The Hot Pink

Inspired by my favorite way to eat beets—with horseradish and a cider vinegar dressing—this savory beet shrub is a great match for a juniper-forward gin like Tanqueray. The finished product here has just a touch of heat from the horseradish.
As I've made more shrubs for cocktails, I've found that I often prefer something with less than a 1:1 ratio of syrup to vinegar. I definitely went light on the vinegar here, but you can add more to your taste if desired.

Special equipment: cocktail shaker, quart jar

Ingredients

serves makes 1 drink, makes 1 cup shrub syrup, enough for about 20 drinks, active time 15 minutes, total time 3 days

• For the Beet, Celery, and Horseradish Shrub Syrup:
• 6 ounces celery, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1 medium beet (4 ounces), peeled and grated
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh horseradish, tightly packed
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
•  
• For the Hot Pink Cocktail:
• 3/4 ounce Beet, Celery, and Horseradish Shrub
• 2 ounces Tanqueray gin
• 3 ounces seltzer

Procedures

1. For the Beet, Celery, and Horseradish Shrub Syrup: Combine the celery, beets, horseradish, sugar, and salt in a quart jar. Shake to combine and refrigerate for 72 hours, shaking once a day to help dissolve the sugar.
   
2. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve, pressing the solids to extract as much of the syrupy liquid as possible. Discard solids and add the vinegar to the syrup. Refrigerate until ready to use.
   
3. For the Hot Pink Cocktail: Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add shrub syrup and gin. Shake until well-chilled, about 20 seconds.
   
4. Strain into an ice-filled highball glass, top with seltzer, stir to combine and serve.

Pink Lemonade Curd

 

Special equipment

a boiling water canner and jar lifter, a food mill

Ingredients

serves Makes six (1/2 pint) jars, active time 45 minutes, total time 1 1/2 hours

• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 pints raspberries (about 4 cups, 1 ½ pounds), gently washed
• 1 cup lemon juice, squeezed from 6-8 lemons
• Zest from 2 lemons
• 8 whole eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces butter (2 sticks), cubed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Procedures

1. Prepare boiling water canner and sterilize 6 half-pint jars by boiling them for ten minutes. Wash lids and rings and bring to a simmer in a separate, small saucepan of water. Turn off heat and allow jars, lids and rings to sit in hot water until you need them.
   
2. Crush the raspberries by turning them in a food mill or crushing them through a fine sieve using the back of a spoon until all that remains are the seeds. You should have about one cup of raspberry juice/pulp.
   
3. Prepare a double boiler by bringing an inch of water to a boil in a medium-sized (3 quart) saucepan. Once the water boils, drop the heat to low and maintain an even simmer. Set a non-reactive, heat-safe bowl on top of the saucepan. Make sure that the bottom of the bowl is not in contact with the water.
   
4. Combine sugar, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, raspberry pulp, and salt in the bowl of your double boiler and mix well.
   
5. Cook curd, whisking frequently, until the mixture begins to lighten in color and thicken, about ten minutes. Whisk in butter and vanilla and continue to cook until it registers 170°F on a candy or instant read thermometer.
   
6. Once curd has reached desired consistency, turn off heat and strain through a fine sieve to catch large bits of lemon zest or any solidified egg.
   
7. Ladle curd into prepared jars, leaving a quarter inch of head space. Wipe the rims of the jar lids with a clean kitchen or paper towel and seal.
   
8. Place the sealed jars back into the canning kettle. When all jars are added, make sure that the water level clears the jar lids by at least one inch. Add more water if necessary, and, over high heat, bring the water back up to a boil. Once the water boils, set a timer for ten minutes.
   
9. After ten minutes, turn off heat, and allow jars to sit in water for five additional minutes. Then, using a jar lifter, remove the jars to a cooling rack.
   
10. Once jars have reached room temperature, remove rings and test that all lids have sealed properly. If any have not sealed, store them in the refrigerator. Label and store sealed jars in a cool place out of direct sunlight.