Sunday, July 5, 2009

Citric Addiction

Good times.

So, I find out randomly that I have a new obsession.

Citrus.

Sweet zesty spheres.

The epitome of my new obsession was realized yesterday when I was straining a reddish goey mixture from a coffee filter.

But wait...
I'm getting ahead of myself.

Two months ago I discovered Tonic Water.  If you have never had it, you should prepare yourself and take a sip.  The stuff is just ridiculously good.  Tangerine, Grapefruit, lime, lemon, coriander, allspice, and most importantly, Quinine.  I've never been one for carbonation, but for the ambrosia, I make an exception.

So after familiarizing myself with the stuff, I check out the ingredients.  What do I find near the top of the list but High Fructose Corn Syrup.  Bleck.  Saying Fructose makes me feel nauseous.

So I begin my quest for a tonic with cane sugar instead.  Nowhere is one to be found.  But!  I did find a recipe...

So after collecting the ingredients in some sort of ironic grand scavenger hunt, I begin.

The most surprising and least cooperative faction is Cinchona Bark.  This stuff is nasty.  I don't care if the Jesuits discovered it in the mid sixteenth century and used it to cure pretty much everything... It smells like bad mulch.  Why Cinchona Bark? (one might ask) I will tell you!  It contains Quinine - the bitter and lovely element in aforementioned ambrosia.

After concocting the witches' brew, to find red powdery cinchona all over my kitchen, I pour it into a coffee filter to remove the sediment.

It drifts through swimmingly for perhaps... five seconds.  Then it stalls.  The only option is now to hand press it through the filter.  "How is one to do that?" You're thinking to yourself.  Well... it's difficult.

So after folding my coffee filter into origami, and hand straining it, I finally filter out the nasty bits.  It is at this point in the evening that I realize that I am a junkie.  Tonic water is just too good.

P.S. Have you ever seen someone flame orange zest?  That junk is sweet.


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