Infuse: Oil, Spirit, Water (2 page)

A
muddler will break down ingredients and speed the release of flavors into your base liquid. By crushing or bruising ingredients, you remove the physical barriers containing the flavors within.

A
funnel is a crucial piece of equipment for transferring infusions from one container to another without making a complete mess. We like to use a high-quality stainless steel funnel that’s easy to clean and won’t carry over flavors from one infusion to the next.

A mesh
strainer is the first level of filtering for your infusions. For the second and finer type, see
cheesecloth below. A fine mesh strainer will remove any large pieces of flavoring ingredients from your infusion, increasing clarity and shelf life.

A good
peeler does everything from remove a fine layer of zest from a fresh grapefruit (while leaving behind the bitter white pith) to peel a cucumber. Don’t bother with anything fancy; the simpler, the better.

When you are making an infusion that has fine particles of ground ingredients you should always use cheesecloth in addition to a fine mesh strainer. It provides a finer layer of straining, removing grit or other fine particles from your final product, like
The Hanoi Cold Brew
or
flash-infused oils
.

Long before they became a trend,
Mason jars served a simple but crucial function in the home: preserving food. These durable, heat-resistant vessels are the perfect container for infusing and storing your finished infusions. The glass makes cleaning and reusing the jars easy and prevents lingering flavors from prior infusions.

We use three sizes of
Mason jars for our infusions: 8 oz for precious batches of potent infusions used in small quantities (like infused oils), 16 oz for infusions that we use in slightly larger quantities (like infused spirits), and 32 oz for infusions that are served in large portions (like infused waters).