Category: Uncategorized
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Orange Liqueur Dehydration with Tapioca Maltodextrin
It's nice when other people do experiments for you. Reader Jonathan Faircloth started a blog called The Zymologic Table to record the trials and tribulations of making orange liqueur dust. Though it's not my experiment, this is a continuing part of the Solid Liquids project, in which I am searching for ways to dehydrate liqueurs…
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Making Sugar from Cane and Beets
In the continuing study of sugar, today we'll look at how sugar is made today. According to Sugar.org, this is how sugar is made from either beets or cane. For sugar cane: ❧ Grinding the cane to extract the juice;❧ Boiling the juice until the syrup thickens and crystallizes;❧ Spinning the crystals in a centrifuge…
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Studying Sugar: A Resource List
In the Sugar Spirit Project, I've had to use several sources to research material, so I figured I'd list them on this page should you want to read them yourself or check my work. I'll add to the list as I use more resources. Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History…
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Sugar Spirit Project Index
The aim of the Sugar Spirit Project is to research sugar: its history, production, distribution, forms and use, and byproducts. This page is the project index that will link to all the posts. Hot-linked posts have gone up already, text posts are yet to come. Feel free to suggest more aspects of sugar for me…
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Solid Liquids Project Index
The aim of the Solid Liquids Project is to research the best way to dehydrate liqueurs and use the resulting flavored sugar in creative ways. This page is the project index that will link to all the posts. The Solid Liquids Project Cocktails with dehydrated liqueurs found on menus. Literature review: techniques used to dehydrate…
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The Wide World of Pisco
For years, the only piscos available were the single-grape quebranta and the blended acholado, often with quebranta at its core. Now we can find all eight approved Peruvian pisco varietals and several different acholado blends. In my latest story for the San Francisco Chronicle I talk about the wide range of piscos now available and…
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The Humble Potato and the Dangers of Monoculture
Recently I watch the documentary The Botany of Desire on Netflix, based on the Michael Pollan book of the same name. Of the four plants they focussed on, one was the potato. And as I was planning a trip to visit a potato vodka distillery, I decided to take notes. The Origin of the Potato…
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Don’t Forget the Wild Tofurkey
When you're out shopping for your liquor-loving vegetarian guests for Thanksgiving this year, don't forget to pick up some tofu and booze to make my special Wild Tofurkey dish. It's tofu marinated in a cocktail and baked. Mmm.
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On ice
When Alembic bartender Josey Packard talked about moving from San Francisco back to Boston, she was worried about getting the right job. "There's a place opening in the fall that will have a Kold Draft machine, and I think I need to work there," she said. "Otherwise I'll have to make ice at home and…