Ahu summarizes exactly how I feel below.
Lately I have been obsessing on making the most authentic tiki drinks. When I discovered how time consuming orgeat was I was happy to find the almond extract shortcut.
The most powerful sense is the sense of smell. i belive orgeat was used in the mai tai more for aroma. Sure the time consuming method of milking almonds will give a different mouthfeel but with everything added I think it will be negligible. I am thinking along the lines of the law of diminishing returns.
After all isn't the tiki lifestyle to relax. Am I wrong in thinking the extract/simple syrup/flower water recipe is inferior. If so then maybe I will seriously consider buying trader tiki's orgeat.
On 2007-10-08 08:32, KuKuAhu wrote:
Well.. I am certainly excited to see where this thread has gone. Lots of great work being done on this subject. Hopefully folks will see that commercial orgeat is truly terrible stuff by comparison to homemade.
One note I'd like to make here:
I don't agree that extracts are a mere attempt at a fix. We must remember that we are trying to create a useful recipe for the home bartender, and the palate that exists within the populace for orgeat is one that has been trained by commercial brands.
So at least for myself, I am looking for a suitable substitute for the store bought junk that uses better ingredients, and approximates the flavor of the popular versions, but without the plastic tones and the corn syrup mouth feel.
If you use an organic extract, coupled with a hint of store bought almond milk, I think you will have the best possible compromise. To milk the ground almonds is a tedious task that most simply will never bother with. And of those who do try it once, most will never bother again.
I question whether the orgeat that Vic used for the Mai Tai was made without almond extract. I would remind everyone that it is possible to go too far back when it comes to cocktails from the tiki era. (see the falernum argument)
So if we are seeking an orgeat that would be true to the kitchen of a circa 1800s french country estate, then our recipe would likely differ from what we seek to recreate from Vic's 1940s bar.
And I found that orgeat was often made from barley as well. It might have been the original version.
It pays to make the pure form from the ground up (pun intended) with almonds.. this gives you the palate and perspective of extremes, but to me it pays to seek the useful balance in between.
I do not grind pommegranates for grenadine anymore either, as commericial pure pomm concentrates make real grenadine such a snap to create. Sure, the roots form does have a solid tannic kick to it that the concentrates lack, but I'll bet that tannin was not part of the equation in most drinks that utilize it.
Great work folks, I'd love to pow wow with all of you in a kitchen some time.
Ahu
Fraternal Order of Moai
[ Edited by: KuKuAhu 2007-10-08 08:33 ]
[ Edited by: KuKuAhu 2007-10-08 08:34 ]
