When Adam Sarkis began designing the cocktail menu for The Phoenix Club, he didn’t want the bar to be like the other hotspots in downtown Milwaukee. “We’re on this block on Jefferson Street where there’s a lot of turn and burn,” Sarkis says. “A lot of bars cut mountains of lemons and limes, and you can’t reuse them the next day.” Show So, Sarkis invested in a dehydrator and began drying all his lemon and lime wheels. “I wanted to offer a garnish that’s identifiable, but in a different presentation,” says Sarkis. Sarkis has also dehydrated lime halves that have been juiced, and he’s used the dehydrated halves as vestibules for fire cocktails. He also dehydrates orange fruits after he uses the peel for cocktail garnishes. The dehydrated oranges garnish alcoholic slushies, and most customers end up eating the chewy pieces. “Your drink looks cool, and they’re pretty delicious to bite into,” Sarkis says. “Plus, when you garnish with a wedge and someone squeezes the citrus into the drink, that throws the flavors and balance off. When you dehydrate, fruits last significantly longer. You’re still throwing a lime on top of a drink, but you’re not being wasteful. You’re being mindful.” Mindfulness — and reducing the bar/restaurant’s environmental footprint — is what the Perennial bar and restaurant in San Francisco is all about. “As a way to minimize waste, we dehydrate tons of stuff,” says Rob Hanic, bar manager. “If you chop up a lemon or a lime, it’s only good for a day or two. If you dehydrate them, they last indefinitely.” Besides citrus fruits, Hanic dehydrates berries, tomatoes, beets, mushrooms, artichokes, squash, yams, celery…you name it, he’s probably dried it. He’s currently working on developing a Bloody Mary using dehydrated tomato and celery that’s been ground into a powder. “When it comes to vegetables, we mostly make them into powders,” Hanic says, explaining how his staff grinds them into powders using mortars and pestles. Right now, he’s using yam and squash powders for a pumpkin milk punch.  SF’s Perennial makes their Pumpkin Milk Punch with dried yams and squash. “The main reason we do it is to reduce our carbon footprint, but it certainly affects the bottom line. We spend a lot less on citrus, and it also reduces our workload. We cut garnishes once a month instead of every day,” he says. The Perennial uses four Excalibur dehydrators, and when they’re filled, the ovens are also turned to low temperatures to dry foods, too. Clair Sprouse, bar manager at Sunday in Brooklyn, likes to use powders to create flavored salts for drinks. Her pastry chef suggested she dry leftover peach peels after using the peach fruit for a drink. She dried the peels, ground them into a powder and mixed that with salt. “It adds a pop of stone fruit to drinks,” Sprouse says. Sprouse also takes discarded lime halves that have been juiced, and she dries them at 119 degrees Fahrenheit for three days until they turn black. They’re then ground into a powder to add a smoky, citrus flavor to drinks. “You’re adding a citrus element to a drink without having to add citrus at all,” Sprouse says. “When you dehydrate something, it concentrates the flavors and aromas.” Sprouse has also dried strawberries that were used to infuse Aperol. “We strained the strawberries off, dried them, and ground them into a powder. Then we used that powder to dust the top of a crushed ice cocktail,” Sprouse says. “It had this great, strawberry aroma.” Trevor Schneider, Reyka vodka national brand ambassador, adds that bartenders who are just beginning to dry fruits and vegetables should be aware of the shrinkage in size, as they reduce to sometimes a fourth or less of the size of the original. He also recommends flavoring dehydrated fruits — like adding chili powder to mango slices, which he uses to garnish a drink called The Little Devil. “Cinnamon and cloves can also be added to dehydrated apple chips,” Schneider says. “With apples, make sure you soak them in citrus before drying because otherwise they brown. The key with garnishes is to taste it with your eyes first to make sure it is aesthetically pleasing.” Schneider says he’s dried starfruit, and he’s dried berries, too. “Dehydrated strawberries are great for Valentine’s Day because they look like lips,” he says. The Little Devil
Pumpkin Milk Punch
Directions: Add all ingredients to a non-reactive container and allow to infuse to for at least 2 days at room temperature, until mixture smells and tastes like pumpkin. Strain through Chinois lined with cheesecloth. Syrup
Directions: Heat water and sugar together over medium-high, stirring regularly until sugar is dissolved. Add all ingredients and cook for 5 mins, stirring frequently. Cover, remove from heat, and allow to sit 30 mins. Transfer all to Cambro and allow to sit overnight. The next day, strain through Chinois. Allspice cream
Directions: Add all ingredients to tin and shake until cream is thickened. Final Steps: Juice 2 lemons and add to strained booze infusion. Heat 1 qt of whole milk to 140 degrees, and add to booze. Allow to stand undisturbed for about 30 mins, until milk has separated and curds float to the top. Gently skim solids off the top, and strain remaining through chinois lined with wet cheesecloth. Add syrup and refrigerate for at least 2 days, until all solids have completely settled at the bottom. Rack off solids and bottle. Store refrigerated and pour to order. Float allspice cream on top. Why do you dehydrate fruit?Dehydrating or drying fruit (or vegetables) takes all the moisture out of it. This can intensify the flavour and increase how long the fruit lasts, by a very long time. Dried fruit can be 100% natural as nothing is added - or taken away - apart from the moisture. Dehydrated fruit can remain packed with vitamins, minerals and fibre, although some of the more volatile vitamins such as Vitamin C may be diminished. It should be noted that dried fruit has concentrated calories which can make it an excellent addition to a hikers back pack, but for those of us watching the calories, it is something we should be aware of. Especially as some of the fruits are just oh-so-delicious and easy to eat. At Zest HQ we got into drying our own fruit for cocktails because we hate waste. We begrudged wasting a whole lemon or lime for one G&T. Now we have a plentiful supply on hand of a whole variety of fruits, whether in season or not, with nothing wasted or left forgotten in the back of the fridge. And now we wouldn't be without our dried fruit garnish. How long will dried fruit last?It has been reported that stored properly, dried fruit can last up to five years, so long as it was initially prepared correctly. In the shorter term, we recommend you keep the fruit in the bag we supply it in, with the top turned over a couple of times. It would be best to keep the bag out of direct sunlight, at a reasonably stable temperature - normal room temperature is fine - but most importantly it should be kept dry. For longer term storage we suggest popping it in an airtight jar, something like a flip top glass jar. Some of our fruit is now available as an option in a glass jar - it makes a fab gift! We put a recommended 'best before' time of six months on each pack we sell, however we know it will keep much longer. What fruit can I dehydrate?Just about any! Citrus fruit is just about the best - oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit, pomelo - you name it, we've probably had a go at drying it. Strawberries, raspberries and blueberries are really good too. Thinly sliced firm pears and apples work well - we dunk ours quickly into lemon juice first to help preserve the colour and to give it an extra little kick once it's in your G & T. Pineapple is absolutely superb - we give ours a couple of minutes over the steamer, just to start the flesh softening; the lovely discs come out of the dehydrator just a little bit chewy and beautifully, naturally sweet. We have also had great success with kiwi, rhubarb and mango. We have plans to start trying out banana, cherries, peaches, nectarines, gooseberries and someone mentioned ginger root would be good too! So.... how do I dehydrate fruit?Buy the very best quality you can. Examine your fruit and if you wouldn't want to eat it, then leave it on the shelf. If you put poor quality fruit through the drying process, you are going to get poor quality fruit out at the other end. Reject any fruit with obvious damage, bruising, evidence of mould or suspicious discoloration (uneven colouring is fine, especially in organic fruit, as this could simply be because of the ripening process). We cannot recommend getting organic fruit enough. Every. Single. Time. After drying, chances are you are going to be dropping that lovely golden orange wheel into your cocktail. And your drink of choice is going to start washing the skin of the fruit. If its not organic, who knows what chemicals and nasties are being transferred into your drink? You have your fruit. Berries and smaller fruits should be rinsed in a sieve or colander under the cold running tap for several moments, agitating the sieve slightly to ensure all sides of the fruit gets washed. Shake as much excess water off as you possibly can and leave it to drain somewhere clean, protecting from flies and insects if necessary. For larger pieces of fruit, run a sink full of clean, cool water and gently drop them in. Give them a swoosh around in the sink, and then with a reasonably soft scrubbing brush give them a gentle scrub. The brush should be firm enough to remove dirt, but not so harsh it damages the skin. The aim here is to remove any dirt gathered during growing and harvesting, and during the transportation. Pay particular attention to any creases and the plug ends as this is where the dirt tends to accumulate most. After a quick final rinse, lay the fruit out on paper towels to dry off as much as possible. Once everything is clean and dry, take a seriously sharp knife. We use knives with hard ceramic coated blades with anti-microbial properties and soft handles for the best grip, but a decent standard vegetable knife will do just as well, so long as it is long enough to reach across the full width of the fruit. Starting with the oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit, slice the fruit as evenly and thinly as you can. We aim for 2mm thick. This can start getting a bit tricksy especially as you work towards the end of the fruit. Don't panic if they get over thick as this can all add to the charm, but be aware that uneven slices may dehydrate at varying times. Flick away any seeds or pips you may come across, but again don't worry too much as they show up very easily in the finished dried fruit. Think about how you are going to use the finished product. Larger grapefruit may need to be cut in half or even quarters for it to fit nicely into your glasses, similarly some oranges need halving first too. Feel free to use the plug ends. We dehydrate these as well and add them to a separate pot we call The Ugly Muddlers. This is where the failed cuttings end up - too good to throw out, but not quite pretty enough for a Pimms. We use them in a cocktail shaker, giving them a bash with a barmans 'muddler' and a drop of alcohol, to start the flavour layering process. Lay the citrus slices on your chosen tray ready for drying. Any flat cooking tray will work, be aware that warm air will need to circulate around the fruit as much as possible, so something with no or low sides and a thin base would be preferable. You may chose to use parchment paper, if you wish, but the finished fruit will be a tiny, little bit sticky, so aim at non-stick as much as you can. Lay the fruit so that it does not overlap. Slightly touching is fine, but overlapping will basically weld your slices together, and no one wants welded fruit! In our dehydrator, citrus fruit takes around 12 hours at 60° C. We would suggest checking with your oven manufacturers instructions about extended use at low temperatures. It is not suitable for some ovens and others may need the door left open. In any instance do not leave the oven unattended, it will get fairly hot and will cause a hazard to kids and pets. After the suggested time give the fruit a little touch test. They should feel brittle, firm and dry to the touch, and should easily snap in half. A little bit of stickiness is fine, but too much will affect how long dehydrated fruit will last. Every piece of fruit is different and may take a longer or shorter drying time - we have also noticed that air humidity connected to the weather can also affect it. Allow the fruit to cool fully in an airy place. Once cool seal them into airtight containers and store in a temperate, dimly lit place - a pantry would be fine. Avoid storing near strong smelling foods or cleaning materials as this can affect the final taste. Apples and pears are best cut using a mandolin. For our sake, use the guard every time! It makes our hair stand on end when the chefs on TV blithely slice away on an unguarded mandolin. These fruits will need a little dunk in something acidic to preserve the lovely fresh colour and as an added benefit is another layer of defence against bacteria. Depending on the desired end result, we use either lemon juice or organic apple juice. Lemon juice will add an additional kick to the taste, absolutely great in a G&T but a little mouth puckering if eating as a snack. Apple juice helps intensify the warm autumnal appley taste and is great for snacking. Shake off the excess liquid and lay out on your trays as with the citrus fruit. These fruit take about 12 hours at 60° and should feel dry and brittle to the touch - the perfect crispy crunch is still eluding us at Zest HQ, we are starting to suspect other ingredients have been used in the more mainstream brands.... the fruit WILL have taken on a brownish colour - this is a natural reaction to being and dried. Raspberries can all be left whole and simply placed on the trays with their noses pointing up. These little fella's contain a lot of moisture and can take up to 24 hours at 60°. Strawberries should have their plugs removed and then sliced into 2, 3 or 4 slices depending on the size of the fruit. If you plan on doing much drying of these babies, it would be worth investing in some non-stick dehydrating sheets. I have spent many hours of my life picking off beautiful strawberry slices from a drying rack, only for them to crack and break in the process :( These also take around 12 hours at 60° C. Blueberries are very special little things and require a bit more effort in the process. After washing they should be dunked in a pot of boiling water in a colander or sieve for no more than 30 seconds, then immediately put into a bowl of icy cold water. Once they have cooled completely, lift out and allow them to dry as much as possible. Then spread them out on a freezer proof tray and pop in the freezer for at least two hours or over night. Try to spread them as evenly as possible without any of them touching another. Then dehydrate for 12 hours. Check them over and if any look swollen, prick them to deflate with a cocktail stick, discard any that look pale and bloaty. Then set them to dry some more - for another 12 hours. When done, they should have a hard outer shell and 'click' when dropped on the table top - I told you they are very special! |
How to make dried fruit for cocktails
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