gluten free alcohol - new rules

I tried Omission beer and really fell in love with it. Heck it is a gluten-removed beer, so real beer. The problem was, shortly after I was polishing a post about it, I read that the ELISA tests that Omission uses is not sensitive to be less than 20ppm accurate. I decided hold off on blogging and to email Omission directly about their testing policies. One of their reps said they would look into it and get back to me. Well that was in March of 2013... I am still waiting.

So I have chosen not to drink Omission, or Dura, or any of the other gluten-removed beers. It doesn't seem worth the risk, especially with all of the confusion. (Most of the confusion is because in the U.S. alcohol does not have to be labeled the way food does; it is actually a separate governmental agency Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, that deals with labeling, not the FDA.)

Today ATT released a revised policy on gluten in alcoholic beverages and spirits. This is huge because there are now rules about what alcoholic beverages can (and can't) be labeled gluten-free. The gluten-removed beers, they cannot use the term. I hope this helps everyone, but especially the newly diagnosed, better navigate the world of beverages.

Thanks to Gluten Free Fun for sharing the news.

gluten free digestive tea

Most teas labeled "good for digestion" contain gluten. For some reason, malted barley gets tucked into tea bags as the digestion helper. Since barley is not one of the 8 mandatory allergens that must be disclosed (in the USA), it is often hard to know which teas are safe - I am staring you down "natural flavorings". For the most part, I grab some ginger chews and forgo the landmine of packaged teas.

A little inspiration from a local blog, and I decided to create my own winter mix.

1 part dried elderberry (immune system support)
1 part dried milk thistle (supports liver function)
1 part dried rose hips (high in vitamin c)
1 part dried hibiscus flours (beautiful red color)
1 part dried orange peel (tastes awesome)
0.5 part dried ginger root (pieces, not ground), the digestive aid

The resulting "tea"* really needs to steep for 5-10 minutes. It is a little peppery from the ginger and has a great bright right color with a gentle sourness; you can add some honey to round out the flavor. I hand-filled some teabags and you can see in the back I store them in a zip-lock. The rest I saved for when I am at home can can use a metal brew basket.

*Technically a tea has to include actual tea leaves, but I am going to take the vernacular liberties here.

KABLAM - the result tastes awesome and doesn't ironically cause digestive unrest.

Homemade tonic water

Several friends have invested in seltzer makers. They save money and make fun farting noises, what is not to love? The discussion about whether it was possible to make homemade tonic water arose. Always a fan of an overly complicated way to make something from scratch that is probably cheaper and easier to just purchase, I decided to research the project immediately.

Step 1 - find a recipe
There are several out there, but almost all point to Jeffrey Morgenthaler's How To Make Your Own Tonic Water. Other recipes offer more exotic mix-ins, and some offered sugar rather than agave nectar as sweeteners. 

Step 2 - find ingredients
I knew that citric acid was available at the co-op, but I could not find the cinchona bark - the ingredient that contains quinine - anywhere. I tried the health food store, the food co-op, spice shops; a friend even translated cinchona into pinyin and I attempted to find the bark at 3 pharmacies in Chinatown. No dice.

I finally broke down and purchased online from Penn Herb Co for $25/lb. plus shipping. I had to get a pound of the stuff, and the recipes only call for a quarter cup, so its safe to say that this is going to be one of many attempts at tonic water.

Step 3 - Making the goods

Tonic Water Syrup
4 cups water
1 cup chopped lemongrass
¼ cup cinchona bark
zest and juice of 1 orange
zest and juice of 1 lemon
zest and juice of 1 lime
zest and juice of 1 grapefruit
1 tsp whole allspice berries
1 tsp whole coriander seeds
¼ cup citric acid
¼ tsp Kosher salt

3 cups of sugar
1 cup of water

1. Combine the 4 cups of water, bark, zest, juice, spices, citric acid and salt into a sauce pan.
2. Bring to a boil, lower and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Allow the mixture to cool, then strain through coffee filters - this takes a while.
4. In a clean sauce pan, combine the strained mixture with 1 cup of water and 3 cups of sugar. Bring to a low boil to disolve all the sugar.
5. Allow the mixture to cool.
6. Combine the mixture with seltzer and booze of your choice.
¾ ounce of syrup, 1½ ounces of gin and 2 ounces of soda water - is what Morgenthaler recommends. I prefer 1 part syrup to 2 parts soda water and 1 part vodka. But you have taste buds of your own, so do what feels right.

Lemongrass is a beast of a plant to cut. You will need a sharp knife, and probably 2 stalk = 1 cup chopped. Its worth it. Don't skip this step, plus the inside is PURPLE!

A rasp is key for this project - it will get the zest without the white pith.

EVERYONE IN THE POT!

Cool down...

The flavor is a lot more complex than the clear tonic water you can buy in the store. It is not nearly as sweet, and with the exception of the bitterness from the quinine, its hard to pick out each of the individual ingredients, but I mean that in a good way. The flavor is pretty complex, but it doesn't fight with the gin, if gin happens to be your mix-in of choice. I would say that if you have a soda-stream at home, to make the water extra farty, since stirring in the syrup does knock out some of the carbonation.

The final product is good, really good. Better than I expected and worth the effort.

Consider it summer and me tickled pink.