I bought some food grade gum arabic and was wondering if anyone had a recipe to make a small (half cup/5 ounce) batch of it to try in some cocktails off the app that use it. On a different note, I think I’ve tried just about every gin available on local liquor stores here, so I might start using vodka to also test with the gum syrup. Anyone have any idea which is better in a martini? Tito’s, Grey Goose or Ketel One?
My gum syrup recipe:
In a small container, combine 20 grams powdered gum arabic with 20 grams water and leave overnight. (I use a lidded container in the refrigerator, but not absolutely necessary, I suppose.) After the mixture incorporates itself, heat 40 grams water on the stove until 120 grams granulated sugar is dissolved, then fold in gum solution with a silicone spatula. Makes maybe 5 ounces? The resulting super thick syrup has a nice caramelized flavor and silky mouth feel.
4 Likes
In the process of making it now. However, it is nearly pure white like orgeat or almond milk, just thicker (and wondering how I am going to get this into a pourable bottle). When I look at brands like Giffard or Liber, it’s perfectly clear - is there something else they are adding for shelf life? I just wonder how it is going to look in a martini which is typically clear, and I am not sure this is going to be able to “dash”. Did I miss something?
My guess is it hasn’t been heated enough to dissolve all the sugar. Mine looks like this:
But I’m using mine mostly in pre-Prohibition cocktails. If you want this for a vodka martini and you don’t want the darker color, you can try a blender instead of heating, but you also may need to cut back the amount of sugar for easier dissolution. The gum arabic tends to add some color too, so simple syrup may be your best choice.
Yes, I too want it for the pre-prohibition drinks found in the COCKTAILS app + Ted Haig’s Forgotten Cocktails Book (one of the earlier martini recipes calls for it). I will try again, I think it’s too much gum arabic, as well as the sugar. I have a whole container of it, so no loss to keep experimenting/adjusting.
The cloudiness and colour tends to disappear after letting it settle for a bit. When I make regular 1:1 simple syrup with just water and sugar, it’s slightly cloudy for a while as well but goes completely clear once it’s sat in the fridge for a bit.
Since you are trying to recreate old classics, how about taking inspiration from the “Manual for the Manufacture of Cordials” which was attached to Jerry Thomas’ book in 1862 but make a few modern adjustments and simplifications.
The recipe in the book is this:
The Nos 6 and 7 items he reference are related to clarifying with egg so can be skipped for simplicity. The batch volumes are huge but it boils down to a roughly 3:2:1 ratio of sugar, water and gum arabic.
My notes when converting this t0 metrics originally simplified this to 150g sugar, 105g water and 50g gum arabic with the following steps:
Step 1 - Hydrate the gum:
Combine 50g of gum arabic with 105g water and leave in fridge for 24-48 hours to hydrate. Gum dissolves really well in water but it’s also exceptionally slow to do so… Don’t bother forcing it.
Just consider “hydrated gum” a piece of necessary advance prep.
Step 2 - Make the gum sugar syrup:
Combine 155g of hydrated gum “syrup” with 150g of sugar.
(So close to 1:1 with that nearly 3:2:1 ratio mentioned before!)
You can speed this up by lightly heating it in a pan but avoid boiling it or getting the temperature too high as the water will evaporate which throws off the ratio slightly.
Then the usual chat of bottling, storing and letting it cool before use. Hope this helps 
4 Likes
Thank you Book of Morten, this produces much better results. I was never a big fan of rich simple syrup because it is too thick, and this one “dashes” from the bottle much better. My recipe was 50g of gum; 100g of water, let it sit 12.5hours, then gently heated 150g of white sugar; 150g spring water, poured in the gum syrup mixture, allow to settle for about an hour and here is a photo of the results.
Not sure how much the 5g water/sugar/gum plays in 300g of ingredients, but here is the Buster Brown from 1917 as taken from Martin’s COCKTAILS app from the First Golden Age and it made about 9-10 ounces, I didn’t bottle it all since I know I am not going to use it. I guess the question is how long will this last and can you use it in all cocktails, or only clear ones? What about tiki drinks?
1 Like
Happy to hear you had success with this! How was the final drink and syrup?
Just checking if you added an extra 150g water for dissolving the sugar separately? It reads like you did and if that’s the case then it’s a very low sugar ratio as you’ve got 300g total water so 450g mass in total, so be mindful of the shelf life being much lower.
Also great shout just simplifying to the 3:2:1 ratio.
2 Likes
Yes, the simple syrup was 1:1 NOT just 150g added to the gum mixture (would have been too thick to pour like first time). It says it should last 2 weeks? Not sure I am crazy about it in a martini, it does give a silkier feel but also slightly sweeter and I already use Dolin BLANC instead of Dolin Dry vermouth, so the sweetness is subtle but there, but far better tasting in a martini in my opinion.