Spring 2019 Issue
OF KITCHENS AND HEROES
Years ago, I met a lovely woman who had exchanged her McMansion in the Midwest for a railroad apartment in Manhattan. Which also meant that she had spurned her glorio...
Ingredients
SERVINGS: Makes about 2 quarts
- Pine and juniper needles
- 5 heads of staghorn sumac flowers
- 1 handful of paper birch bark
- 2 pine cones
- 2 tablespoons juniper berries
- 1 liter of grain alcohol
- 2 cups simple syrup, divided (recipe follows)
Simple Syrup
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups sugar
Preparation
Pack a 2-quart mason jar with a combination of pine and juniper needles. Add flowers, birch bark, pine cones, juniper berries.
Cover with grain alcohol. (I prefer to use New Jersey’s Devil’s Springs Vodka, but if you can’t find this, Everclear will do.) Allow the botanicals to macerate in the alcohol for 8 weeks.
After 8 weeks, strain out the solids and reserve the liquid.
Add most of the simply syrup to the mix, about 1½ A cups to 2 cups. Taste, adding more until it is sweetened to your taste.
Can be chilled or stored at room temperature. Will keep indefinitely.
Mix boiling water with sugar. Let cool.
Makes about 2½ A cups syrup.
About this recipe
EDITOR’S NOTE: Not all juniper berries are edible. If you pick your own, check with a knowledgeable forager. If in doubt, dried juniper berries also work well in this recipe.
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