How to Make a Lacto-Fermented Gooseberry Cordial
In this "Recipe Book" feature, I share a home bartender-friendly recipe for making a lacto-fermented gooseberry cordial. From highballs to sours, this ingredient is as versatile as it is delicious.
The “Recipe Book” section on The Tipsy Traveler is simply a place where subscribers can reference a variety of flavorful recipes for drinking (and some eating, too). From cocktail recipes and instructions for creating more complex cocktail ingredients such as ferments, pickles, cordials, and so on, to low-waste techniques and beyond.
This recipe feature is part one of two as I’ll also be sharing a cocktail application for this ingredient next week.
Ever since I read The Noma Guide to Fermentation a couple of years ago, I’ve wanted to lacto-ferment green gooseberries. Gooseberries aren’t as popular in the States—or at least they weren’t where I was living in New York—so as soon as I saw them at the grocery store here in London, I impulsively tossed them into my shopping cart and trotted along with one thought in mind: “we gon’ get funky wit deez babies”. Being the cocktail nerd that I am, that’s precisely what I did.
Bartenders at cutting-edge cocktail bars around the world use fermentation as a way to uniquely express an ingredient's flavor in a drink. Lacto-fermentation, specifically, can transform what was once a sweet berry into a creamy umami-led ingredient that challenges what people understood that food to be in its raw form. For innovative bartenders who enjoy experimenting with new acid sources (e.g. lactic acid instead of citrus acids) and funky flavors, lacto-fermentation is the way to go.
Now, fermentation may seem daunting if you’re the average foodie or imbiber who has never tried fermenting food before, but I promise it’s nothing to be intimidated by. Lacto-fermentation in particular is incredibly simple. Let me explain why.
What is lacto-fermentation?
(Alright, this bare with me as we talk science.) Fermentation is defined as the chemical breakdown and transformation of organic matter by microorganisms and other microbiological factors such as yeast, bacteria and enzymes into acid, gas or alcohol. Lacto-fermentation, specifically, uses lactic-acid-producing bacteria (LAB), primarily from the lactobacillus genus, to break down the sugars in food to create lactic acid, carbon dioxide and sometimes alcohol. To put this simply, lacto-fermenting the juice of a gooseberry, for example, will remove any sweetness from the fruit and transform the juice into a silky, acidic and semi-dry component.
All you need is non-iodized salt, sugar (typically in the form of a vegetable or fruit), an anaerobic environment (i.e., a Mason jar or an airtight plastic bag), yeast (in this case, yeast from the skins of the food should suffice; so use organic), and a kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients. The salt keeps malevolent (i.e bad) bacteria from proliferating in the fermentation and ensures that the healthy LAB can do its job properly to create a complex acidic ingredient.
Making My Lacto-Fermented Gooseberry Cordial
Before rambling on about how I made my cordial, I just want to say that this recipe should serve as a starting point. Bartenders, use a refractometer to measure brix (i.e sugar content) of your cordial for consistency, and I’d consider clarifying the fermented liquid with Pectinex or another clarifying agent, especially if you plan on using it in a highball. And home bartenders, follow these general ratios and you’ll have a delicious ingredient that can also be seasoned or adjusted to your preferred sweetness, acidity, etc.
Fermenting the gooseberries
First, gently remove any visible dirt, but don’t over-wash the berries (remember: you need the yeast on the fruit’s skins for the fermentation). Then weigh the berries and write down the weight. Transfer to a bowl.
Weigh your salt, which should be 2% of the weight of the berries (e.g. if the berries weigh 200 grams, then 2% salt would be 4 grams of salt). Once you calculate your salt, toss in the bowl with the berries and gently mix to evenly cover all of the fruit.
Transfer the salt-covered berries to an airtight container. You can use a sealed mason jar if you’re able to mostly fill it, or a ziplock bag that you’ve removed most of the air from. (Ideally, you’d use a vacuum-sealed bag, or a fermentation weight in a mason jar, but they aren’t requisite. Read this article if you want more details about the kit to buy.) Because gooseberries—like blueberries—have thick skins, I recommend lightly pressing the berries to break the skins. This will allow the fermentation to start quickly, and it will extract more liquid from the berries.
Leave the ferment in a cool place away from direct sunlight for 5-7 days. After days 2-3, check to see if the fermentation has started. You’ll be able to tell because pressure will have built up in the mason jar or bag (the former you can tell by pressing the lid, and the bag will be evident as the gas will fill it). After 5-7 days, your gooseberries should be fermented, and you can put the container into the fridge and leave until you’re ready to make your cordial.
Making the lacto-fermented gooseberry cordial
A cordial as it relates to cocktails is, essentially, an acidified syrup. This means that it’s both sweet and slightly tart. For my cordial, I chose honey as the sweetener to mix with the lacto-fermented gooseberry juice that I yielded from the ferment, but you can also use cane sugar syrup if you’re seeking a purer gooseberry flavor. I opted for honey because we are in the midst of autumn, and honey seemed fitting for fall cocktails. Once you squeeze the juice out of your fermented berries, here’s what you do:
Fine strain the fermented gooseberry juice to eliminate as many solids as possible. (For bartenders, it’s at this stage where I’d consider using Pectinex to clarify.)
Once you strain the fermented gooseberry juice, add it to a saucepan and weigh it. (Note: always make sure you weigh the container and “tare” it first before adding the juice to get an accurate weight. If this doesn’t make sense to you, watch this video.) Then measure 75% of the weight of the juice (e.g. if 200 grams of juice, 75% is 150 grams), and add that weight in honey to the saucepan.
Gently heat the mixture over low heat on the stove until the honey has melted into the gooseberry juice, then leave to cool and bottle. It should keep for 2-3 months because of the sugar and acid, but I’d taste before use after the first month just to make sure. Also, if you clarify the cordial and get rid of the solids, it’s likely to keep even longer.
How to mix with the cordial, and what to do with the solids
Now that you have your lacto-fermented gooseberry cordial, it’s the perfect modifier to use in highballs, stirred cocktails and even sours. Getting into the balance of drinks with cordials requires an entire newsletter in and of itself, but my simple guide would be to add 1/4 oz. or 10 ml to a whiskey highball or gin and tonic, then explore using small dashes in stirred drinks and sours. (Stay tuned for a follow-up “Recipe Book” newsletter where I share an exclusive recipe using the cordial. Hint: it’s a twist on a beloved Italian cocktail.)
As for the solids that aren’t used in the cordial: don’t waste them. Anytime I make cocktail ingredients with food at home, I always try to find another use for what could be considered waste. This time, I made a fermented gooseberry relish (pictured above) inspired by a recipe in The Noma Guide to Fermentation using garlic, herbs, the finely chopped fermented gooseberries, and a few other ingredients. It’s delightful with fish, on tacos, and in an array of other dishes that need a pop of freshness. But, for that recipe, you’ll have to purchase the book (sorry!).
Hope you enjoyed this one! As we continue on this journey as tipsy travelers, I’d love any feedback on whether this is content you enjoy so that I can shape this newsletter to fit the interests of all of you. At the end of the day, the goal of The Tipsy Traveler is to enhance the lifestyle of my subscribers, so don’t be shy!
Until next time…