Escape To The Land Of Citrus by Karina Martinez
It seems like we’ve somehow jumped from March to now in lightning speed and with decades of life in between. Most of the Northern Hemisphere is bundled up and starting to hunker down. The romantic idea of being cozied up inside, by a fire and sipping on a night cap, usually involves something brown and boozy.
Living in an agriculturally rich area I constantly tilt my head at the notion that winter cocktails are put in such a limited scope: heavy, hearty, stirred, boozy, strong, rich, decadent, spirit forward. This is not a knock against hospitality professionals or those cocktails, I believe this is genuinely what most consumers are looking for at this time of year. To each their own. I tend to reserve the stirred and boozy cocktails for times when engaging produce is at a low.
Winter offers a treasure trove of produce that can offer an escape from the gray and the cold. Within the continental United States we have huge cashes of citrus: Florida Oranges, Texas Grapefruits, and California Lemons.
Most major ports are overloaded with tropical fruits from Hawaii and lands further away. The fragrance of pineapples, the overwhelming varieties of mangoes, and the tart pucker of passion fruit (lilikoi). While the imported fruits have me dreaming of tropical libations, I’m not ready to let go of the amount of different citrus’ we have within reach. There are over 400 varieties of oranges, JUST ORANGES! All citrus varieties were grown from three ancestral species: Mandarin Oranges, Pomelo, and Citron. Think of these three citrus’ as primary colors and all the beautiful and unique pallets in between.
When we think of citrus in cocktails we think about its juice. We specifically think about lemon, lime, and orange...grapefruit if we’re feeling frisky. Citrus and color go further than the sum of their parts, they were both used by the wealthy to denote their status and for this we can also thank the trade routes in which the wealth of produce has spread. Taking it back a notch, when we speak about a balanced cocktail we are speaking of the harmony of acid (citrus juice), sugar (syrup/jam), water (ice cubes/soda water), and ethanol (liquor). We look to citrus juice as being the main source of acid for most cocktails. Citrus juice does contain a good source of acid but it also accounts for some of the sugar content (brix) as well. We must keep this in mind while balancing them.
FRUIT pH (acid/base) Brix (sugar)
Lemon Juice (Bitter Orange + Citron) 2.3% 8
Lime Juice (Go down the google rabbit hole) 2.4% 10
Orange Juice (Pomelo + Mandarin) 4.35% 16
Grapefruit Juice (Pomelo + Sweet Orange) 3.38% 14
Agricultural products have a tremendous amount of variables that affect the pH and the brix. These numbers will change depending on the ripeness when measured and the terroir from which they came. When you read articles about cocktail bars measuring their syrups with refractometers and acid adjusted juices they are accounting for the variable in produce to make sure the final product is as consistent as possible.
We’ve covered the basics of citrus, I trust that most of you have had an example of the before mentioned. Let’s take a step past these pillars and look at other varieties and other avenues, that are not just juice.
FRUIT pH (acid/base) Brix (sugar)
Blood Orange 4.0% 12
Blood Oranges are achieved by a natural mutation in sweet oranges (pomelo + mandarin). Their color comes from the same compound that gives eggplants, beets, berries, and flowers their beautiful hues; anthocyanin. The color alone makes this varietal a top choice for cocktails and garnishes. We can still start with the most familiar form of incorporation, juice. Juice and fine strain the blood oranges. We’re going to use the blood oranges as the main source of sweetness in this cocktail, California Cobbler. Combine the freshly juiced and strained blood oranges with an equal amount of sugar (1:1) in a blender. Blend until the sugar is fully dissolved. Bottle and refrigerate the syrup in a sealed container to store it. This syrup will keep for a week and can be used to make italian sodas or something more ambitious.
California Cobbler Italian Soda
1 oz Seedlip Spice 2 oz Blood Orange Syrup
1 oz Amontillado Sherry Fill with ice and top with Soda Water
.5 oz Blood Orange Syrup
.5 oz Lemon Juice Mix and garnish as desired.
1 tsp Allspice Dram * I like grating a combination of bay laurel
and nutmeg on top.
Place all ingredients into a
rocks glass add pebble or crushed
ice and mix together.
Grate fresh bay laurel on top
This blood orange syrup is not re-creating the wheel or stepping far left. It’s simply a bridge. Think of meyer lemons for your oleo-saccharum, soaking finger lime pulp in a cocktail to absorb the full flavor in each capsule through osmosis, sour oranges for marmalades, pickled kumquats, preserved mandarins, candied buddha's hands, the options are endless.
California is one of the main agricultural hubs and we are incredibly fortunate for the bounty that surrounds us. I think it’s important to inquire of the opportunity that this provides, outside of commerce. It provides the opportunity of community. Sacramento is known as the City of Trees. Many of those are fig trees and orange trees. Harvest Sacramento, Edible City Initiative, is a project from Soil Born Farms that harvests surplus fruits and vegetables and donates them to local food assistance areas. https://soilborn.org/initiatives/harvest-sacramento/ .
How does the community keep producing a surplus? ReSoil Sacramento is a community compost collective by Green Restaurant Alliance Sacramento. They collect scraps for compost from restaurants and residents to build healthy soil to grow edible gardens. https://grasacramento.org/contact/ .
Establishing a connection to our food and our earth? It’s hard to miss the seasons in Sacramento between the flowering magnolias, the oppressive heat, the horrendous amount of leaves, and the smell of oranges as they ripen. Children in Sacramento are surrounded with thousands of different plants. Soil Born Farms program Growing Together is a school program advocating for gardens in every school. Center for Land Based Learning has youth programs that provide them with resources to advance on to college and career opportunities. https://landbasedlearning.org/programs .
All of these are community programs that are trying to close the food loop. It’s an effort in reciprocity. It’s a shared responsibility. To be a steward of your city, you must also be a steward of the land.
