Did your homemade Campari turn cloudy?
Heres the fix: milk washing!
You blended and infused and lovingly peeked at the jar for weeks, checking on its progress.
Sam Schick
And then you added the simple syrup to the strained infusionthe climactic stepand the whole works turned cloudy.
It happened to me.
Its an unusual process, but it is pretty cool.
Here’s what you want your homemade Campari to look like.Nancy Mitchell
They are expressed in the botanicals essential oils.
Campari is not ouzo or absinthe, but you know how those anisettes become cloudy when water is added?
What was going on?
The bitter botanicals that flavor your homemade Campari are packed with polyphenols that may trigger a clouding louche effect.Sam Schick
This is called a chill haze.
This might help ensure that the percent ABV stays homogenous and high enough to retain the oils.
Reach for a carton of milk.
Sam Schick
What Is Milk Washing?
The proteins in milk bind to the polyphenols we mentioned earlier.
Slowly strain out those curds and magic ensues.
Milk washing has been around for ages.
The centuries-old drink milk punch is an example.
Milk washing has enjoyeda resurgence in cocktail culturein recent years, as it creates a smoother, rounder spirit.
You’ll love the results!
Make a mental note so you could compare it to the flavor at the end of the process.
In a large bowl or pitcher, add 4 teaspoons of lemon juice for every 1 cup of Campari.
Measure out 1 cup of whole milk for every 4 cups of Campari.
(Do not use skim or low-fat milk).
Put the milk in a different large bowl or pitcher that will hold at least 10 cups.
I repeat,do this slowly.You should notice the mixture forming small curds.
It will, quite frankly, look gross.
This may alarm you, but its what is supposed to happen.
Stir once gently, then let sit in the bowl for 1 hour, undisturbed.
Slowly transfer the curdled mixture into the strainer.
You want to build up a raft of curds; dont jostle them.
It will take about 1 hour or longer to fully strain.
If the Campari is still a little cloudy, strain it through the raft of curds a second time.
you’re able to also try straining it through a coffee filter.
Add more red food coloring to your clarified Campari, if you like.
Some of the hue gets trapped in the discarded curds.
Quite the journey, no?
How does your clarified Campari taste now?
