I was traipsing around a conifer forest, looking for the perfect white fir. I wasn’t hunting for a Christmas tree. I had just been taught to see the wilderness as my own personal liquor cabinet, and I was searching for ingredients for my next cocktail.
It’s Friday afternoon, you’ve made it through the long week, and it’s time for Happy Hour, Gizmodo’s weekly booze column. A cocktail shaker full of innovation, science, and alcohol, with a twist of exploration.
Under the guidance of my friend and foraging expert Emily Han, I made a citrusy pine syrup that eventually stirred its way into a perfectly festive old-fashioned. It’s one of many delicious recipes in her book, Wild Drinks & Cocktails: Handcrafted Squashes, Shrubs, Switchels, Tonics, and Infusions to Mix at Home, which takes the idea of hand-crafted, local mixology to another level.
Sourcing your old-fashioned from a nearby forest might seem like a lot of work, but slipping a little nature into your cocktail shaker makes for a great seasonal twist using what are guaranteed to be ultra-fresh ingredients. It’s also a great introduction to foraging for those who aren’t quite ready to dive head first into a plate of dandelion greens, notes Han. “Not everyone wants to eat a handful of ‘weeds’ you foraged, but they can get on board with a cocktail or soda!”
Han began her own foraging lifestyle as an avid hiker in her Los Angeles neighborhood. “I became curious about the plants I encountered, and as a food lover and recipe developer, I was even more excited when I learned some of them were edible—or when I’d come across something clearly edible, like overhanging grapefruits or feral peach trees!” (The rule adhered to by most foragers is that if the fruit hangs over a fence into public space like a sidewalk, it’s fair game; a “feral” tree might have been planted in a park or as part of a former orchard.)
Over time, Han realized the act of identifying and gathering edibles in her neighborhood taught her more about her home. “It gave me a sense of connection and rhythm in a place that people often believe doesn’t have seasons, or even nature.”
No comments:
Post a Comment