When a bartender serves a cocktail, few issues trigger my face to fall like a dried citrus garnish. Regardless of the visible attraction a crisp citrus wheel provides, I’ve at all times discovered dehydrated garnishes disappointing. I’d moderately go and not using a garnish than should battle one to take one other sip of my drink.
“I don’t see the purpose. They get in the way in which,” says Tim Faulkner, a cocktail marketing consultant, bartender, and co-owner of Whoopsie’s in Atlanta, Georgia. “Even with contemporary garnishes, I squeeze the lemon or lime proper into the drink and toss the garnish so it doesn’t intervene with the expertise.”
Citrus is usually utilized in cocktails due to its capability to stability spirits. Not solely can the sharp, bitter notes tame the cruel nostril of ethanol in some spirits, however contemporary 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 contemporary? Let’s look at the case some business professionals are making for dehydrated garnishes past mere aesthetics.
Dehydration Preserves the Produce
Aside from the distinct traits contemporary garnishes present to cocktails (like fragrant important oils and crisp taste), conserving a gradual provide of produce readily available is troublesome for some bars. Recent citrus and different fruits used to garnish cocktails might be dear to inventory — much more so when it’s out of season. On high of excessive costs, the produce can spoil shortly. That’s why some bars — and residential bartenders — favor 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 probably means you received’t need to lick a citrus wheel as you sip, you possibly can nonetheless leverage the potent taste. The secret’s to position the garnish in the very best spot inside your cocktail to harness its intense taste.
Execution Is Every part
Squeezing a lemon or lime into your Gin & Tonic is often innocent, however many cocktails will turn out to be 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 sharpening your favourite drink off with a citrus wheel on high, and place it alongside the wall of the glass as a substitute. Correct placement not solely retains the garnish out of the way in which but additionally permits the citrus to rehydrate whereas slowly melding with the cocktail. It’s also vital to maintain the garnish on the facet of the glass moderately than the underside to keep away from an excessive amount of of a concentrated taste if the cocktail is served with a straw.
The way to Garnish at Dwelling
It’s widespread to see dehydrated citrus wheels like lemon, lime, and orange utilized in drinks. Much less widespread choices embody dehydrated pineapple, raspberries, coconut, and even mangoes. However in terms of utilizing these garnishes at residence, it’s vital to suppose by way of the cocktail and garnish pairing.
“I wouldn’t use a dehydrated lime over a contemporary 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 an excellent 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 effectively in Chambord cocktails like a French Martini.
The way to Make Dried Cocktail Garnishes
To inventory your bar with eye-catching dried garnishes, head to an area grocery retailer or examine retailers like Williams-Sonoma, Amazon, or Cocktail Garnish Co. But when you have already got contemporary fruit to protect, it’s effectively definitely worth the effort to make DIY garnishes.
For a more cost effective methodology, 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 stop the fruit from browning. Maintain the temperature round 125 levels Fahrenheit or as little as your oven will go to stop the sugars within the fruit from burning. Keep in mind to examine on the garnishes incessantly — about as soon as each hour — till they’re dried and agency.
That’s all it takes to create your individual stash of dehydrated garnishes, able to deploy in all of your favourite cocktails.
