This is not like a pinch of salt in cooking. You’re going to be way off, and even if you somehow manage to swing acceptable results, you’ll have no reproducibility. Basically, without a proper scale, you’re just wasting your time.
Just found this, not sure if anyone saw/posted it but thought I would share. The measurements are slightly different, and in all honestly I tried it today, but even in error it’s way better than “straight” lime juice. Its my new way of making cocktails at home.
I’ve bought my share of these jeweler’s scales. Used to be that 0.05 gram precision was pretty nice. Now, all the scales Martin linked have 0.01 gram precision—but the error is +/- 0.03 grams. Pretty funny that the technology is probably exactly the same, but the marketing’s more aspirational.
Yea I got mine dirt cheap but yes, I measured both amounts of peel side by side with both Escape & Fuzion - they varied by as much as .09 grams, but mostly less than .05 - I am on the right track, but honestly I think the first batch of super juice was better with the (human) error of more citric acid, this one was too sour as the last was too tart due to my own error. Thankfully limes are cheap these days so I will try again during the week.
I managed to find a cheap scale under $10 and it does measure down to the .05 of a gram. I like the results of the juice, tried it in Daiquiri, Jack Rose, Jet Pilot & Mai Tai, it’s superior and elevates all those drinks. Now I am thinking to do it with Lemon and/or Grapefruit. I know there is a chart for lemon and the citric/malic acids amounts will vary but if anyone has any guidance that would be great.
Another thought, and I learned this when I was in Curacao last year. they zest their limes to achieve similar results and the one cocktail I had was fantastic (the recipe is actually in Exotica Moderne coming out this week). At first I thought that maybe the acids might break down the zest TOO much and/or too quickly or would the results be the same if they were done in peels? The one thing I am thinking is if I zest them, there will be less of the white pith that tends to be bitter.
I can vouch that this bottled yuzu superjuice I’ve recently found is a pretty great cocktail ingredient and certainly the most practical way for me to introduce yuzu into my home bar:
(Not affiliated with them, just a satisfied customer)
I’ve watched a few videos on this, they vary slightly, but no one seems to address the citrus juice itself. Educated Barfly juices all 8 limes (I did it with 4 because I did a half batch). Another guy says you are actually juicing the citrus just for added flavor and it should be the same amount as the peels, so if you have 50 grams of peels, you should have 50 grams of juice PLUS x 16.6 the amount of water. Sorry if I am belaboring the method/point but if its as precise as you say, why is the juice itself not precise, is it because all the flavor is coming only from the peels?
I just tried my first small batch. I had a couple slightly sad limes, scaled the recipe to fit them, and got about 10 oz of delicious juice without a whole lot of effort. Tried it next day in a Daiquiri and was completely happy with the results.
I’m impressed. I initially was scared off because this seemed like a lot of work, but it really wasn’t for a small batch. I weighed carefully but wasn’t too precious about how much pith I got, and I have no complaints.
I am not satisfied with the state of existing recipes. I agree that the weight of fresh juice should be factored in. There’ll still be some variance because fresh juice varies.
Edit: I think the essential explanation is this: the amount of water you add is critical and relates exclusively to the acids. If you correctly weigh the acids and water, you will exactly nail the 6% acidity of the lime/lemon. (remember: super juices for other fruits will not be 6% unless you’re acid adjusting them to lemon/lime acidity!) After that it’s up to you how much fresh juice you add. The more fresh juice, the less shelf life your super juice will probably have, but maybe it will have a little more nuance to the flavor. You might want to try dividing a large batch of super juice up (prior to adding any fresh juice), then add different quantities of fresh juice to each sample, and compare.
My philosophy on superjuice (at least for acid-unadjusted) is that it should be as indistinguishable from fresh-squeezed juice as possible. When you drink a cocktail, you shouldn’t be able to tell if it uses superjuice or fresh juice.
After making a bunch of it over the past year, I’ve tested some variations on technique with that goal in mind. The most important thing is how good your oleo citrate tastes before you add any juice.
So before you add any real juice back in, the oleo citrate should have the same acid content (~6%), sugar content (~1-2%), and as much of the flavorful oils that you can extract from the peels. I haven’t played with terpenes yet, but in my experience neither succinic acid or potassium citrate has made enough of a difference to be worth in – with or without them, my oleo citrate tastes just like clarified juice to my palate. The only aspect in which the oleo citrate by itself falls flat is texture – there’s no pulp or anything like you’d get from a juice press. Blending the peels during extraction helps a little, but it’s not the same kind of body.
And for me, that’s the main point of adding the fresh juice.
From a flavor standpoint, a 1:1 blend of juice to oleo citrate should ideally taste pretty much the same as a 10:1 blend or a 1:10 blend. The acid and sugar and oils should be the same across both components. Adding juice just provides some of the natural texture you’d get from fresh-squeezed (and gives you something to do with the insides of the limes you just peeled). But I don’t think the exact ratio of juice to oleo matters all that much.
Yep, that’s nailed it. The fresh juice is (effectively) equivalent to the super juice, and thus just extends it. From a taste perspective, you’re adding juice to more juice, so the ratio is immaterial.**
** oxidation and texture notwithstanding of course.
