I just made a homemade vanilla simple syrup and it was incredible.  So, I'm now inspired to start homemaking all of the syrups for my cafe.  I'm going straight to one I know will be challenging- cherry for my cherry mocha.  Citrus curddles milk, and cherries have citrus, so this one won't be as simple as just throwing some cherries into a batch of simple syrup.  But I don't just want to use an artificial cherry flavor concentrate either.  Anybody have any experience making syrups from citrus based fruits for use in drinks with milk?

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That whiskey caramel sauce sounds amazing.  What's the shelf life on that?  Do you boil the alcohol off or keep the temp low to retain it?

Sarah Leanne Barnett said:


Red wine dark chocolate?! Shut the front door. That sounds incredible. Kudos to you, Christos Andrews.

 

I am currently in a battle attempting to make a natural mocha with chocolate bar pieces. (Think Carabou technique, with WAY better cocoa quality) It seems that the cocoa powders from the bars seperate when they hit the liquid. I'm contactng Guittard chocolate today to see if they have any solutions or could recommend a kick ass chocolate base. I talked with one of their reps back at the SCAA show 2009. They seem to really love what they do and were very helpful. If anyone has any good ideas for making a mocha naturally, I'd lve to hear it. We've been using Monin sauce, which is awesome, dont get me wrong. I'd just like to start making everything in house. The Cocoa selection we have here in Alabma is generally pretty shitty.

 

Also, we just introduced a whiskey caramel sauce made in house. way easier than chocolate, obviously. It . is. amazing. It takes about an hour or two to make, and it takes constant stirring/attention. Butter, sugar, whiskey, vanilla, cream of tartar, heavy whipping cream.

 

after we figure out the chocolate situation, I'd also like to experiment with a honey suckle-venom, made by reducing honey suckle blossoms in vodka.

 

We make enough for 4 16oz mason jars, which in summer lasts about a week of caramel stash for us. Lord only knows how much of that mess we're going to sell in fall. It sits on a low simmer, and a lot of it burns off, but we add a little more at the end. If someone drank enough of those lattes to get drunk, they would be seriously ill. The shelf life is a long ass time. Sugar is a fantastic perservative, especially in that much concentration.
With all the dairy in a homemade caramel sauce is it ok to store it in the fridge overnight but at the beginning of everyday pop it on top of the espresso machine to keep it loose or will it spoil? Sarah, you sauces and ideas sound awesome.  Good to know there is an awesome shop and someone doing coffee right in Auburn.

Sounds like an idea, except for the "on top of the espresso machine" part. After seeing so many sticky, crusty, nasty boilers, it just makes me cringe to see squeeze bottles on top of the machine.

 

Remember, nobody plans to spill milk or caramel sauce onto their boiler, its always an accident in a shop where "everyone is always really careful". Fortunately, there's a great way to prevent it... never allow anyone to place any liquids on top of the espresso machine.

 

Please, don't feed the roaches.

 

<end soapbox>



zack burnett said:
With all the dairy in a homemade caramel sauce is it ok to store it in the fridge overnight but at the beginning of everyday pop it on top of the espresso machine to keep it loose or will it spoil? Sarah, you sauces and ideas sound awesome.  Good to know there is an awesome shop and someone doing coffee right in Auburn.

Great point Brady.  Thanks for that tip.  I'm very glad you mentioned that and I didn't have to learn the hard way.  Sounds messy and no one wants a coffee shop that brings to mind Joe's Apartment.  

So, does anyone leave their homemade caramel out on the counter all day?  Will all the sugar in the sauce act as enough of a preservative for the sauce to be left out all day or will the dairy in the sauce go rancid?  Thanks again for the help.

Really? My only experience accidentally mixing red wine and milk was definitely not pleasant. How do you keep the milk from curdling?

Christos Andrews said:
I'm doing this too! Making my own syrups,its been a fun experiment. My fav so far: red wine dark chocolate. I don't put a ton of sugar so that the tart fruitiness stands out more than the sugar. Made a really interesting macchiato out of it. Lots of room for fun experimentation and tastes better and is more rewarding to use your own syrups.

My work here is done...


Ricky Sutton said:

Thought you would be amused by knowing that this morning I forgot to take the caramel out of the fridge and when I discovered it, I went to set it on the machine then stopped myself thinking "you know, Brady was right. I've never spilled anything on this machine, but no one ever means to. No one is intentionally messy. I should put this somewhere else."
Yeah, that's a very good rule, the no liquids on top of the machine ever.  At W/USBC Competitions, I believe that is an automatic disqualification.
Back on the original thread, I'm making a peppermint syrup now too.  I make my base simple syrup then steep Rishi Peppermint tea for about 20 minutes.  I don't like mint personally, but the syrup is very minty, and people who like mint seem to really like it.  It'd probably be better with fresh mint leaves though.

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