[2] With egg whites, the foamy drink is called a Boston Sour (photo © Lognetic | Fotolia).

[3] The classic Whiskey Sour garnish is half an orange wheel and a maraschino cherry (photo courtesy Fillmore Room | NYC).

Sweet and sour mix, also known as sour mix or bar mix, is an ingredient in many cocktails—and not just those called “sour,” such as Apricot Sour, Bourbon Sour, Brandy Sour, Southern Comfort Sour, Whiskey Sour, and Vodka Sour.

Sour mix is found in numerous other cocktail recipes that require sweetness (sugar) and tartness (lemon or lime juice). Long Island Iced Tea, Margarita, Mai Tai, Texas Tea, and Singapore Sling are examples.

Ready-to-use sour mixes are available in supermarkets and are used in many bars.

We think it’s far better to make your own sour mix. There’s nothing better than fresh-squeezed citrus juice. If your Margarita (or other sweetened cocktail) tastes better in certain establishments, it’s probably not because of better tequila, but due to the use of fresh lime juice instead of a mix.

The recipe is below.
 
 
WHY YOU SHOULDN’T USE A PRE-MADE SOUR MIX

Mixes use bottled, reconstituted juice (concentrate and water) or citrus oil from the peel (a very different flavor profile from the juice). Real Lemon brand reconstituted bottled lemon juice is made from lemon juice concentrate, water, lemon oil, and the preservatives sodium benzoate, sodium metabisulfite, and sodium sulfite.

The prominent Mr. and Mrs. T brand of sweet and sour mix uses bottled lime juice, bottled lemon juice, corn syrup, sugar, and artificial coloring. Thanks, but no thanks.

There’s no substitute for fresh citrus juice in any recipe—unless the goal of substituting is to cut down on the cost of ingredients, and by extension, deliver a finished product that doesn’t taste anywhere as good.

If you aren’t keen on juicing, consider an electric juicer, which makes juicing a snap (and fun, too). Take a look at this Oster juicer, moderately priced with a small footprint.

While an electric juicer will get every last drop of juice from the citrus, here are techniques that anyone can use to get the most juice.

So, start juicing and then kick back with a well-deserved Whiskey Sour.
 
 
SWEET & SOUR MIX RECIPE

Making sour mix is just one step tacked on to a simple syrup recipe: It’s half simple syrup and half lemon and/or lime juice.

1. MAKE simple syrup by combining 1 cup of sugar with 1 cup of water in a saucepan. Heat, stirring constantly as the water begins to simmer until completely dissolved. Remove from heat.

2. ADD 1 cup of fresh-squeezed lemon juice and 1 cup of fresh-squeezed lime juice. You may also wish to try batches with only lemon juice or only lime juice, to see if you prefer either to the blend.

3. BLEND thoroughly, pour into a clean bottle or another container (we reuse the bottles from grapefruit juice), cap, and refrigerate. It will last for weeks. If you have too much, you can also freeze it.

5. GARNISH with a maraschino cherry (these are the best!) or a fresh cherry in season; or go 21st-century and sprinkle with dried cherries.
 
How Many Lemons & Limes Do You Need?

It depends on the size of the fruit. There are 16 tablespoons in a cup.

 
 
WHISKEY SOUR HISTORY

Sours are one of the old families of original mixed drinks described in Jerry Thomas’ seminal 1862 book, The Bartender’s Guide. A 1962 a Spanish-language article cited a prior article in the Peruvian newspaper, El Comercio de Iquique, giving credit to Elliott Stubb for creating the Whisky Sour in 1872—10 years after Thomas’ book [source].

One might deduce that many other bartenders who purchased The Bartender’s Guide created whiskey sours. But this was pre-Information Age, so history is wiggly, at best.

The oldest English printed mention of a Whiskey Sour was in the Waukesha [Wisconsin] Plain Dealer in 1870 [source].

Sours are mixed drinks containing a base liquor, lemon or lime juice (the “sour”), and a sweetener (grenadine, simple syrup, sugar, pineapple juice, triple sec). Some of the varieties:

 
More sours by other names include the Caipirinha, Daiquiri, Margarita and Sidecar. The White Lady (also known as a Chelsea Sidecar) is a sidecar made with gin in place of brandy, different from a gin sour by switching triple sec for sugar.

You can invent your own sour and name it after yourself. Just use the template of spirit, citrus juice, and sweetener, with optional liqueur, bitters, and garnishes.
 
 

If you love lamb and don’t eat it often enough, you can get as much enjoyment from a lamb burger as from pricier lamb chops and legs of lamb. The same wonderful lamb flavor comes through in ground lamb.

A lamb burger is delicious plain with lettuce, tomato and onions, just like a regular burger.

But lamb burgers can be accessorized in a variety of ways. Try these favorites:

A luscious lamb burger from Built Burger, a NIBBLE Top Pick.

And of course, add salt and pepper to taste.

We can’t wait for Labor Day: We’re heading to Whole Foods Market to pick up some ground lamb for a lamb burger lunch.

Tips for making great burgers.

Today is the 158th anniversary of the invention of the potato chip by Chef George Crum at Moon’s Lake House, a restaurant on Saratoga Lake in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Read the whole story, which started with a sort of food fight between the crusty chef and a wealthy older patron who complained that his fried potatoes weren’t crisp enough. It led to the invention of the potato chip.

That day will be commemorated today as Saratoga Springs Mayor Scott T. Johnson proclaims August 24th as “Saratoga Specialties Original Saratoga Chip Day” on the steps of Saratoga City Hall.

Two years ago, two friends from Saratoga launched the Saratoga Specialties Company to reintroduce the original chips, which hadn’t been made since the 1920s when regional brands of chips became prominent. The friends’ inspiration was seeing one of the original packages at the Saratoga Museum. The Mayor’s proclamation will recognize the entrepreneurs’ considerable effort to recreate the product for the nationwide consumer market.

Celebrate Original Saratoga Chip Day by treating yourself to a box of chips. Just be sure to get the larger box. While we love the small, 1.5-ounce size for party favors and stocking stuffers, any chip eater will want the 9-ounce box—several of them, in fact.

Made by a Seattle caterer and restaurateur, it’s now available online.

What do you do with bacon spread? We have dozens of suggestions.

And we also have a recipe, so you can make your own.

Read the full review.

Do you know the different types of bacon? The difference between guanciale and pancetta, two Italian bacons? And the proper name for “American” bacon?

Check out the history of bacon and the different cuts, including back bacon, side bacon, Canadian bacon and Irish bacon.

A sweet wine can be enjoyed with more than just dessert. Think of the sweet carbonated beverages that are enjoyed at lunch, dinner and in-between. It’s easy (and much more delicious and food-friendly) to substitute a light, sweet wine like Muscat (Moscato in Italian).

The Muscat grape is not well known in the U.S. But it’s so prevalent the world over that wine historians believe it may be the oldest domesticated grape variety—the one from which all other grape varieties are descended.

While it is possibly to vinify the grape into a dry wine, Muscat/Moscato is more popular as a sweet dessert wine.

Not only is Muscat very flavorful, but it can also be very inexpensive. The low cost of growing the grapes in other countries translates into bargain Muscats. This summer, we’ve been enjoying Gallo Family Moscato from the famed California vintners, made from Argentina Moscato grapes. The cost: just $5.99 per 750 ml bottle.

A glass of sweet wine, with or without a piece of fresh fruit, is often served as dessert in Europe. You can also serve it with cookies: Follow the Italian tradition of serving Vin Santo, a dessert wine from the Tuscany region of Italy, with biscotti and other cookies (shortbread works nicely).