Photography by Pascal Baudar.
Terroir-blazing forager and botanical alchemist Pascal Baudar has written a thirst-quenching new book.
The pages are dedicated to feral, inspired libations and are alive with the spirit of his first book, The New Wildcrafted Cuisine, which introduced readers to the intense pleasures of crafting regional food and drink, by understanding the flavors of local flora.
The Wildcrafting Brewer is $22.80 at Amazon. Native edible plants for gardens: This is the beautiful cross-pollination of foraging and growing.
Many methods in this book have a premise that might be familiar to experienced brewers and fermenters, but their possibilities take on a wild and fresh vitality here.
Hot and cold brewing are explained, brewing with and without yeast starters (there is a master recipe and suggestions for wild starters made with elderflowers, elderberries, pinyon pine cones, and cactus pears), beers, and flower and fruit wines.
One of Pascal’s’s signature concepts is the drinkable hike. You collect bits and pieces from your hike and remember it in a beautifully fizzy drink.
In a chapter dedicated to ethnic drinks and medicinal brews, you will find the author’s recipe for northeastern kvass.
One of the best ways to begin brewing (I think) is by dipping your toes in the bubbling waters of homemade soda.
The unique soda is ready to drink in about three or four days.
Yes, even aromatic sticks make good drinking. Some of the best flavors live in bark and seeds.
Pine needle soda relies on any kind of pine needle for its intense flavor. All you need is a jar, needles, sugar, and water.
In a riff on the pine theme, unripe pinecone soda opens up a new world of possibilities.
1. Place 3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar in a 1/2-gallon (1.89 liter) jar, fill it with spring water, and drop in a couple of unripe pine cones. Three times a day shake the jar for 10 seconds or so. Leave the cones inside the jar and continue the ritual of shaking three times a day.
Pine Cone Soda