Hopefully you’ve seen and tried the limoncello recipe I created using Anova Precision Cooker. As it was such a success, I looked for more ways to infuse flavors into vodka. A good friend of mine is Swedish, and she introduced me to snaps (that is how it is spelled in Sweden), which come in a variety of unusual—to us, at least—flavors. The flavors tend towards the herbaceous, and we enjoyed a few sips (or more!) one Easter brunch. Snaps has a place on the generous Swedish smorgasbord for holiday celebrations. We had rosemary, pepper, lemon, and more. I am sure I remember mint, although my friend doubts it. Rosemary and lemon is not unusual, but I had it in my head that I wanted to try rosemary and orange, so here it is. And as long as the water was hot and I had some vodka left, I decided to try the star anise. Both are resounding successes. (Note: unlike the limoncello, these are not sweet at all—pure vodka with lovely flavors.) For a variation, try cooking 500 mL vodka with 3 whole star anise. Add 1 star anise to the sterilized bottle for storage.
Barbara Freda
I grew up in a cooking family and after getting a degree in Spanish and Anthropology, realized what I really wanted to do was to go to culinary school. After working in a NYC bank for a few years, I managed to get to culinary school and got my first jobs in NYC kitchens, including a long stint at Union Square Cafe in its earliest years. After (sadly) leaving NYC, I realized I needed to step away from the 80-hour work weeks, so I left the heat of the kitchen for the cool of the computer keyboard: I started writing about food, the business of food, and technology in the food industry, as well as teaching cooking classes. Recipe development remains one of my top loves, and the opportunity to develop recipes for Anova has been fun every step of the way.