Home brew orgeat - Tiki Drinks and Food

K KuKuAhu Member Kahiki, Ohio Joined: Dec 23, 2002 Posts: 567	K KuKuAhu Posted posted on Sun, Nov 12, 2006 6:33 PM Just thought I might start a thread concerning the trials and tribulations of brewing up some homemade orgeat. I can still buy a few brands around here, and I can always order some online or from a local shop, but I have been wanting to try making some for a while and it seems like now is a good time. To start with, I looked at the ingredients listed on popular commercial brands. The synopsis of that research is as follows.. Commercial orgeat contains: sugar and water or cornsyrup, natural and/or artificial flavors, various preservatives, various gums or oils that make it cloudy And what little I could find on classic french orgeat.. almond milk, sugar, orange flower and/or rose flower water So... I imagine that making almond milk would be tedious, and I can buy good almond milk at the store, so that was my first acquisition. The brand I purchased did contain some cane syrup and a little sea salt, along with mild preservatives. I imagine the cane syrup is going to modify the amount of sugar I need, but these "extras" are not very bothersome to me. Next we need rose water. Yes, I will try both that and the orange flower water, but rose is first for no real reason. I will also try a batch with both. I bought a nice french brand. Easy enough. Sugar.. the variety is nearly limitless, but as I am trying at first to make a more classic "orgeat of old" so to speak, I went with an organic brand. It is just evaporated cane juice from plants grown with no chemical garbage. It is a bit tan in color, and this will affect the orgeat, but flavor is my focus, not appearance. At least not yet. Now we cook. In a pot I brought 2 cups of the almond milk to a boil along with 2 pounds of sugar. Made a syrup. Cool. Add 1 tbsp rose water. Taste. Not bad. This does not have the punchy flavor and smell one expects of orgeat at all, and the sugar has made it a bit tan in color. It is aromatic, mild, and soft on the palate. A good flavor over all, but it truly is a natural tasting product. It is something you could consume as is by itself, which I cannot say of any commercial brand I have tried. I can only imagine that this may be close to the old orgeat made by hand, but it very "old fashioned" in appearance and taste. The rose water is there, though subtle, and I imagine you would miss it if it was left out. Next up, I go for a commercial version.. I made a sugar syrup with bleached white table sugar. 2 pounds sugar, 2 cups of water. To this I added 6 teaspooons of a nice organic almond extract I picked up, and 1/4 cup almond milk (just for the cloudy thing). Also put in the rose water (1 tbsp). Result? Well, this smells a lot like commercial orgeat, and it nearly looks like it too. The taste is more natural, and a side by side has commercial (Torani) tasting very chemical laden. This is useable orgeat for sure, provided you are willing to let go of the idea that the artificial is the benchmark. Rose flavor and scent is again there, but the extract moves it further back in the profile. Further experiments... I decided that there are merits here to both the subtle orgeat of the first batch, as well as the more amped up version using extract. I decide to try a mix of the two to see what I get (added a little rum too just for kicks). Ahu orgeat #1 2 cups of the organic sugar 2 cups of the almond milk 1 cup plain water 4 teaspoons organic almond extract 1 tbsp rose flower water 1/2 cup Cruzan light rum Combined everything save the rose water and set to boil it in a pot. Once boiling I reduced the heat and simmered it on low (bubbling a good bit) for 25 minutes, whisking occasionally. This was funneled into an empty rum bottle along with the rose water and shaken. Left to cool and rest. The result: A true blend of the 2 concepts, this is a very nice orgeat. It is a bit tan (again due to the use of organic sugar), and I think most will prefer the milky look of commercial orgeat because they are used to it. It does have a handmade flavor, but the extract gives it much of the scent and flavor kick of the commercial brands. I imagine that the more extract you add, the closer you will get to the chemically enchanced taste of the factory produced stuff. Now... after all this, I am still not close to being done. I'll try a few more recipes, including an orange flower water version. My main goal is simply to do this for fun, but if I can I'll be trying for a more natural version of orgeat that anyone can make, and that is very close to commercial brands so that it is not at all a leap to "get off the chemicals". I suspect that this is doable. I already have the lion's share of the experimenting done, and now I am working it all out in my head. Should have something soon. Ahu

Just thought I might start a thread concerning the trials and tribulations of brewing up some homemade orgeat. I can still buy a few brands around here, and I can always order some online or from a local shop, but I have been wanting to try making some for a while and it seems like now is a good time.

To start with, I looked at the ingredients listed on popular commercial brands. The synopsis of that research is as follows..

Commercial orgeat contains:
sugar and water or cornsyrup, natural and/or artificial flavors, various preservatives, various gums or oils that make it cloudy

And what little I could find on classic french orgeat..

almond milk, sugar, orange flower and/or rose flower water

So... I imagine that making almond milk would be tedious, and I can buy good almond milk at the store, so that was my first acquisition. The brand I purchased did contain some cane syrup and a little sea salt, along with mild preservatives. I imagine the cane syrup is going to modify the amount of sugar I need, but these "extras" are not very bothersome to me.

Next we need rose water. Yes, I will try both that and the orange flower water, but rose is first for no real reason. I will also try a batch with both. I bought a nice french brand. Easy enough.

Sugar.. the variety is nearly limitless, but as I am trying at first to make a more classic "orgeat of old" so to speak, I went with an organic brand. It is just evaporated cane juice from plants grown with no chemical garbage. It is a bit tan in color, and this will affect the orgeat, but flavor is my focus, not appearance. At least not yet.

Now we cook.

In a pot I brought 2 cups of the almond milk to a boil along with 2 pounds of sugar. Made a syrup. Cool. Add 1 tbsp rose water.

Taste.

Not bad. This does not have the punchy flavor and smell one expects of orgeat at all, and the sugar has made it a bit tan in color. It is aromatic, mild, and soft on the palate. A good flavor over all, but it truly is a natural tasting product. It is something you could consume as is by itself, which I cannot say of any commercial brand I have tried. I can only imagine that this may be close to the old orgeat made by hand, but it very "old fashioned" in appearance and taste. The rose water is there, though subtle, and I imagine you would miss it if it was left out.

Next up, I go for a commercial version..

I made a sugar syrup with bleached white table sugar. 2 pounds sugar, 2 cups of water. To this I added 6 teaspooons of a nice organic almond extract I picked up, and 1/4 cup almond milk (just for the cloudy thing). Also put in the rose water (1 tbsp).

Result?

Well, this smells a lot like commercial orgeat, and it nearly looks like it too. The taste is more natural, and a side by side has commercial (Torani) tasting very chemical laden. This is useable orgeat for sure, provided you are willing to let go of the idea that the artificial is the benchmark. Rose flavor and scent is again there, but the extract moves it further back in the profile.

Further experiments...

I decided that there are merits here to both the subtle orgeat of the first batch, as well as the more amped up version using extract. I decide to try a mix of the two to see what I get (added a little rum too just for kicks).

Ahu orgeat #1

2 cups of the organic sugar
2 cups of the almond milk
1 cup plain water
4 teaspoons organic almond extract
1 tbsp rose flower water
1/2 cup Cruzan light rum

Combined everything save the rose water and set to boil it in a pot. Once boiling I reduced the heat and simmered it on low (bubbling a good bit) for 25 minutes, whisking occasionally.

This was funneled into an empty rum bottle along with the rose water and shaken. Left to cool and rest.

The result:

A true blend of the 2 concepts, this is a very nice orgeat. It is a bit tan (again due to the use of organic sugar), and I think most will prefer the milky look of commercial orgeat because they are used to it. It does have a handmade flavor, but the extract gives it much of the scent and flavor kick of the commercial brands. I imagine that the more extract you add, the closer you will get to the chemically enchanced taste of the factory produced stuff.

Now... after all this, I am still not close to being done. I'll try a few more recipes, including an orange flower water version. My main goal is simply to do this for fun, but if I can I'll be trying for a more natural version of orgeat that anyone can make, and that is very close to commercial brands so that it is not at all a leap to "get off the chemicals". I suspect that this is doable. I already have the lion's share of the experimenting done, and now I am working it all out in my head. Should have something soon.

Ahu

Post #266220 by KuKuAhu on Sun, Nov 12, 2006 6:33 PM