May 16th is National Mimosa Day, a sparkling cocktail that was named because its color resembled the yellow flowers of the mimosa plant (photo #4—here’s more about the plant).

While the classic Mimosa is equal parts orange juice and champagne (or other sparkling wine—photo #2), the cocktail turns purple by substituting blueberry syrup for the OJ.

Is it a Mimosa without the orange juice or [to stretch the concept] another orange liquid like tangerine juice or Grand Marnier?

As a culinary history enthusiast, we’d give it a different name—like a Blueberry Sparkler. But most of the drinking world would likely vote for Blueberry Mimosa.

This recipe is courtesy of Gelson’s Markets, an upscale regional supermarket chain operating in Southern California. Here’s more about them.

Here’s the history of the Mimosa cocktail, purportedly adding OJ to champagne so imbibers would have an excuse to begin drinking at breakfast.
 
 
RECIPE: BLUEBERRY MIMOSA COCKTAIL

You can make the blueberry simple syrup up to one week in advance.

Bubbly: You may prefer to use a more affordable sparkling wine (cava, prosecco, etc.) because the blueberry syrup will cover up the subtle, toasty flavors of champagne.

Hack. While making blueberry syrup from fresh blueberries delivers the best fruit flavor, here’s a hack: use 1 cup sugar to 1 cup purchased blueberry juice (plus the lemon juice and zest—see below).

Ingredients For 10 Drinks

There are 25 fluid ounces in a 750mL bottle, enough for 5 flutes of champagne. If the flutes are half orange juice, that’s enough champagne for 10 glasses.

 
Ingredients For 1 Cup Of Blueberry Simple Syrup

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the syrup ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Mash the blueberries with a potato masher to release all of their juices, and simmer for 5 minutes more.

2. STRAIN the juice into a bowl, using a sieve lined with cheesecloth. Press the blueberries gently with a spatula to release all of their juices. Discard the pulp.

3. TRANSFER the blueberry syrup to a jar and let cool in the refrigerator for 1 hour or longer. It can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. When ready to make the Mimosas:

5. ADD 1 tablespoon or more of blueberry syrup to the bottom of champagne flutes (the more syrup, the stronger the blueberry flavor). Fill a champagne flute with 5 ounces of champagne. Stir very gently with a swizzle stick to combine—you don’t want to break the bubbles.
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF THE MIMOSA COCKTAIL

[1] A blueberry Mimosa cocktail with homemade blueberry syrup (photo and recipe © Gelson’s Markets).

[2] A classic Mimosa, made with orange juice and champagne or other sparkling wine (photo © Good Eggs).

[3] If you want a garnish for the Blueberry Mimosa, a cocktail pick with fresh blueberries is the go-to (photo © Tommy Bahama).

[4] The Mimosa cocktail allegedly got its name from the color of mimosa flowers (photo © Flowers By Emil).

[1] One elegant can, one delicious G&AT (all photos © 6 O’Clock Gin).

[2] A mini bottle version of 6 O’Clock Gin’s 750mL bottle, poured into a G&T.

[3] The cans are portable, and there’s no glass to drop at a backyard barbecue.

[4] With most dry gins, juniper berries lead the blend of botanicals that creates each gin’s unique flavor.

[5] Would you drink your G&T from the can (with or without a straw)? Or would you pour it into a glass?

The Gin & Tonic is one of the most popular cocktails in the world. According to Liquor.com, it’s the go-to cocktail in Spain, where a particular gin’s botanicals are paired with a specific tonic water and aromatic garnishes.

In its homeland, Britain, it’s “an at-home staple,” with gin paired with different craft tonic waters [ibid].

That’s popularity!

Let us quickly elaborate on the parentage of the G&T: It was created not as a cocktail in England, but for medicinal purposes by British troops stationed in India.

Malaria was a persistent problem. In the 1700s, quinine was found to be helpful in both preventing and treating the disease.

But quinine had an unpleasant, bitter taste, even when diluted in water. (That was quinine water. Later, cocktails were made with tonic water, which included quinine but at a much lower percentage, plus sugar.)

In the early 19th century, someone (a doctor? an officer? a bartender?) suggested adding gin to make the medicine more palatable.

Thus emerged the predecessor of the modern Gin & Tonic: quinine water made palatable by adding sugar, lime and gin.

Over the years, the G&T became the cocktail of choice back home in England, as well.

Here’s more of the story.
 
 
6 O’CLOCK DRY LONDON GIN’S GIN & TONIC IN CANS

6 O’clock Gin is a premium brand in the U.K. that makes “strikingly smooth artisan gins.”

The company produces four expressions of gin: classic London Dry gin, Brunel (a stronger version, 100 proof, known as “Navy strength gin”), Damson gin (a fruitier style made with Damson plums, and Sloe gin (made with sloe berries).

The gins are handcrafted in small batches, using traditional techniques.

The brand name was inspired by the family’s long-held tradition of relaxing with a G&T at 6 o’clock, a custom enjoyed by gin lovers the world over.

(Maybe some start at 5 o’clock? After all, it’s 5 o’clock somewhere*.)

So…

What if you could open the fridge, grab an elegant 200mL/6.8-ounces can of G&T made with London Dry gin and all-natural tonic water?

Certainly more of us would be relaxing with a G&T. It’s easily portable…and maybe it’s just us, but looking at the elegant beauty of the can design is relaxing as well.

Even better, 6 O’clock’s G&T is a low-alcohol product: 7% ABV, 14 proof†. No one will be unfocused when it’s time to cook dinner.
 
 
WHO MAKES 6 O’CLOCK GIN

The 6 O’Clock brand is owned and operated by Bramley & Gage, a family-run artisan spirits company located on the outskirts of Bristol, England.

The company was one of just 23 spirit distilleries in England that, a decade ago, set about elevating the flavors of gin.

Artisanal gin is one of the fastest growing categories of spirits in the world. 6 O’clock Gin continues to evolve and innovate, regularly introducing new products, recipes and collaborations.

Discover more at 6oclockgin.com.
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF GIN
 

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*“It’s 5 o’clock somewhere” is an expression said by someone who wants a drink, even though it’s was not yet 5 p.m. Five o’clock was the end of the work day for many people—and for some of them, it meant time for a drink. So even if it wasn’t 5 p.m. in the person’s time zone, it certainly was in another part of the world. And, drinking before five o’clock (except for a beer or cocktail at lunch) indicated a possible drinking problem.

The quote is attributed to the comedian Red Skelton. As the story goes, in 1959 on Skelton’s 50th birthday, he was doing three shows a day at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. Before his first show began he commented, “I don’t drink this early in the day but what the heck, it must be 5 o’clock somewhere in the world.” The phrase caught on. “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” (2003) was a hit song for Alan Jackson [source].

†Double the ABV to get the proof of an alcoholic drink: 7% ABV/14 proof is a lower alcohol level than a glass of wine. Non-fortified wines range from 7% ABV/18 proof to 14% ABV/24 proof).

You can garnish plain hummus with a drizzle of olive oil. Get fancier by adding some paprika and flat parsley leaves.

Get even fancier with sprinkle of whole chickpeas—the base ingredient of hummus. Roast them yourself or buy roasted chickpea snacks for a step further.

But the James Beard Award-winning Shaya Restaurant in New Orleans knows how to dazzle.

Its take on modern Israeli cuisine draws inspiration from the cuisines of Eastern Europe, Greece, the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey.

And some of those influences are turned into hummus toppings.

First, there’s the simple approach: olive oil and sumac (photo #2).

But expand your horizons to toppings like these:

 
The point here is that you can put almost anything atop a dish of hummus: legumes, meat, pickles, seafood and vegetables galore, with a variety of herbs and spices.

Start experimenting today!
 
 
THE HISTORY OF HUMMUS

Chickpeas, sesame, lemon, and garlic have been eaten in the Levant* for millennia. Though widely consumed, chickpeas were cooked in stews and other hot dishes.

Puréed chickpeas eaten cold with tahini do not appear before the Abbasid period (750 to 1517 C.E.) in Egypt and the Levant†.

The earliest known recipes for a dish similar to hummus are in 13th-century cookbooks from Cairo.

Some food historians believe the paste appeared a century earlier, prepared by Saladin, who was the first sultan of the Ayyubid dynasty (1174–1193).

(That is to say, it was created by one of Saladin’s chefs.)

If so, it was more likely created by a cook in his kitchen, the idea of the warlord Saladin-as-cook being tough to swallow.

Recipes for cold purée of chickpeas without tahini, but with vinegar, oil, pickled lemons, herbs and spices—but no garlic—appear in medieval cookbooks; as do recipes with nuts vinegar (though not lemon), with many spices and herbs.

Whomever and however, we’re grateful that it came to be part of our [almost] daily diet.
 
 
MORE HUMMUS RECIPES

[1] Hummus topped with a Middle Eastern “salad” of jammy eggs, onions, pickles and herbs (photos © Shaya Restaurant).

[2] Hummus garnish at its simplest: topped with extra virgin olive oil, Aleppo pepper and shredded parsley.

[3] Grilled octopus and chanterelles as hummus toppers? Yes, along with roasted corn and a sprinkle of sumac.

[4] Chopped eggplant is spiced and sautéed, then topped with peas and pine nuts.

[5] A garnish of roasted cauliflower and caramelized onions.

*The Levant is an English term that first appeared in 1497. It originally referred to the “Mediterranean lands east of Italy.” The historical area comprises modern-day Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. Among other popular foods, Levantine cuisine gave birth to baklava, balafel, kebabs, mezze (including tabbouleh, hummus and baba ghanoush), pita and za’atar, among other dishes that are enjoyed in the U.S. and around the world.

†Jammy eggs are eggs cooked until the white is set but still tender, and the yolk has a soft, custardy, spreadable texture. It is a soft-boiled egg, but one where the yolk isn’t runny, but somewhere between soft-boiled and hard-boiled.

[1] Variegated pink lemons are difficult to find outside of California, but you can order them online from specialty produce purveyors like Melissa’s (photo © Melissa’s Produce).

[2] Serve a slice with a cocktail, seafood or salad, and let family and guests experience the fun of discovery (photos #2 and #3 © Fast Growing Trees).

[3] If you can grow citrus outdoors, buy yourself a dwarf tree.

[4] Pink lemonade (photo © Sence Nectar [now closed]).

When life gives you lemons, goes the proverb, make lemonade. But when life gives you a fancy lemon, show it off to your family and friends.

The variegated pink-fleshed Eureka lemon in the photos is a beauty inside and out, from its pretty striped rind to the pink flesh inside.

Yes, its juice is pink, too…and if can afford it (they’re more expensive than conventional lemons), make pink lemonade!

The juice is sweeter (less acidic), with wonderful lemon flavor and fewer seeds than the conventional Eureka lemon.

The crop grows throughout year in California, but is mainly sold in that state at specialty markets, and online.

The leaves are variegated green and white, making the tree a lovely ornamental choice, although it’s a bit less vigorous than a typical Eureka lemon tree.
 
 
SO WHAT IS THE VARIEGATED PINK-FLESHED EUREKA LEMON?

Also called the variegated Eureka lemon, pink-fleshed Eureka lemon or pink lemonade lemon, it’s a cultivar of the Eureka lemon (Citrus × limon*).

It was discovered as a bud sport on an ordinary Eureka lemon tree in a private garden Burbank, California, in 1931 [source].

In botany, a bud sport, or sport, is a part of a plant that shows morphological† differences from the rest of the plant.

Sports may differ by foliage shape or color, flowers, fruit, or branch structure. The cause is believed to be a chance genetic mutation.

Sports with desirable characteristics are often propagated to form new cultivars.

In addition to the variegated Eureka lemon, examples of fruits propogated from bud sports include, among numerous others, the:

 
 
HOW TO SHOW OFF THE LEMONS

This pink-flesh lemon deserves to be the focus of attention, so people can enjoy the appearance of both the rind and the flesh.

The best way is to use it as a garnish for:

 
 
GET YOUR VARIEGATED EUREKA LEMONS

 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LEMONS

> THE HISTORY OF LEMONS
 
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*The supermarket lime, or Persian lime, is Citrus × latifolia.

†Morphological means relating to the form or structure of things.

Mankind has been making vinegar for more than 10,000 years. It was inadvertently created alongside its alcoholic forbears—wine, beer, and other spirits. Vinegar quickly became a culinary staple as well as a health tonic.

Vinegar can compliment dishes by delivering a complexity of flavors. While for most people, “vinegar” means apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, distilled white vinegar and sherry vinegar, you can make flavor-infused vinegars with fruits (raspberry, maple, plum, e.g.), herbs (tarragon, herbs de Provence, e.g.) and spices (ginger, garlic, vanilla, e.g.).

Fermentation expert Kirsten K. Shockey opens our eyes to making vinegar at home, with her new book, Homebrewed Vinegar: How to Ferment 60 Delicious Varieties, Including Carrot-Ginger, Beet, Brown Banana, Pineapple, Corncob, Honey, and Apple Cider Vinegar.

The book is a deep dive into this ancient condiment, health tonic and kitchen staple.

If you’re a great cook, or simply someone who loves great cooking, you’ll appreciate the world of vinegars in this book.

And you don’t just explore: You’ll get inspired to make your own vinegar, for your home table and for gifts.

While most of us think of grapes as the base for vinegar, vinegar can be made from any food that has fermentable sugar, from any other fruits to flowers, even to beer (after all, champagne, red and white wines, and sherry are commonly made into vinegar).

In this era of sustainability, homemade vinegar is also a way to minimize kitchen waste. For example, you can make vinegar from the pulp left over from juicing, or from overripe mushy bananas.

Intrigued? Read on!
 
 
DISCOVER EVERYTHING ABOUT HOMEBREWED VINEGAR

You’ll get the foundational skills and knowledge for fermenting your own vinegar.

 
Ready to turn your kitchen into a vinegar emporium?

Head to your local bookseller, or find the book on Amazon.
 
 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

In addition to Homebrewed Vinegar, Kirsten K. Shockey is also the author, with her husband, Christopher Shockey, of The Big Book of Cidermaking; Miso, Tempeh, Natto & Other Tasty Ferments, Fiery Ferments, and the best-selling Fermented Vegetables: Creative Recipes for Fermenting 64 Vegetables & Herbs in Krauts, Kimchis, Brined Pickles, Chutneys, Relishes & Pastes.

The Shockeys got their start in fermenting foods with their farmstead food company, where they created more than 40 varieties of cultured vegetables and krauts. Their current focus is on teaching the art of fermenting vegetables to others through classes and workshops at their farm—a 40-acre hillside homestead in the Applegate Valley of southern Oregon.
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF VINEGAR

> BALSAMIC VINEGAR HISTORY

> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF VINEGAR

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*In ancient Greek, oxymel means “acid and honey.” The combination of vinegar and honey was a staple that was used for medicinal purposes from ancient times through the Victorian era. People still use it in homeopathy (alternative medicine). The word is also spelled oxymellus and oxymellis; the plural forms are oxymeli and oxymelli.

[1] Make your own vinegar. The flavor possibilities are endless (photos #1, #2, #3 © Homebrewed Vinegar | Storey Publishing).

[2] Turn any fruit or spice into vinegar.

[3] Buy the book for yourself or for a serious cook.

[4] Homemade blueberry vinegar dresses a salad of romaine, goat cheese and fresh blueberries (photo © Wild Blueberries).