RECIPES FOR THR UZUMA VACUUM DISTILLER

■Basics of Vacuum Distillation

One of the most important techniques in distillation is making the “cuts.”

This is a fundamental part of producing spirits such as whisky, gin, and brandy. Deciding which portion of the distillate to keep can have a major influence on the quality of the final product. During distillation, the distillate gradually collects in the receiving bottle. However, its aroma and flavor are not constant from beginning to end.

In spirits production, the early portion of the run is generally called the heads, the middle portion the hearts, and the later portion the tails. The desirable portion, primarily the hearts, is selected for use in the final product.

So how do you determine where the good portion begins and ends?

The most reliable method is to actually taste and smell the distillate. Distillers regularly sample the liquid during a run and observe how its aroma and flavor change over time. Based on this sensory evaluation, they decide which fractions to keep and which to leave out. The same principle applies to water-based vacuum distillation.

With herbs, for example, the aroma may initially be relatively weak because it takes some time for aromatic compounds to be extracted from the plant material. After a while, the aroma can rapidly increase in intensity. As the distillation continues, it gradually becomes weaker again.

If all of these fractions are collected into a single bottle, the strongly aromatic portion will be diluted by the weaker fractions collected before and after it, resulting in a less aromatic distillate. For this reason, it is important to cut away the weaker portions at the beginning and end of the run and use only the fractions with the best aroma quality and intensity.

Some ingredients behave differently. Strawberries, for example, have a very strong aroma and readily release aromatic compounds into water. They may produce their strongest aroma at the very beginning of the distillation, followed by a rapid decrease in intensity. In this case, collecting only the highly aromatic first fraction and putting it into a spray bottle can produce an excellent aromatic garnish. Just a few sprays may be enough to give a drink a clearly recognizable fresh fruit aroma.

As these examples show, the way aroma changes throughout a distillation run depends greatly on the ingredient. Whenever you distill an unfamiliar ingredient, frequent sampling is therefore extremely important.

■How to Distill an Unfamiliar Ingredient

When working with an ingredient for the first time, we recommend collecting the distillate in approximately 25 ml fractions. 

Each time approximately 25 ml has collected in the receiving bottle, transfer it into a separate wine glass or small container, then continue collecting the next fraction. Repeat this process until the distillation is complete. Once finished, taste and smell each sample in order.

Evaluate not only the intensity of the aroma, but also its quality. Pay attention to characteristics such as green or vegetal notes, heaviness, off-flavors, and any undesirable aromas. Then blend only the fractions that you consider suitable for the final product.

By doing this once, you can understand how that particular ingredient behaves during distillation: when its aroma begins to appear, where it reaches its peak, and when it starts to fade.

From the second distillation onward, you can use this information to make your cuts much more easily and accurately.

■Herbs

Place the herbs in the lower section of the distiller and add enough water to cover them. If too little plant material is used, the resulting distillate may also have a weak aroma. For your first trial, we therefore recommend using a relatively generous amount of herbs. As a general starting point, fill the boiler with herbs up to approximately the 300 ml mark, then add water until the total level reaches approximately the 500 ml mark.

Herbs such as rosemary, basil, oregano, tarragon, dill, coriander, and lemongrass can produce exceptionally clean and beautiful aromatic distillates.

To obtain a stronger aroma, it is useful to break down the plant material before distillation. Cutting the herbs into smaller pieces with scissors or lightly crushing them with a pestle helps release their aromatic compounds more efficiently. Another useful technique is to soak the herbs in water overnight in the refrigerator before distillation.

The resulting distillate can make an excellent drink simply by adding sparkling water. It can also be added in small quantities to beer or wine to introduce a fresh botanical aroma. One simple combination I personally recommend is to add 15 ml of gin to a glass filled with ice, top with soda water, add approximately 15 ml of herb distillate, and stir gently.

■Fruits

When vacuum-distilling fruit, simply distilling the flesh with water is a missed opportunity. By adding sugar to the fruit in the boiler, you can produce a syrup and compote at the same time as the distillate. Because the ingredients are processed at a very low temperature under vacuum, the finished fruit can retain an exceptionally fresh character and vivid color.

Place the fruit flesh in the lower section of the distiller. Add approximately the same amount of water as fruit, together with sugar and a small amount of vitamin C to help prevent discoloration caused by oxidation. If the fruit has an aromatic peel, place the peel in the upper section of the distiller. Vacuum distillation in this configuration extracts aromas from both the flesh and the peel. At the same time, the fruit remaining in the lower section develops into a syrup and compote. As a general guideline, stop the distillation when you have collected approximately half of the amount of water originally added.

Peaches, apples, and fully ripe pears can produce particularly excellent results.

For fruits such as strawberries, where there is no separate aromatic peel to use, simply place the entire fruit in the lower section.

If your main objective is to produce the syrup and compote, you can also replace part of the water with alcoholic ingredients such as white wine or brandy. Pitted cherries also work very well with this technique. When alcohol is added to the boiler, some of the alcohol and fruit aroma will transfer into the distillate, producing a highly aromatic fruit spirit. Do not discard it—make sure to taste it as well. A very small amount of this distillate can also be blended back into the syrup afterward to reinforce its fresh aroma.

With fruits, desirable aromas often tend to be concentrated in the earlier part of the distillation. For this reason, frequent sampling during the beginning of the run is particularly important.

The resulting syrup, compote, and distillate are particularly well suited to creating low-sugar non-alcoholic drinks. Fill a glass with ice and soda water, add 15 ml of the fruit syrup, and stir gently. Finally, generously spray the distillate over the surface of the drink using an atomizer. Approximately 5 ml is enough. You can, of course, garnish the drink with a piece of the compote on a cocktail pick.

The result is a drink with restrained sweetness but an extremely rich aroma. Because the aromatic distillate remains concentrated around the surface of the glass, the aroma reaches the nose before each sip, creating a well-balanced drinking experience. And, of course, adding 15 ml of gin also works exceptionally well.

■Citrus Fruits

Among fruits, citrus is particularly interesting because it allows for some unique distillation techniques. Of course, you can use the simple method described above: place the fruit flesh in the lower section and the peel in the upper section.

However, with a little additional preparation, citrus can produce even more interesting results.

1. Using a peeler, remove only the colored outer layer of the citrus peel.

2. Freeze the peel overnight.

3. Squeeze the fruit and collect the juice.

4. Vacuum-distill the juice until it has been reduced to approximately one-third of its original volume.

This produces two components:

• Concentrated citrus juice

• A distillate containing aromas from the fruit flesh

At this stage, there is no need to make detailed cuts because the distillate will be used again in the next step.

Next, 

1. Place the frozen outer peel and the distillate obtained from the juice into a blender.

2. Coarsely crush it in a blender.(Avoid blending it into a fine paste, as this can prevent proper convection during distillation and increase the risk of scorching.)

3. Add water as necessary, then vacuum-distill the mixture again. (During this second distillation, collect small fractions and make careful cuts.)

You may also notice a layer of citrus essential oil floating on the surface of the finished distillate. This oil can be separated using a pipette or similar tool. The separated essential oil can also be appropriately diluted with alcohol and placed in a spray bottle for use as an aromatic garnish or fragrance.

Using this process, a single citrus fruit can be transformed into three different components:

• Concentrated citrus juice

• A highly aromatic distillate combining aromas from both the flesh and peel

• Essential oil extracted from the peel

A short cocktail made by combining the concentrated citrus juice with a spirit and finishing it with the aromatic distillate sprayed from an atomizer produces an exceptionally rich aroma and flavor, with enough intensity to stand up to the strength of the alcohol.