Rachel Marwedel
Website Manager
Each Monday, I gather my roommates and taste-test two mocktails. Here’s how this week’s went:
Ginger Peachy
Nausea in a glass.
4 large ripe peaches
1 qt. milk (4 cups)
½ teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons honey
Peel, pit, and coarsely chop peaches. Combine peaches, milk, ginger, and honey in a blender. Process for about 1 minute or until frothy. Serve at once. Makes 6 servings
This recipe, like 90% of my drinks, comes from The New Mixer’s Guide to Low-Alcohol & Nonalcoholic Drinks by Sheila Buff and Judi Olstein. Since peaches are practically out of season, I had to go with canned peaches. I also halved the recipe. To begin, I took some ginger root and grated it until I had about ½ teaspoon. Then I added the ginger, milk, peaches, and honey to the blender. After it got nice and frothy, I poured it out into glasses.
After one sip, I immediately spit it out and declared that it broke the Geneva Conventions. Never before have I had something so nausea-inducing. Was it the canned peaches? Grated ginger instead of ground? The simple fact that I don’t like dairy-based drinks? Either way, please don’t subject yourself to this recipe.
Rating: 1/3
MATTHA (Minted Indian Yogurt Drink)
I suppose savory was always a drink option.
8 oz. plain yogurt (1 cult)
¾ cup cold water
4 mint sprigs
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon salt
8 ice cubes
Combine yogurt, water, and two mint sprigs in a blender. Process for about 30 seconds or until smooth. Add cumin, salt, and ice cubes. Process for about 30 seconds or until frothy. Serve immediately. Garnish each serving with one of the remaining mint sprigs. Makes 2 servings.
I never know what The New Mixer’s Guide recipes will end up like, and this one certainly was a surprise. I started by adding the yogurt, water, and mint to the blender, though I added two more sprigs of mint. Looking back, I probably should have added 5 or 6 more. After processing, I added the cumin, salt, and ice cubes. Probably should’ve added less salt, but oh well. After another quick blend, I poured it out into the glasses. I ended up with 3 servings.
I sincerely doubt this drink compares at all to the actual Mattha. One of my roommates compared it to drinking liquid tzatziki. However, as long as you’re not expecting a sweet drink, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world.
Rating: 2/3
