?

[haresfur]

I'd like to see someone market a cross-flow filtration system for kitchen use.