Home brew orgeat

On 2006-11-12 18:33, KuKuAhu wrote:
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.

Had reason to make a batch of this over the weekend. I will sum it up in one word: "HotDam! This is good"

We cheated and used both Rose water and Orange Blossom water. We couldn't wait to try some so hot from the pot it was actually pretty nasty. Then, as it cooled down and the flavors came together properly it just kept getting better and better.

Not sure what the shelf life of this stuff will be because i don't think it will last long enough to find out.

Here a shot of everything we made. The Orgeat is in the left most set of green bottles. Going from left to right - Passion Syrup, Blackberry Shrub, Orgeat (Green bottles with light color), More Passion Syrup (Green bottles with dark color), Pimento Dram, Fallernum (last lightest bottle)

[ Edited by: Chip and Andy 2007-10-14 18:40 ]

On 2007-10-14 18:38, Chip and Andy wrote:
Not sure what the shelf life of this stuff will be because i don't think it will last long enough to find out.

There's nothing quite like a good batch of homemade. You could make twice that amount and not have to worry about its shelf life, only how to keep from using it up so fast.

Emergency Orgeat Emergency
Revolting Development Affecting Emergency Orgeat

Sorry about the poor quality image. I jiggled my cellcam.

I didn't want to report this until I had the opportunity to test the new and improved Pacific Almond milk from a few different sources.

This is a shot of the new and old products side by side. The "new and improved taste" claim had me concerned right off the bat. I think the only thing that should allow that to happen would be to use fresher almonds and less preservative. What are the odds of that?

Anyway, the taste of the new product is OK—no spectacular difference from the old. There is one problem with the new product that makes it useless for making Emergency Orgeat and that's the fact that the microparticles in the milk do not settle and the milk is always lumpy. That means the only way to get rid of the thick suspended particles is to put it through a cheesecloth/filter bag process. If you have to go that route, it adds enough time and work that you might as well just make the orgeat completely from scratch.

The virtue of the old product was that the microparticles would settle out and form a thick gook that pretty much stuck to the bottom of the carton as long as you didn't agitate it. Then you could pour off the milk from the top 2/3 or so without any sediment. When the EO ingredients were blended together, there would just be a fairly thin layer of froth at the top that could easily be removed with a drinking straw.

The new product generates a froth layer that's 2 – 3 times as thick as the one that forms using the old product and the froth layer forms a lot slower. When you remove that, it still doesn't seem right, and it isn't. The blending just smooths out it's lumpy consistency and leaves the microparticles suspended in the liquid. The result is that it makes all drinks cloudy.

I'm still checking to see if the new product will eventually settle out like the old product after it has a chance to sit still for a period of time. But the old product would settle out within a day or two after it was shaken up. The new product has not settled out after a few weeks, nor has it shown any indication that it might ever. Unless some other company makes almond milk similar to the old Pacific product, Emergency Orgeat might be a thing of the past.

How about an ingredient comparison in an attempt to identify what's been changed?

In my local stores I have seen 3 or 4 different brands of Almond Milk. Maybe one of these is till good?

That's getting very, very tough.

Gnomon - I got around to making your emergency orgeat last weekend and I must say, nice job! Very tasty stuff. My only reservation is the viscosity. It's very thin. I guess I'm used to the thick Trader Vic's stuff. But other than that, this has the artificial orgeats beat, hands down. I'll have to make KuKu's too and compare. I saw his recipe a year or so ago. Time to get down to it.

Oh, by the way, I can't recall the brand of almond milk I used, but I think it's the same as the one you have pictured. I got it from Whole Foods. Anyway, I picked up the unsweetened version. I figured I was adding sugar already, so why double it?

Oh, and by the way, I ordered some Roskin Premier Essence Orgeat recently based on Beachbum Berry's recommendation in Sippin' Safari. I'm not sure if he got his bottles switched up or what, but I've got to tell you... this is some foul stuff. It pains me to say that because I know of the history of the owner, Bob Esmino from Sippin'. It's all high fructose corn syrup and artificial crap. Very disappointing.

On 2007-11-09 16:02, GatorRob wrote:
Oh, and by the way, I ordered some Roskin Premier Essence Orgeat recently based on Beachbum Berry's recommendation in Sippin' Safari. I'm not sure if he got his bottles switched up or what, but I've got to tell you... this is some foul stuff. It pains me to say that because I know of the history of the owner, Bob Esmino from Sippin'. It's all high fructose corn syrup and artificial crap. Very disappointing.

Wow, good to know. Thanks.

On 2007-11-09 15:52, GatorRob wrote:
Gnomon - I got around to making your emergency orgeat last weekend and I must say, nice job! Very tasty stuff. My only reservation is the viscosity. It's very thin. I guess I'm used to the thick Trader Vic's stuff. But other than that, this has the artificial orgeats beat, hands down. I'll have to make KuKu's too and compare. I saw his recipe a year or so ago. Time to get down to it.

That's why it's just Emergency Orgeat. It's thin. It has preservatives. It is not great, just head and shoulders over most store-bought orgeats in flavor. It's thinness doesn't matter much once it's mixed into drinks. It's basically 10-minute orgeat you can whip up when you don't have any good stuff around.

But right now, I have the problem of the change in the product's formula. Can't get rid of the microparticles without going through the same trouble you have to go through in making almond milk from scratch. That defeats the purpose. Gotta find another brand that is sedimenary like the old Pacific.

f$(*# spelling and grammar! English is just my first language.

[ Edited by: The Gnomon 2007-11-10 10:36 ]

On 2007-11-08 13:40, Scottes wrote:
How about an ingredient comparison in an attempt to identify what's been changed?

In my local stores I have seen 3 or 4 different brands of Almond Milk. Maybe one of these is till good?

Thought I brought that with me yesterday, but left it at home. The ingredients of the new product are indicative of a better product, just not for orgeat. I'm sure the addition of evaporatd cane juice (definite improvement) is a major contributor to its maintaining the suspension of microparticles.

Anyway, here are the ingredients lists:

Old Product

almond base (filtered water, almonds)
brown rice sweetener (filtered water, brown rice)
natural almond flavor
tricalcium phosphate
sea salt
guar gum
xantham gum
carrageenan
carob bean gum
riboflavin (B2)
Vitamin A Palmitate
Vitamin D2

New Product

filtered water
evaporated cane juice
almonds
tricalcium phosphate
sea salt
potassium citrate
carrageenan
soy lecithin
riboflavin (B2)
Vitamin A Palmitate
Vitamin D2

"Made on equipment that also processes cashew nuts"

Here's the list of nutritional information and daily requirement % that is not zero:

Old Product

Total Fat: 2.5g 4%
Sodium: 105mg 4%
Total Carbs: 11g 4%
—
Calories: 80
Caloroes from Fat: 20

New Product

Total Fat: 3g 5%
Sodium: 140mg 6%
Potassium: 140mg 4%
Total Carbs: 9g 3%
Dietary Fiber: 1g 4%
Protein: 1g
—
Calories: 70
Caloroes from Fat: 25

I'm stopping by stores of chains that I know carry Pacific almond milk but might not sell a lot to see if I can find the old product (sell by date is in 2008). I've only found 4 cartons, but I'm hoping to amass enough old product to tide me over until I can find a suitable replacement (which might be getting off my ass and go back to making my own, untainted almond milk).

Thanks for the info! Of course, I was in 2 stores today that carry this but I didn't know what to look for. :(

Earlier in the post you guys were talking about using a Nut Grinder to make a butter. We have a Farmers Market and a couple of Health food stores that will grind any nut into a butter for you. Cashews, Pecans, ALMONDS - whatever as long as it's shelled. I'm sure that's available anywhere. As far as the emulsification goes, it is the speed the oil is suspended in the opposing liquid that affects your process, I don't think grinding would effect the ability to emulsify. If the oil hits the liquid too fast it doesn't suspend properly. With a butter the milk is going to have a higher oil content because you've crushed the cellulose more efficiently. The milk can be drizzled into the other ingredients slowly as it whips, and it creates a smoother, more stable pull that won't separate as quickly. With some French stocks you go through your strainer, sieve, cheese cloth and then a handkerchief. If you don't graduate up too quick, it's a cinch and you don't have too squeeze your leavings. We used to do gallons of demi glace this way.
Maybe that helps,
Laffo

I haven't had much time or reason to do another batch of orgeat... Sorry.

But on another forum we were talking about rum infusions, and Matusalem mentioned that he uses a French Press coffee maker for a first pass filtering of his infusions. This sound perfect for orgeat! And it pours quite easily.

Just thought I'd pass that tip on.

I know this is off-topic a bit but: Shaw's has Ferrara brand orzat syrup on sale this week for $3.99. I don't think it's something they probably carry all da time--probably just for the season. REAL almond flavor!

Noted! Thanks Jay.

Thanks Pappy! I saw that stuff in my Shaw's a couple of months ago. 3.99 - sold!

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.

so for not grinding your own almonds is this the best way to go? or have you guys perfected this recipe some more since this was posted?

thanks
Kyle

1 cup water
1.5 cups organic evaporated cane juice sugar
2-1/2 TBsp Orange Flower Water
2 tsp organic almond extract
1 oz vodka or light rum to preserve.

Note that this is a pretty powerful mix. You might want to start with 1 Tbsp of the orange flower water and 1 tsp of the almond extract, and adjust to taste.

I got some almond milk thinking I was going to use the recipe I quoted in my previous post, but now that I think about if that almond milk is made as a milk substitute I can't imagine it really tasting very good. its still sealed I havent actually tried it. so I was thinking about going with your recipe scottes. I couldn't find orange flower water though and got the rose flower water. will it substitute for the orange alright?

anybody else feel free to chime in with opinions on these recipes. I refuse to mix my liquor with corn syrup any longer so I gotta figure this out!

I couldn't find orange flower water though and got the rose flower water. will it substitute for the orange alright?

It's definitely a different flavor, and isn't ideal for a Mai Tai, but it is still useful and interesting. You may like a Mai Tai with the rose, but I find that Mai Tais are better with the orange.

You can easily find the orange flower water online, and that bottle is so small that shipping isn't exorbitant like when ordering a quart bottle of orgeat.

What about using both Rose flower and Orange flower water?

guess i'll put my orgeat on hold a bit and try to find the orange flower water

I have found a great recipe with photos et al for making home made orgeat.

http://fxcuisine.com/Default.asp?language=2&Display=26&resolution=high

Best
Mark

On 2008-08-20 18:16, Sparkle Mark wrote:
I have found a great recipe with photos et al for making home made orgeat.

Nice article, but I disagree with the recipe.

IMO the almonds should be chopped/ground much finer to allow more surface area to be exposed to the water and, being smaller nuggetrines, allowing the almond oil to emulsify quicker and more completely.

Slightly heating the almond bath can accelerate the emulsion a little but I think it detracts from the quality of the milk compared to soaking it longer instead. Boiling is definitely out of the question.

I would also avoid the almond powder (i.e., anything that is small enough to get through the strainer) and avoid the bitter almond extract. There is enough incidental almond powder created in the nuggetrine chopping/grinding process not to add any more. That powder is responsible for the layering that forms at the top, which IMO should be as minimal as possible. The almonds used are not bitter almonds, whereas the pure almond extract you get at the supermarket is made from bitter almonds. I prefer to preserve the original almond flavor from the emulsion rather than mask it with a different kind of almond flavor. If you are going to use almond extract to doctor the flavor, you might as well make your orgeat out of rice or barley and then use almond extract to flavor it.

When making the syrup, it is better not to cause the almond particles and residual oils to turn brown, so reducing the liquid slowly without boiling is highly recommended. The rule of thumb is to not ever bring the sugar and almond milk to a boil, but rather to a half boil (50°C) monitored by using a candy thermometer. I don't usually have the patience to stick to that guideline, so I step it up and just stir and watch it for a long time. The idea is to cause the excess water to evaporate as quickly as possible without boiling.

Toasted orgeat ain't bad, really. If you do let the almond micro-particles and oils turn brown (with me from not paying attention to the batch). My orgeats typically have a slight caramel tinge to them because I'll often use turbinado sugar.

Anyway. That's my 2½¢.

Hate to rain on the parade but violating the USPS laws is not a great idea, If you try to ship the alcohol yourself and get caught, you and the person you are shipping to will be heavily fined. A friend of mine got in a buttload of trouble last year for shipping some "Pixie Juice" they brought back from Rome. But... nuthins illegal till you get caught doing it and we can have a bail party for you at the MaiKai.

I agree with you about the almond powder. I used whole raw almonds, so my process differs due to the initial product.
I start with whole raw almonds and then blanch them for 1 minute and strain into a colander.
This takes care of the rinsing and allows the brown almond skins to pop right off.
several hundred almond skins later I put the blanched almonds on a towel to free them of excess water and put them right into the food processor. (tried slicing up a dozen or so almonds with a chef's knife for entertainment value)
I chop them up using pulse on the old Cuisinart until they are finely chopped.

One of the things that I like about this recipe is the addition of enough sugar to preserve the almond milk for it's overnight soak.
I would have to disagree with you about the addition of bitter almond extract or essential oil. We do not have access to bitter almonds, and traditional Orgeat according to the Grocer's Encyclopedia is made from 10 parts sweet almonds and 3 parts bitter, so I would argue that the addition of bitter almond flavoring would not be out of bounds in making a traditional orgeat. I don't think anyone has actually made Orgeat from barley for a while.

Below is a link to The Grocer's Encyclopedia, it's a pretty bitchin resource.
http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/html/books/book_63.cfm

I do agree with alternative sugars to use especially for simple syrup, I find that evaporated cane juice will reconstitute nicely and makes an excellent syrup. I have some Costa Rican tapa de dulce that I have made falernum from and I find that it imparts a very earthy flavor while making the syrup very dark brown/black.

Best
Mark

On 2008-08-21 11:43, Sparkle Mark wrote:
I would have to disagree with you about the addition of bitter almond extract or essential oil. We do not have access to bitter almonds, and traditional Orgeat according to the Grocer's Encyclopedia is made from 10 parts sweet almonds and 3 parts bitter, so I would argue that the addition of bitter almond flavoring would not be out of bounds in making a traditional orgeat. I don't think anyone has actually made Orgeat from barley for a while.

Hmmm! I might have to rethink the bitter almond component at this point. That would justify the use of almond extract considering it is the only readily available source of bitter almond flavoring.

On 2008-08-21 12:12, The Gnomon wrote:

On 2008-08-21 11:43, Sparkle Mark wrote:
I would have to disagree with you about the addition of bitter almond extract or essential oil. We do not have access to bitter almonds, and traditional Orgeat according to the Grocer's Encyclopedia is made from 10 parts sweet almonds and 3 parts bitter, so I would argue that the addition of bitter almond flavoring would not be out of bounds in making a traditional orgeat. I don't think anyone has actually made Orgeat from barley for a while.

Hmmm! I might have to rethink the bitter almond component at this point. That would justify the use of almond extract considering it is the only readily available source of bitter almond flavoring.

I made a batch of Emergency Orgeat this weekend and ruined it by using almond extract. I'm willing to try it again, but next time I'll only use 1 or two drops instead of six. The stuff now tastes like the center of an almond pastry, which just ain't right.

On a different note, some of you may recall that I reported, when Pacific, screwed up its almond milk by offering it in a "new improved" formula. It had a better almond flavor than most other almond-milk-in-a-box (e.g., Almond Breeze—unsweetened of course), but it was infested with sediment, much of which clinged together as globules suspended in the milk. It rendered the orgeat very cloudy and always retained some of the globules.

This weekend I took the trouble of pouring the Pacific Almond through coffee filters until I had enough to make a batch. It clogs the coffee filters pretty quickly, so you have to go through lots of them, but at least, when that chore is over with, the orgeat ends up with an extremely thin foam layer and is clearer than the pre-improved Pacific product.

Too bad I had to ruin it by using six drops of almond extract.

For those in the Greater Washington Metro Area who make their own orgeat...

Rose Flower Water is somewhat readily available (Food Whole, Magruders...), but Orange Flower Water is elusive. Up until this weekend I was sending away for mine. Now I don't have to. I found it on the shelf of a "gourmet" market in Bethesda (Old Georgetown and Democracy) called Balducci's Food Lover's Market, which is a small chain with stores in MD, DC, VA, CT, and NY.

The one in DC is in NW near AU (New Mexico Ave). They have two in VA (Franklin St–Alexandria and Old Dominion Dr–McLean). I don't know how the stock compares to the Bethesda store, but it's the only place I've found so far that sells Orange Flower Water ($3.99). They also sell Rose Flower Water for the same price.

Same brands as shown below:

You can get great rose water and orange blossom water at any Persian grocery or decent pan-Middle Eastern store. Since it is frequently used in Persian cuisine the bottles are about 2x as big and it's about half the cost of the typical stuff you can find in Bevmo or goourmet boutiques.

If you want some commercial orgeats to compare against I really like these:

http://www.ditalia.com/product/Toschi_Almond_Orzata_Syrup/Beverages

http://www.torani.com/flavor/orgeat_almond_syrup

Best
Mark

On 2008-09-02 10:57, Sparkle Mark wrote:
You can get great rose water and orange blossom water at any Persian grocery or decent pan-Middle Eastern store. Since it is frequently used in Persian cuisine the bottles are about 2x as big and it's about half the cost of the typical stuff you can find in Bevmo or goourmet boutiques.

If you want some commercial orgeats to compare against I really like these:

http://www.ditalia.com/product/Toschi_Almond_Orzata_Syrup/Beverages

http://www.torani.com/flavor/orgeat_almond_syrup

Best
Mark

So far I have yet to find a Torani syrup that is any good. Too bad, since it there is a wall of the stuff at World Market. I think it's probably the worst I've ever had when it comes to their Almond. I haven't tried Toschi, but there is decent French orgeat available, so when I want to go store-bought, I just send away for that. I get my store-bought orgeat from Touch of Europe. Search for "syrup" to see their whole line. They carry two kinds of orgeat, Teisseire and Rième. I get the Teisseire sometimes, but rarely because homemade is always better (except for ruined batches), including Emergency Orgeat (which is much thinner than the real deal, but can be made rather quickly).

Torani Almond is not the same as Torani Orgeat.
The almond flavor Torani is a sweet almond flavor and is probably meant for coffee drinks etc..

In regards to Almond exctracts you must make sure that your almond exttract is made from bitter almonds, many of the organic extracts are not made from bitter almond and have a distinctively differnt taste. Plain old McCormacks works.
Better yet see about obtaining Oil of Bitter Almond, that's what they "water down" with alcohol to make the extract.

Best
Mark

On 2008-09-05 17:49, Sparkle Mark wrote:
Torani Almond is not the same as Torani Orgeat.
The almond flavor Torani is a sweet almond flavor and is probably meant for coffee drinks etc..

In regards to Almond exctracts you must make sure that your almond exttract is made from bitter almonds, many of the organic extracts are not made from bitter almond and have a distinctively differnt taste. Plain old McCormacks works.
Better yet see about obtaining Oil of Bitter Almond, that's what they "water down" with alcohol to make the extract.

Best
Mark

For the sake of knowing, I'll have to check out the Torani Orgeat. Having been burned on every one so far I am a bit skeptical.

The almond extracts I use are all bitter almond, but being that I prefer to make my own just about everything that tastes better using fresh ingredients, I'll see if I can find some Oil of Bitter Almond.

That's a good idea about the Persian/Middle Eastern stores. I'm sure there are plenty in and around this town.

Does anyone know if Pacific Organic almond unsweetened is good for making Orgeat.

Ingredients-Organic almond base (filtered water, organic almonds) organic rice starch, sea salt, organic vanilla, natural flavor, carrageenan, riboflavin (B2) vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2.

IMO commercial almond milk tastes like sweet tea made from used band-aids, but that is just my opinion.
Commercial orgeat from Monin, Torani or the like are plenty tasty enough.
If you are going to bother making your own orgeat why not make it worth the effort.

My head is spinning there are so many variations of emergency orgeat.

How is this version?

cup of water
cup and a half of evaporated cane juice organic sugar
1 tsp rose flower water
1 1/2 tsp orange flower water
1 1/2 to 2 tsp almond extract

This is basically Scottes recipe with less flower water. Unfortynately I couldn't find orange flower water but will add when I can find it.

On 2010-05-18 06:27, seabass wrote:
How is this version?

...I couldn't find orange flower water but will add when I can find it.

Sounds like a good start!

It may seem like a lot of work to milk all those little almonds, but the end result is well worth the effort. And with a bit if planning you can make a party of it and have a few friends over and double (or triple) up the recipe and everyone takes some home.

For the Flower waters... Try your local Indian, Middle Eastern, Turkish, or Greek markets. My little shop down the street has Rose Water, Orange Blossom, Grape Flower, Anise, and Elder Flower. I have to go by the pictures on the bottles since the writing is in Arabic. The owner of the shop sort of understood what I was after and pointed me to the correct bottles.

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 ]

I would just buy commercial Orgeat, there are plenty out there that use nice cane sugar.

Trying to fix up something from other processed foods is like trying to make a gourmet meal by fixing up a TV dinner.

On 2010-05-18 10:57, Sparkle Mark wrote:
I would just buy commercial Orgeat, there are plenty out there that use nice cane sugar.

And where is the fun in that?

I agree the whole Tiki-Thing is about relaxing and enjoying life. Me, I enjoy doing the Mad Scientist thing in the kitchen and bar so I don't consider it work.

As with all things bar and drink related.... your mileage may vary.

Me, I enjoy doing the Mad Scientist thing in the kitchen and bar so I don't consider it work.

I agree 100%. For me, this is one of my hobbies and loves. It's great fun making my own mixers for tiki drinks. I've been amazed at how much better my own stuff tastes from the store-bought.

I will say that I love Trader Tiki's cinnamon syrup, but I have never found an orgeat that I like as much as my homemade stuff. I use raw almonds (in bulk from Whole Foods), a syrup of turbinado sugar and water, orange flower water, rose water and almond extact). I do a quick soaking method with the almond meal and heating it up on the stove, letting that sit several hours, then straining and squeezing through cheesecloth. It has an amazing softness and tastes of sweet toasty almonds, caramel and a hint of floral essence.

I used the recipe that Kaiser Penguin posted with a few modifications. I use a lot more almonds, almost twice as much. I blanch the almonds, lightly toast them in the oven and then make a course almond meal/flour by pulsing the toasted, blanched almonds in the food processor. I soaked the almond meal for about 2 hours in a pot with boiled water. I strained through cheesecloth and squeezed, then put the almond milk back into the almond meal solids heated again on the stove, squeezed/strained again without soaking, then I did that all one more time. I added the sugar syrup and essences. Then I made myself a kick-ass Mai Tai that blew my mind.

And where is the fun in that?

I totally agree with getting in the kitchen and making your own stuff!
I just finished making a batch of falernum.
I keep commercial orgeat around just in case I run out of homemade.
I think that I would prefer to use commercial orgeat from Torani or Monin and the like over using almond milk and sugar syrup.
I don't want to discourage anyone from experimenting in the kitchen, that is great fun.
That being said, I've tasted all sorts of almond milk products and not one could pass for something similar to the taste of orgeat.
(in my opinion) :)

What is not fun is wasting good rum on bad mixers.

Just read this entire very interesting thread. With all the discussion of siphoning, straining, cheesecloth-ing, etc. it occured to me that what I once used in organic chemistry lab might work perfectly and make the extraction/separation process a lot quicker and easier:

and you can select your filter paper by grade to capture just the right sized particulates.

OH YEAH! That gear looks awesome, and maybe a touch scary.

Corning bottle top aqueous filter
Hand vacuum pump
need a section of rubber hose
filter paper
the whole thing would cost 100 bucks maybe

I bet you'd end up on the FBI's watch list if you bought all that gear to make "syrups". :wink:

I have not yet tried this myself, but it's high up on my list once I get the chance. Perhaps, some of you would like to test this yourselves before I get around to it.

The most tedious part of making orgeat, the thing that keeps me from making it regularly, is making the almond milk. Blanching the almonds is some work, but it can be kinda fun and therapeutic for some. You can get pre-blanched almonds on the store, but if you want the best orgeat you can possibly make, you need to blanche them just before you make the milk.

I've tried all sorts of things and have improved the process, but having come across soy milk makers, I'm thinking that is the answer I have been seeking. Soy Milk makers advertise that they also make milk form grains and nuts as well.

One of the most crucial aspects of making your own almond milk is to avoid creating microparticles while grinding up the almonds. Those microparticles are able to find their way through just about every straining device or filter you can effectively use, thereby, causing the orgeat to make drinks a bit cloudy; which ain't right.

My latest effort has been to grind the freshly blanched almonds in a manual food grinder, slowly so that the resulting chunks do not become reground and create microparticles. Royal pain in the ass of course, but necessary.

These soy milk makers grind the nuts while they make the milk and, apparently, have no issues with microparticles, so the milk comes out just right.

Here is a link to a comparison among several popular brands. I would have liked to have tested this myself before passing this nugget along to you, but that could take a while.

On 2010-05-20 07:52, The Gnomon wrote:
*snip *
One of the most crucial aspects of making your own almond milk is to avoid creating microparticles while grinding up the almonds. Those microparticles are able to find their way through just about every straining device or filter you can effectively use, thereby, causing the orgeat to make drinks a bit cloudy; which ain't right.
*snip *

I have to respectfully disagree with you.
The particulate matter that makes it into homemade orgeat is the point.
You certainly don't want too much or you will be chewing on almond bits.
The cloudiness of homemade orgeat is mimicked in the commercial brands with all kinds of things to make the orgeat cloudy, such as fractionated coconut and ester gum.
If homemade orgeat makes a cocktail a little extra cloudy or frothy so be it.
After thinking about it so much I need to go and make a mai tai now.

On 2010-05-20 13:26, Sparkle Mark wrote:
... I need to go and make a mai tai now.

Since your already going behind the bar can you make me one too?