Bergamot, The Newest West Coast Culinary Secret
What's the hottest culinary flavoring to hit haute cuisine?
Its Bergamot.
West Coast chefs are proclaiming it's fresh and exciting new flavor. Bergamot is turning up flavoring roast chicken, salmon marinade, vinaigrettes, and glazing bundt cakes. Some aficionados proclaim it "indescribably delicious." Its citrus-based flavor has been described as perfumey, fragrantly bitter, somewhat earthy and most decidedly unique.
Most importantly, bergamot seems to transform dishes from ordinary to extraordinary. Fans of bergamot claim that once you try it, you're hooked.
California growers are planting bergamot trees in their orchards, wholesalers are stocking and selling more bergamot than ever before as it pops up on more and more menus of upscale restaurants.
All this is well and good if you're eating out at pricey restaurants, but where can you find bergamot if you are cooking at home? The truth is, it is very hard to find. If you live in a bigger city and you're lucky, you might be able to spot it a few weeks out of the year at a local market or a gourmet grocery store. If you live in the perfect climate for it (Mediterranean, as in southern Italy), you can try growing it yourself as many do. Otherwise, where can you find that "make-your-taste-buds-sit-up-and-listen kind of flavor?"
You're in luck, there is a way to get that bergamot flavor year round, anytime you want it. You see, it's been bottled. But I don't mean canned or preserved.
Since ancient times, people have been pressing the oil of the bergamot orange from the rind, the most potently aromatic part, and bottling it. It's known as bergamot essential oil.
Just a few drops of bergamot essential oil lends unbelievable and nearly indescribable flavor to your dishes. Try it when you want to add depth to a citrus sorbet or infuse your ice cream or creme brulee with tantalizing flavor. Add a few drops to your glaze after removing from heat and transform your cake from just dessert to divine!
Need to whip up an unforgettable mousse? Add 10 drops or so of bergamot essential oil to your favorite recipe for an incredible taste sensation. Or add it to main dish sauces to turn plain into exotic.
With bergamot essential oil you can impress your friends with your culinary secrets anytime of the year… and it only take a minute to add the "secret" ingredient.
There's a great deal of expertise that goes into the extraction of the rind to get a premium bottle of bergamot essential oil. Like anything else, if you buy it from a knowledgeable, reliable and ethical manufacturer, you'll get the best money can buy. But if you buy from a second rate dealer, you'll be disappointed.
One of the highest-quality manufacturers of Bergamot essential oil is Young Living Essential Oils. This company specializes in obtaining the most potent, the most flavorful essential oils possible. They take special pains in every step of the process to use premium fruit, pick it at the perfect ripeness and to extract the oils in the safest, most careful way so as to preserve as much of the fruit's natural constituents as possible. Order a bottle or two of Bergamot today and experience the West Coast's newest culinary secret.
Find out more about bergamot essential oil here…
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Comments on Bergamot, The Newest West Coast Culinary Secret »
Ali @ 12:51 pm
Dear Sir
Please let me know how to flavor my black tea leaf from assam in india and ceylon as well as the tea bag with bergamot essenc oil kindly guide me
thanks
Essential Oil Diva @ 6:11 am
It is very difficult to flavor tea directly with essential oils as the oils are very concentrated and thick, making it difficult to disperse evenly. You can put a drop of oil into your teacup, but since the oil will float on the surface, your tea will be overflavored on top and underflavored on the bottom. The first few sips can also "burn" your lips.
To flavor tea leaves it is usually better to create an "extract" by mixing the essential oil with a some water and alcohol to thin it, give it a carrier that will help it blend with other ingredients and allow easier application. Experiment with different amounts of water and alcohol to thin the consistency and to get a good taste.
One way to apply the extract is to spray it on loose tea spread out on a flat surface, such as a cookie sheet or cutting board, with an atomizer (fine spray nozzle). The atomizer allows the extract to be applied evenly.
Let the tea dry for about an hour and store it in an air tight container.
If your tea is already sealed in a tea bag, I don't know what to tell you to do since you cannot reach the tea leaves directly. You could try putting a drop or so of the extract into your cup of brewed tea and see if you like it that way, but it's not quite the same as flavoring the tea leaf.
The Essential Oil Diva
Ali @ 10:52 am
Dear Sir
Is it possible to flavor the larger amount of bulk tea with spraying the essentials oil bergamot to tea surface without using any blender/mixer equipment machine, if so what will be the procedures and precaution
Essential Oil Diva @ 10:49 pm
Ali,
Yes, just follow the same procedure I described in the previous post. The alcohol will allow the oil to mix evenly with the water with enough stirring – just keep stirring until you see that it is blended well and there aren't any "oily" areas floating on top.
Then spread your bulk tea on a flat surface and spray your oil mixture with an atomizer onto the tea as evenly as possible. How much you spray will depend on taste. Experiment to mind the best proportion of bergamot oil extract to bulk tea for your taste.
Allow it to dry for at least an hour – then it's ready to use or store.
Ali @ 4:00 pm
To:Essential Oil Diva
good day
please is there any alternative for alcohol, since for commercial aspect some of the end users like alcohol free product, kindly advice
thanks
Ali
Essential Oil Diva @ 2:13 am
Ali,
I'm sorry, I really don't know if there is an alternative for alcohol, since I don't make commercial tea or extracts. The alcohol does evaporate off as it dries, but I suppose there would be traces.
Something has to be used to emulsify the oil, and there may be other substances, but you'll have to ask someone whose an expert with either flavoring tea or making extracts.