Unusual Ingredients In Cocktails: Peas
It’s 2024. We drink our veggies now. Not kidding. Vegetable infused cocktails have become a hot trend in the world of mixology. To be fair, the garden-to-glass movement started in 2010 and American mixologists were greatly inspired by it. But veggie-inspired drinks have taken the spotlight now! And one of the hottest trends is using green peas in drinks.
How Green Pea Became Talk Of The Cocktail Town
Shock value
Drinkers are often stunned to learn that a cocktail contains a vegetable, especially the green pea.
Ease Of Use
Most vegetables are difficult to incorporate in cocktails due to their intense earthy flavours and tough textures. But in the case of peas, they have subtle sweetness and earthy notes which give them a lot of versatility while mixing the cocktail.
Splendid Appearance
Peas offer cocktails a striking green colour that is hard to miss. The vibrant look of the cocktail helps it make eye-catching and lures patrons to order the drink.
Maintaining The Brilliant Green Hue
Mixologists find it difficult to get the colour in the drink. Muddling peas is a tedious process for a single serving. Using pea puree is out of the question as its colour and flavour is hard to preserve.
How To Use Peas Optimally
Mixologists have found ways to get the best out of peas. You can cook peas in a syrup and use it to make the cocktail. Just gently cook peas in a glucose syrup. This technique helps crystallise the water in vegetables. This also helps release a strong pea flavour and bright green colour. You can also blanch the peas for a minute. Blanching helps you get a brighter green colour. Blanch a large quantity of green peas and preserve it in the freezer so that you can use it to make cocktails as and when you want.
Green Pea Cocktail Recipe
Ingredients
For the cocktail:
45 ml Fennel and Pea-infused vodka
2 tablespoons Fresh Green peas, muddled
20 ml Lemon juice
15 ml Jasmine orange oleo
5 ml Cocchi Americano
Fresh green pea, for garnish
For the fennel and pea-infused vodka:
80 gm Fennel, sliced
240 gm Green peas
1 litre Smirnoff vodka
For the Jasmine Orange oleo:
2 Orange peels
480 gms Sugar
240 gms Jasmine tea, brewed and cooled
Method:
For the Jasmine Orange oleo:
Take a bowl, add orange peels into it and cover them with sugar. Cover the bowl and let it rest overnight until the mixture's consistency is like a slurry. Pour cooled tea on the mixture, stir to dissolve sugar. Strain the mixture to get the syrup and discard the peels. Store in a bottle and chill it for a month.
For the fennel and pea-infused vodka:
Take a glass jar and combine all the ingredients and infuse for a day or two. Use a fine mesh strainer to remove solids and discard them.
For the cocktail:
Take a coupe glass and refrigerate it so it can get chilled. Take a cocktail shaker with ice and add vodka, muddled peas, lemon juice, oleo and Cocchi Americano. Shake well until the contents get cold and strain into the chilled coupe glass. Garnish with fresh green peas.
While it's great to learn about making alcoholic beverages, it is important to also consume alcohol moderately. Remember to serve and drink responsibly to ensure you and your guests are healthy and out of harm's way. If you know anyone who has trouble controlling their alcohol intake, please refer them to a professional immediately.
