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How to Make Herb Flavored and Scented
Sugars and Salts
Sugars and Salts
Flavored sugars and salts are a wonderful way to add some great rimming mixes and cocktail flavorings to your bar. They also make great gifts and they're very easy to make at home. All you need are some fresh herbs of your choice, some sugar or salt, a few jars and some time!
Here's What You'll Need:
2 Cups of Sugar or Salt
10 - 15 Leaves of your herb
Mixing bowl large enough to accommodate the sugar
1 or 2 Sealable "Infusion" Jars (Mason Jars
are perfect)Muddling stick
1 or 2 Decorative Jars that can be tightly sealed
Some Pretty Ribbons or other things to decorate the jars
Printable Labels
Here's What You Do:
Make sure your herb leaves are clean and dry then chop into small pieces. Place the chopped herbs in your mixing bowl and gently crush them with your muddling stick to release the oils. You can also use a mortar and pestle if you prefer. The oils are where the scent and flavor reside and "bruising" the leaf will release more of these oils.
When your crushed herbs are ready in the mixing bowl slowly add your sugar and blend in with the herbs so they are nicely distributed throughout the sugar.
Store your herb/sugar mix in an air tight jar and out of direct sunlight for two weeks. Every 2 or 3 days open the jar and stir up the mixture to help break up any clumping and distribute the herb essence throughout the sugar. The herbs will slowly dry as they give their flavor to the sugar.
After 2 weeks your sugar will be wonderfully aromatic and ready to put in your decorative jars, decorated and labeled for your bar or as gifts.
Herbal Suggestions: Mint, Lavender, Basil, Cilantro (I love this on my Cilantro Martinis!),
SPICE IT UP!
You can also flavor sugars and salts with spices, citrus and even some flowers! Cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise, vanilla beans, cardamom, lemon, lime or orange zest and rose petals make a really unique sugar or salt!
FLAVORING YOUR LIFE
Obviously my first use of these flavored sugars and salts is as a rimmer for my martinis but they're also great for adding subtle flavors to your favorite recipes and foods and flavoring your favorite drinks. I use flavored salts in my Bloody Martinis, add flavored sugars to my tea, keep smaller jars of the flavored salts (save those empty spice jars!) on my dinner table and will sprinkle the flavored sugars on cupcakes and my buttered toast.
BATH TIME GETS A LIFT
Go beyond the kitchen and put some great scents in your bath! Get some Epsom salts and add some herbs to them for an aromatic soak!
with different flavored salts and sugars would make great holiday gifts or be a perfect size to set on your bar!
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