Strawberry, 4 ways
…its competition, right next door, is bad and stupid and sells a single avocado for $2.99 on Cinco de Mayo.
The Recipe Section
I have this wonderful store near me that sells all manner of fruits, vegetables, and nuts, and is a delightful candyland of your healthy future. Anyway, its competition, right next door, is bad and stupid and sells a single avocado for $2.99 on Cinco de Mayo. It also had a deal on strawberries at a dollar a carton.
So, I ended up with a couple hundred strawberries.
strawberry, 4 ways
I was able to try four different variations on strawberry syrup after finding this awesome video by “DrinkWithLong”:
Strawberry syrup can be tricky, to the point where people are recommending using freeze-dried strawberries and saying things like “you can’t use watery fruit” and “strawberry is the only one you can actually use because it’s porous”.
You can struggle with them, or just follow the unshrinking, indominable New York Coffee newsletter.
DrinkWithLong has a great methodology here, acknowledging a few key points:
You shouldn’t be pulverizing the strawberries, just mixing them
You can steep the strawberries, like a tea [and last week’s bell peppers]
You make strawberry water first, then add the sugar
These changes, especially the third one, allow for a clean, sweet, and almost floral syrup.
For the syrup (all)
600g strawberry
200g water
sugar to measure, added after strawberry water created [about 350g]
For the drink—blender version (1 and 2)
clean the strawberries, deeply, and chop off the tops
blend the strawberries and water to mix, not to purée
strain the strawberries out and use them in another recipe;
either blend or simmer the remaining water with sugar to mix and create the syrup
For the drink—stovetop version (3 and 4)
weigh a container you are going to strain the strawberry water into; record its weight
clean the strawberries, deeply, and chop off the tops
add the strawberries and water to a pot, heat to a boil, and then a simmer
let the strawberries sit for at least 30 minutes, ideally until the strawberries lose all their color. You may need to top off with water every once in a while.
strain the strawberries out, add sugar to match the weight of the strawberry water, and then return to the pot [after a rinse] and heat to mix the sugar. Make sure to scrape the sides and corners.
Variations 2 and 4
These variations add vanilla; I would recommend trying the strawberry first and then adding vanilla, or just making a separate bottle for vanilla’d syrup, as the vanilla strawberry syrup goes with less combinations than just strawberry.
For the blended version, add imitation vanilla (without alcohol) of about ½ tbsp to start, up to a tablespoon per 500 ml.
For the heated version, throw in a vanilla bean per liter; place while still warm and leave in the bottle. It will look fancy and that is good.
Vanilla, despite it being a simple ingredient, completely changes the flavor.
A strawberry matcha
The most obvious creation. The name is the recipe.
For a more complicated variation, try making a childhood flight.
A lucky charm marshmallow (without the marshmallow, charms, or gelatin)
1.5 oz blended strawberry syrup (with imitation vanilla)
8–12 oz (total volume) matcha, whisked or steamed directly with whole milk
Ideally, ¾ whole and ¼ skim
1.5 oz additional vanilla syrup
Serve warm and frothy.
For the rest of the flight, here’s a picture in the “test lab”:
Yikes!
If you’re in the mood for alcohol [from /u/cocktailpartyapp on reddit]
San Pancho by Caitlin Laman
1½ parts Dry sherry
¾ part Gin
¾ part Elderflower liqueur
¾ part Lemon juice
½ part Strawberry syrup
1½ part Sparkling water
Shake everything (except the sparkling water) with ice. Strain into a tall, narrow ice-filled glass and top with sparkling water.
Garnish with a lemon twist or wheel, a strawberry, a mint spring – or all of the above!
Strawberry Contessa from Rx Boiler Room
1 part Gin
1 part White wine apéritif (Lillet Blanc, Cocchi Americano)
1 part Strawberry syrup
1 part Lemon juice
2 parts Sparkling water
Shake everything (except the sparkling water) with ice, and strain into a short ice-filled glass. Top with sparkling water, and garnish with a sprig of mint or a slice of strawberry.
Grievous Angel by Laurent Lebac
1½ parts Bourbon or rye
½ part Elderflower liqueur
¾ part Strawberry syrup
¾ part Lemon juice
1 dash Peychaud's bitters
1 dash Aromatic bitters
Shake everything (except the lemon peel) with ice, and strain into an ice-filled short glass. Express a strip of lemon peel over the drink, then discard the peel. Garnish with a strawberry slice.