How to maximize ginger extraction

extractsginger

I want to make ginger drinks (bourbon, hot tea, ginger ale). In all cases, I want to create a ginger syrup that I can then add to bourbon, hot water, soda water to get my desired drink. I have tried the following methods:

  • Slice ginger thinly, put in boiling water for 1 hour
  • Chop ginger very finely, bring water to boil, cover, steep one hour
  • Chop ginger very finely, bring water to simmer for one hour
  • Puree ginger and small amount of water in vita mix

In all cases, I've found that I need to remove the leftover ginger, as it would just settle out of a drink. I've tried it with varying amounts of sugar (from none to 1:2 sugar:water). What I'm left with is a pretty good product, but the ginger has a lot of flavor left in it. In fact, I can use it again with the same process and still get a good result.

I would like to get a very strong product with minimal life left in the ginger, so that I can minimize the amount of ginger I use. I'd also like the syrup / extract to be as strong as possible to minimize the amount I add to my drink. To top it off, I would prefer the process not be to laborious or time consuming.

How can I maximize the extraction of ginger flavor in to a liquid?

Best Answer

To increase flavor extraction (and this applies to ALL flavors, not just ginger):

  • Simmer for a prolonged period (more time to extract flavor).
  • Puree or finely mince the ginger, then strain it out with a fine chinois or cheesecloth. Smaller pieces allow water to more easily penetrate, and allows flavor compounds to be extracted more quickly
  • Stir frequently; this greatly reduces the time you need to cook the ginger, by ensuring flavor compounds reach an equilibrium throughout the mixture, rather than being concentrated at the surface of the ginger pieces.
  • Cook the same ginger multiple times with fresh water each time. This will extract more flavor than doing one batch cooked 3x as long, and also more than cooking the same ginger with 3x as much water. Each batch will be less flavorful, of course, but after 3-5 batches, you should have most of the flavor out.
  • Reduce the ginger water after extraction to concentrate the flavor. This will be especially helpful when combined with multiple batches.
  • Add alcohol to the water, as many flavor compounds are oils, and thus more soluble in alcohol than water. This is excellent to combine with reduction, as the alcohol is easily evaporated.

All of these approaches are based both practice and the chemistry behind extractions, which is what you are doing here.

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