When a bartender serves a cocktail, few issues trigger my face to fall like a dried citrus garnish. Regardless of the visible enchantment a crisp citrus wheel provides, I’ve at all times discovered dehydrated garnishes disappointing. I’d fairly go with out a garnish than must battle one to take one other sip of my drink.
“I don’t see the purpose. They get in the best way,” says Tim Faulkner, a cocktail advisor, bartender, and co-owner of Whoopsie’s in Atlanta, Georgia. “Even with recent garnishes, I squeeze the lemon or lime proper into the drink and toss the garnish so it doesn’t intrude with the expertise.”
Citrus is usually utilized in cocktails due to its capacity to stability spirits. Not solely can the sharp, bitter notes tame the cruel nostril of ethanol in some spirits, however recent citrus may even contribute to the feel of a cocktail—simply consider the creamy physique that outcomes from a wonderfully shaken Daiquiri.
So, why do some bartenders go for dehydrated over recent? Let’s study the case some trade professionals are making for dehydrated garnishes past mere aesthetics.
Dehydration Preserves the Produce
Aside from the distinct traits recent garnishes present to cocktails (like fragrant important oils and crisp taste), holding a gentle provide of produce available is tough for some bars. Contemporary citrus and different fruits used to garnish cocktails might be expensive to inventory — much more so when it’s out of season. On prime of excessive costs, the produce can spoil rapidly. That’s why some bars — and residential bartenders — choose to dehydrate garnishes at their peak.
Dehydrating garnishes reduces waste, saves cash, and ensures shelf-stability, that are all good issues. However dehydration additionally preserves and concentrates the flavour of the fruit. Whereas that doubtless means you received’t wish to lick a citrus wheel as you sip, you’ll be able to nonetheless leverage the potent taste. The secret’s to put the garnish in the most effective spot inside your cocktail to harness its intense taste.
Execution Is Every little thing
Squeezing a lemon or lime into your Gin & Tonic is often innocent, however many cocktails will turn into unbalanced with the addition of additional citrus. Dehydrated citrus, alternatively, permits for extra management when crafting cocktails as a result of the juice can’t be squeezed into the drink. As a substitute, the essence of the fruit and its acidity slowly intensify inside the drink.
Keep away from sprucing your favourite drink off with a citrus wheel on prime, and place it alongside the wall of the glass as a substitute. Correct placement not solely retains the garnish out of the best way but in addition permits the citrus to rehydrate whereas slowly melding with the cocktail. It’s also vital to maintain the garnish on the aspect of the glass fairly than the underside to keep away from an excessive amount of of a concentrated taste if the cocktail is served with a straw.
Find out how to Garnish at Residence
It’s widespread to see dehydrated citrus wheels like lemon, lime, and orange utilized in drinks. Much less widespread choices embrace dehydrated pineapple, raspberries, coconut, and even mangoes. However in the case of utilizing these garnishes at house, it’s vital to suppose via the cocktail and garnish pairing.
“I wouldn’t use a dehydrated lime over a recent one in a Daiquiri or a Margarita, however in a smoked or fat-washed whiskey bitter, I’d undoubtedly use a dehydrated orange,” says Kharis Ellison, a bartender at Talat Market, a 2024 James Beard-nominated restaurant in Atlanta. “The exception [is] dehydrated pineapple, which is at all times scrumptious and retains a terrific nostril in contrast to the opposite [garnishes].”
Tio Lucho’s, a Peruvian restaurant in Atlanta, proves this level with a milk-washed Daiquiri topped with a wedge of dehydrated pineapple. Simply over a mile away, Stereo, a listening lounge and cocktail bar, toasts dehydrated coconut chips for a Chai Vodka Highball with coconut milk-clarified fino sherry. And dried raspberries work properly in Chambord cocktails like a French Martini.
Find out how to Make Dried Cocktail Garnishes
To inventory your bar with eye-catching dried garnishes, head to a neighborhood grocery retailer or verify retailers like Williams-Sonoma, Amazon, or Cocktail Garnish Co. But when you have already got recent fruit to protect, it’s properly well worth the effort to make DIY garnishes.
For a less expensive technique, merely wash, slice, after which dry the fruit at a really low temperature within the oven for a number of hours. Earlier than putting prepped garnishes within the oven, brush them with lemon or toss in a citric acid wash to forestall the fruit from browning. Hold the temperature round 125 levels Fahrenheit or as little as your oven will go to forestall the sugars within the fruit from burning. Keep in mind to verify on the garnishes incessantly — about as soon as each hour — till they’re dried and agency.
That’s all it takes to create your personal stash of dehydrated garnishes, able to deploy in all of your favourite cocktails.