029: Citrus-y Booze
Prepping a summer treat during the last gasp of Citrus Szn
The first time I fed my son slices of citrus I felt like I had hit the jackpot. I had never seen him enjoy something so much. No matter how many times a week I serve them to him (I try not to overdo it), he devours them almost too quickly. It’s true that fruit is the one sure thing. You start to see posts on Instagram to the effect of… “what foods to try if your baby will only eat fruit!” The algorithm gets even creepier when you become a parent. At our one-year pediatrician visit I asked if there was such a thing as too much fruit and was relieved to hear a quick “no.” I guess these are the stupid questions you find yourself asking when you’re responsible for the well-being of a tiny human who cannot make these kind of decisions for themselves.
That first week of citrus I was completely overwhelmed by the volume of rind and pith leftover. All the same, I couldn’t bring myself to throw the scraps away—it felt like too much waste, despite being inedible. The last time I had an ungodly amount of mixed citrus detritus I made marmalade (Alison Roman’s recipe from A Newsletter, which I’m pleased to see in her new book Sweet Enough), but this was nearly two years ago and I still have some of that marmalade in my fridge. It greatly pleases me that it’s still good (shout out to my friend Heather: remember when I gave you a jar and told you it would only last a month?!). And marmalade is very very involved and not an ideal project with a toddler about (danger!). I love marmalade, but it’s not as adaptable a preserve as other fruit jams, and there are only so many days of the week I want it on my toast in the morning (shoot me your ideas if you have them). In Sweet Enough Alison suggests putting it in cake batter—very excited to try that application.
But back to this story. I polled my friends over on the ‘gram, and it returned some surprisingly varied results. The two most surprising were Superjuice and Citrus Stock, both being completely new concepts to me (I probably should have known that you can make a stock from anything). Superjuice intrigued me but I wasn’t prepared with Citric and Malic acid on hand, and this was a use-it-now-or-it-will-never-happen kind of situation. My sister Gina suggested adding them to gin, which seemed like the easiest, quickest, most passive suggestion—so I went with that!
I put as many scraps as I could in a large mason jar, and covered it with vodka (I used vodka instead of gin since we never drink vodka, making it better to experiment with), and left it to marinate in the fridge. The process brought to mind one of my favorite old haunts, The Russian Samovar in Midtown, the back of the bar lined with giant canisters of flavored vodkas in progress (do yourself a favor and order dill—it’s my favorite—been ordering sips of it since 2010 baby). After forgetting about it for about a week or more, we made Vodka tonics, and they were the most refreshing treat. I was not expecting the color to be so vibrant.
For our next batch, I reduced the amount of scraps by about a quarter (filling the mason jar most of the way), and added two giant sprigs of rosemary, making the vodka a tad less sweet with the aid of rosemary’s herbal note.
Seeing as we are at the tail end of citrus season I propose that you join me in making up a batch to do its thing in the fridge just in time for warm weather—when it will be so sticky hot and humid for this to be a most welcome treat. I think I’ll try gin and grapefruit and thyme this time.
Citrus-y Booze
Ingredients:
Citrus scraps (everything but seeds, which should be minimal) [like a mix of Cara Cara, Naval, and Tangelo; Grapefruit; anything you happen to have on hand would work*]
Rosemary or thyme sprigs (2, plus more for garnish)
Vodka or gin
Lots of ice (lots!!)
Tonic or soda
Method:
Fill a large mason jar almost to the brim with your citrus scraps, along with two fat rosemary sprigs. Pour in as much booze of your choice as will fit. Seal it with a cap and refrigerate for at least one week.
Once fully marinated, fill a tall glass with (lots of) ice and pour in a couple inches worth of the citrus vodka/gin. Top with tonic or soda, and add a garnish of peel from the jar, as well as a fresh sprig of rosemary if you like.
*I would use grapefruit in its own separate batch, due to its bitterness
While I have you, some recommendations:
Something beautiful: It’s the time for Floppy Tulips, so I highly recommend you go out and buy yourself (or someone you love) a bouquet. As they sit in their vase they will open and flop in the most varied way. Tulips are one of the sillier flowers. That’s not meant disparagingly.
Something to cook from: Rachel Roddy’s An A to Z of Pasta has just been published here in the States in a gorgeous edition from Knopf Cooks.** My copy arrived the morning after I made the Linguine with zucchini, Parmesan, and Egg (which also appears in My Kitchen in Rome), and it was a beautiful vegetarian carbonara. I can’t wait to make them all.
Something to make: Alison Roman’s Spring Tofu Soup is the perfect, comforting soup to make during this liminal period between winter and spring. Yes it is technically spring, but doesn’t exactly feel like it yet here in upstate New York. I had to remind myself that asparagus was in season when I nearly breezed past it at the store. Featuring the aforementioned, as well as a variety of mushrooms and some peas, it’s a perfect hit of umami in the form of tofu, vegetables, and broth. For an added kick I like to garnish with some chili crisp before devouring it.
**My copy was gifted to me by my old colleagues at Knopf, along with a package of Ruote, and it was legitimately the highlight of my week. Please don’t take my recommendation with a grain of salt though. Have you noticed how many times I have mentioned Rachel Roddy in this newsletter?? Thanks you guys!
xo