Rhubarb - Vermouth Sprizz
Recipe, Food, Styling & Photo: Oliver Schwarzwald
Peak season for rhubarb.
Not long now and the season is over. After 24.06, St. John's Day, the stalks should no longer be harvested. This deadline comes early in the year again. Since my childhood, I have associated the taste of rhubarb with long hot summer days. It is very unlikely that April, May and June were warmer in the past than they are today. Much more likely is the fact that back then, provisions were made at home for these summer days. It's easy to do that now. There is still plenty of rhubarb and the syrup will keep for at least a month in the fridge. If you want to store it longer, you should heat it up again and fill it hot into sterilised jars/bottles.
I cook the rhubarb with plenty of juniper and ginger, which gives it a subliminal herbal note and refreshing spiciness. Orange and lemon juice and zest round off with fruity acidity. To extract as much flavour as possible, I keep everything covered in the pot until the compote is completely cold. Only then do I pour everything through a fine sieve. For the drink, I add non-alcoholic vermouth to the glass in addition to non-alcoholic sparkling wine. This adds the missing bitter notes and makes the sprizz more complex. I use Undone's No.8 as the vermouth. Undone is a start-up from Hamburg that now has a decent selection of alcohol-free alternatives in its range. I topped it off with non-alcoholic sparkling wine from Vinada. The Crispy Chardonnay has a rich perlage and is tart enough in the finish. But many other non-alcoholic sparkling wines are also suitable. In the supermarket around the corner, the range of alternatives is growing steadily and the quality is improving! Good to see, cheers Sober Buddies, the summer may last!
Recipe, Food, Styling & Photo: Oliver Schwarzwald
The syrup:
300 ml water
300 gr. sugar
450 gr. rhubarb washed and cut into small pieces
1 orange + zest
1 lemon + zest
9 juniper berries
10 gr. Ginger
Put the sugar in a large saucepan with 300 ml of water. Bring to the boil and then add the zest and juice of the orange and lemon along with the rhubarb and ginger. Cook the mixture over a medium heat until the rhubarb falls apart. Pour the mixture through a muslin-lined sieve into a clean, heatproof jug and pour into sterilised bottles. Keeps in the fridge for up to 1 month. Add approx. 25 ml of syrup to 100 ml of carbonated water, or serve to taste. Or 25ml Sirup plus 25ml alcoholfree Vermouth and top up with alcoholfree sparkling Wine.