Present Joys
“We thank the Lord of heaven and earth
who hath preserved us from our birth
for present joys, for blessings past,
and for the hope of heaven at last.”

Artichoke infusions

In today’s installment of no sugar grandparent’s delight, I’m trying some artichoke infusions.

Carciofo is Italian for “artichoke”, and also “artichoke liqueur”, I think. There isn’t much about how to make artichoke infusions at home on the English internet, but I found some Italian YouTube videos and lots of web pages in Italian that gave me some tips. It’s pretty easy.

I’m doing artichoke infusions because I keep Cynar on my bar and like it a lot, and Cynar is purportedly a carciofo. It’s clearly got more botanicals than just artichoke, though. In an attempt to figure out Cynar’s flavor profile, I tried three different infusions: one plain, one with citrus, and one with some more complicated flavors and bittering agents that seemed to fit.

From two globe artichokes, I collected about 200 grams of leaves. (Some Italian web pages I consulted said to avoid the outer layer of leaves, while others said to specifically select the firmest and biggest, which are the outer leaves. So I used all the leaves I pulled off.) I also cut about 30 grams’ worth of stems and threw those in, though I have no idea if that is a good idea… it may make the infusions worse. Oh well!

Carciofo 1

  • 66 g artichoke leaves
  • 11 g artichoke stems, diced
  • 300 ml 151-proof spirit

Carciofo 2

  • 66 g artichoke leaves
  • 11 g artichoke stems, diced
  • 0.2 oz dried lemon peel
  • 0.2 oz dried bitter orange peel
  • 300 ml 151-proof spirit

Carciofo 3

  • 66 g artichoke leaves
  • 11 g artichoke stems, diced
  • 0.2 oz purple raisins
  • 0.155 oz dried bitter orange peel
  • 0.06 oz rhubarb root
  • 0.052 oz gentian root
  • 0.02 oz wormwood
  • 300 ml 151-proof spirit

Yes, I know I am mixing grams and ounces. I have no excuse.

I tasted infusion 3 after three days and it seemed plenty strong. I don’t want to overdo the infusions, so I’ll plan to strain on day 4.

Update

After tasting my strained infusions, I’m declaring number 3 the winner… at least in terms of imitating Cynar. It’s clear Cynar’s flavor profile relies heavily on other botanicals, specifically bittering agents—not just the artichoke.

Infusion 1 (just artichoke) was interesting, and I think it was successful as a “pure” carciofo. It’s really not bitter at all, but quite vegetal, and when diluted 50% with 1:1 agave simple syrup, it was unsettlingly sweet. Not cloying, just odd to taste that much sweetness with the artichoke flavor.

Infusion 2 (artichoke + lemon + bitter orange) showed promise, but the lemon overpowers on both the aroma and palate. A second attempt with different ratios would taste more balanced, but I don’t think it’d be like Cynar—so not worth pursuing.

Infusion 3 is good to dilute and bottle. I’m going to blend infusions 1 and 2 together and macerate with the botanicals from infusion 3—that way those subpar attempts won’t go to waste. If all goes well, I’ll end up with an additional 600 ml of a decent Cynar copycat (I am hoping the lemon gets diluted and masked).

Tagged