August 15, 2025 • 40 mins
This almond-flavored liqueur brings a sweet, smooth warmth to cocktails and baked goods – sometimes without involving any almonds at all. Anney and Lauren dip into the science and history of amaretto.
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hello, and welcome to favor Prediction of iHeartRadio. I'm Annie Reese.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
And I'm Lauren Vogel Bumb and today we have an
episode for you about Amaretto.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Yes, was there any particular reason this was on your mind, Lauren.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
I was looking for a type of drink and I
got really in the weeds with different the cores and
a lot of them. It seems like the backstory is, well,
it was the seventies and we wanted to make a
new liquor, and this one has a little bit more
(00:43):
of a history, and it happens to be something that
I have a half used bottle of sitting in my
house that I look at all the time and never
particularly consume.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Okay, Yeah, so I was like, yeah, let's look into
that one. Sure, that's funny, because I don't know if
there's well, there is a particular reason I do associate
Amaretto with you, not necessarily because I've seen you drink it,
but I feel like a lot of that after dinner
drinks you introduce me to, oh sort of more bitter,
(01:21):
which Amaretto can be. Not that, but those things that
you have after dinner, I feel like you have been
the person that's like you should try a better version
of whatever you had you were young in college.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Yeah, yeah, no, I love I love a nice tomorrow
after dinner, Like just a little bit on the rocks
is so delightful. And you know, if you're in the
mood for like a kind of like dessert drink after dinner,
certainly amorato on the rocks is nice, or a little
bit in a coffee or something like that. But yeah,
but there's but there's certainly nothing like I don't know,
(01:58):
you know, like it's it's nice.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Yeah, it is nice. My mom loves the flavor of amaretto,
which is funny.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Yeah, I love an almond like an almond cherry flavor
is one of my favorite flavor profiles.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Yes, my mom loves that. I don't know if she's
ever actually had amaretto, but if like a coffee machine
has like the amaretto flavors, oh that one. Yeah, so
I do think of her as well.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Yeah, Amaretto is definitely a flavor now, but so so
Marzapan is vaguely related maybe Marischino cherries episodes on stone
fruits like peaches and plums or other liqueurs like like chartreuse,
or or amari of various kinds. I have been studiously
(02:48):
avoiding doing apricots and almonds as topics because they're gonna
be a little bit big.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Yes they are, Yes, they are, so well not be
digging into the history of that necessarily. I also add
on or jotte just because I saw a lot of
people say orgjatte can mimic the flavor of ameretto. I
can't say that that's true.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
They're related. I'd say that they're pretty distinctly different. But yeah,
at any rate, drink responsibly.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Yes, yes, And this does bring us to our question, sure, amaretto.
What is it? Well?
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Ameretto is a type of liqueur that tastes like very
gently spiced candied almonds or maybe cherries, sort of sweet
and slightly bitter, uh, nutty and stone fruity, round and
rich uh. Making it involves taking a distilled liquor that's
probably pretty neutral, like a like a vodka or brandy,
(03:56):
and then steeping in flavorings. The main ingredient can be
a number of things. It can be like raw or
roasted almonds of either the sweet or bitter variety, or
things that are not almonds. At all, but are related,
like the seeds of apricots, peaches, or cherries. After the
main ingredient or ingredients, you might add depth with other
(04:18):
stuff like sort of like like like warm category spices
like cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, cocoa, vanilla, fennel. I say with
a question mark, I saw it and it sounds great. Anyway,
However long this stuff steeps it eventually all gets strained out,
and then you sweeten the resulting flavored alcohol, maybe with
(04:40):
white sugar, or maybe with something with a bit more
color and flavor, like brown sugar or caramel or honey.
The finished liquor will be a sort of toasty golden
brown in color, a little bit thicker and stickier than
like a straight alcohol, and sweet and smooth with dips
of all of these like complimentary nutty, prutty, warm, bitter flavors.
(05:02):
Amaretto can be drink alone over ice, or used to
add like sweet depth to cocktails or to help flavor
sweets like chocolates, baked goods, and other desserts. It's like,
you know, you know, that like anticipatory sugar rush that
you get when you walk into a fudg shop or
(05:23):
or a chocolate tears shop, or like a bakery that
focuses on pastries and that like buttery, sweet plus something
else sent just washes over you. It's like drinking that.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
It is. It's a strong sensation. It is, it is.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
It can be a little overpowering. Can yeah yeah, but yeah.
So the word amaretto literally means little bitter in Italian Italy,
being where the liquor is originally from, and it certainly
is only a little bit bitter. It's certainly less better
(06:05):
than most amari. But in the proud Italian tradition of amari,
amaretto makers are like real buttoned up about their process,
so I cannot get much more specific about how the
traditional products are made. However, I know that you can
make your own at home by steeping whatever main ingredient
or ingredients you like in vodka, brandy or like maybe
(06:27):
like a non spiced rum. There are lots of recipes
online and generally they call for steeping their ingredients for
like a few weeks. So I don't know. I don't
know if there's a part of the distillation process that
professional amaretto makers use, but here we are for home purposes.
That's what it looks like. However, I can talk a
(06:49):
little bit more about those ingredients. So amoratto is known
for being almond flavored, but that flavoring can come from
things related to almonds, and to get into that, get
a little bit into botany. Okay, So we treat almonds
like a culinary nut because of their size, but they're
technically the seeds of the almond tree. Fruit in almonds,
(07:13):
in the almond tree, the fruit itself isn't what humans
developed that tree for. Like, the fruit is dry, it's
sort of like like like paperboard when it's mature and ripe.
But almonds are in the genus Prunus, which means that
they're a close cousin to stone fruits like plums, apricots, cherries, peaches,
and nectarines, which we did develop for their fruit and
(07:36):
all of those. You know, Like the fruit is fleshy
and juicy and nice, and the pit or kernel is
kind of an afterthought, sort of the flip side of
the almond. But in both almonds and stone fruit, the
pit is this more or less oblong pointed shell that
reminds me of like a light particle board when it's dry,
(07:56):
and that's encasing an oil and protein and starch filled seed.
And seeds, of course, are these little packages containing all
the food that a sproutling would need to get started.
But we've learned that we like eating them too, suckers,
or we like eating them in some cases. Because of
all of these types of pruness, the only species that
(08:19):
we directly eat the seeds of most of the time
is a sub variety of almond called the sweet almond,
which are perhaps obviously because of the name, a little
bit sweeter than the other sub variety bitter almonds. Bitter
almonds and stone fruit seeds tend to be a little
bit too bitter and or potentially toxic to eat out
(08:40):
of hand. That bitterness is partially caused by a compound
called benzaldehyde, which is really aromatic and lovely like almonds
and cherries and burnt sugar and malt, all of which
we think of as sweet things, but it's got this
real bitter twinge to it, which just gives gorgeous depth.
It's used in a lot of perfume and cosmetics, and
(09:03):
it is contained in the seeds and the seed oils
of these prunus species. And going back to those kernels.
For a second, if you've never cracked open the stone
of a stone fruit, the seeds inside look remarkably like almonds.
Probably don't eat them if you try this at home,
because I mean, like, at least know exactly what species
(09:26):
of stone fruit you're dealing with and check with food
safety resources that are not us because again, there is
potential toxicity when being used in consumable products like liquors
and baked goods. These seeds are used in small proportions
along with safer stuff like sweet almonds. Other than that,
different brands of amaretto will fill out that kind of
(09:46):
warmth and roundness with all kinds of warm profile spices
and other seasonings. And you can see lots of our
prior episodes about how all of those work. But yeah,
just just trying to balance out all of the and
flavors a little. The amado brands on the market do
tend to range from like twenty one to twenty eight
percent alcohol, so smack between like a wine and a
(10:09):
straight liquor in terms of ABV, which means that they're
a relatively gentle drink on their own, like a nice sipper,
and also that they add a little bit more flavor
than like absolute punch to a cocktail if you're only
using like a shot or so. The sort of classic
amaretto cocktail is the Anaretto sour, which is often equal
(10:30):
parts anaretto and sour mix, sour mix itself being just
about equal parts simple syrup and lemon and lime juice
to taste like maybe a little bit more citrus in
there than simple. It depends. That's assuming that you're making
your sour mix fresh. The bottled stuff is usually some
unholy blend of corn syrup and citric acid and like
(10:52):
neon slimer colored food coloring.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
And look y'all.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
As we always say, it's enjoy what you enjoy and
also exert energy to your capacity to exert energy. If
you want to use sour remix or if that's what
you have the spoons to do today, I support you
in your venture. But this is one of my personal
leg lines in the sand. I'm like that that is
(11:17):
a miserable way for me to live, so I choose
to do not that just just just for me. Y'all,
do whatever you want, similarly to doing whatever you want.
Comeretto can be used in all kinds of things. It
goes really well with lemon, chocolate, coffee, and vanilla flavors.
(11:38):
Maybe not altogether, that's up to you. And also like
relatedly to all of that, like barrel aged liquors like
whiskeys and RUMs. It's a good nutty addition to like
teaky type drinks, or can provide like a like an
almond cherry boost to maybe like a sweetbread or muffin,
like scones, fillings for pastries or chocolates.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
All kinds of uses. Mm hmm, Well what about the.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Nutrition drink responsibly? Yeah, amaretto tends to be sugary treats
are nice, but does it cause cyanide poisoning?
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Does it?
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Okay? No, basically no, uh so Okay, The kernels of
fruit in the prunis genus can contain this class of
compounds that will release hydrogen cyanide when they're broken down
In amaretto made with some of these seeds, you can
wind up with some of those compounds in the final product. However,
(12:49):
and this has been studied recently, it's like not enough
to affect your health, assuming that you consume amaretto in
a reasonable capacity. It's one of those things it's like again,
like I might be more concerned about the alcohol in
the long term then unless you're just shooting a whole
(13:11):
bottle of amaretto, and then I don't know what's going
on in your life.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Yeah, that might be a separate that's a separate issue.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Don't don't do that. In any case. We love you, yes,
we need you. Yes, yes, yes, you're important.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
You are and we want to hear all of your
amaretto thoughts.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Oh my goodness, yes.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Yes, yes, okay, well we do have some numbers for you.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
We do.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
So Drinks International, which is this beverage industry publication. Every
year they pull one hundred of the best and or
most popular bars in the world about their top selling cocktails,
and the Amaretto Sour ranks in like the teens to
the twenties every year. As of twenty twenty five, the
Amaretto Sour is number fifen on that list, with a
(14:02):
note that it's in the top ten in sixteen percent
of the bars that they pulled.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
That's more popular than I thought it would be.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Me too, me too. I understand that the global market
for amearetto is something over a billion dollars a year,
about forty percent of that market is in Europe, thirty
percent is in North America and twenty percent and rising
in Asia Pacific. The brand Di Serno holds some seventy
(14:32):
percent of the global market share, which is wild. As
of twenty twenty four, I think they were producing some
nine million liters a year. I wasn't able to fact
check that the theistic. The way that the statistic was
phrased was a little bit funky, but it's about they're
making a bunch. It's a bunch, and they are celebrating
(14:57):
their five hundredth year this year.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Yes, and they are a big part of what we
can get about the history of Amaretto.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Yes, yes, this one was a little a little bit tricky,
but we're going to get into that slightly tricky history
as soon as we get back from a quick break
for a word from our sponsors.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
And we're back. Thank you sponsor, Yes, thank you. So yes, Well,
we get a lot of this story from Italy's oldest
commercial brand of Amaretto di Serono Ameretto, which dates back
to fifteen twenty five, and Serono, which is a small
Italian town, or it was at that time. The legend
goes that Italian painter Bernardino Luini needed a model for
(15:56):
a fresco of the Virgin Mary he was working on,
so he asked a widow innkeeper to pose for him
to thank him, which is a fact that I keep
getting hung up on. I feel like he should have
been thanking her. But anyway, to thank him, she gifted
him with a liqueur that tasted like almonds.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
The story goes that he was such a famous and
gifted painter that she was just so and she was
kind of enamored with him, and so she was so
overwhelmed by the beauty of the process that she wanted
to gift him with something with something equally beautiful.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
And from what I understand, and Listen's right in, this
still exists. This fresco still exists. Yeah, I think so. Yeah.
So anyway, I guess she got some kind of immortality
and artistic sense in that way. So, yeah, she gave
him this liqueur that tasted like almonds. According to the
(16:55):
family that owns the brand now Rena, they use the
same recipe today that the widow used back then. If
that is the case, there were no almonds involved in
this fifteen hundreds version. Instead, it was the almond flavor
came from the apricot kernel oil that she used. The
widow may or may not have been related to the
(17:17):
reign of family if she existed. As the story goes,
in sixteen hundred, Giovanni Rena discovered the recipe, the widow's recipe,
and he started producing it, and the recipe was passed
down through generations all up until today m hm.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Another brand that we have to talk about though, is Lazzaroni,
and they didn't actually get started making amaretto lecoeur. They
were first making a type of cookie called amaretti, Amoretti
being the plural of amaretto amoradi cookies could be a
probably short episode, but they're this type of gluten free
(17:56):
cookie that uses apricot seed flour or almond flour plus
like sugar and egg whites to make up the body
of the cookie, sort of like a macaron, though amaretti
can be baked either chewy or crunchy. They're nice anyway.
Exactly how these cookies came about is argued. Were they
created by a Venice pastry chef for the Court of
(18:18):
Savoy in the mid sixteen hundreds, Was it the invention
of a bakery in Serrano being visited by this fancy
cardinal from Milan in the early seventeen hundreds. However they
got here, they were popularized by this company run by
the Lazzaroni family in Serrano, which was selling them by
sometime in the seventeen hundreds.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Yes, and it wasn't until eighteen fifty one that a
liquid alcohol version debuted from this company. It also used
apricot kernel oil for that almond like taste, along with
mashed up and soaked amaretti cookies.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
From what I understand, that is how it is still
made to this day.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Interesting. Francis krim Deinyo, a liquor similar to ameretto, got
started in the nineteenth century. Separate episode, but it's yeah similar,
yeah related, Yeah. The Arena's family production of their amaretto
had grown into a large artisanal business by nineteen forty
and then jumping ahead in nineteen sixty eight, Ti Sarono
(19:22):
Ameretto made its way to the United States. It became
popular in cocktails like the Amaretto Sour and the Godfather,
which is amaretto and Scotch whiskey.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Yeah drinks. International reports of the amaretto sour probably popped
up around nineteen seventy four, maybe first as just amaretto
and lemon juice, but then pretty immediately with full sour mix.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Yes. I also read that The Godfather was named because
in the movie one of the characters specifically prefers Scotch whiskey.
I don't know if that's true, but interesting, which brings
us to something else I was not expecting to find
in this episode. The Flaming Doctor Pepper. I had never
(20:13):
heard of it, but all right. It has two main
competing origin stories. The first is that Luke Semino invented
it at his dive bar and the Ptarmigan Club sometime
in the late seventies or eighties. The bar was located
near Texas A and M. So this was a cocktail
(20:35):
designed for college kids. It was a combination of amaretto
and grain alcohol that was set on fire and then
dropped into a half pint of logger. And yeah, there's
no Doctor Pepper in it, but from what I read,
it tastes like Doctor Pepper. It was popular enough that
the bar developed a whole system to serve several at once.
(20:57):
I think at like precarious shot glass hovering.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Oh sure, Sure, you pound on the bar and the
shot falls into the drink. That kind of situation, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
I believe so, and it soon spread to other college
towns throughout Texas, including Lubbock by nineteen eighty six. These days,
the Ptarmigan Club has a sign that claims they're the
home of the Flaming Doctor Pepper.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Side note here, one of the flavorings in Doctor Pepper
is indeed the aforementioned benzealdehyde. I mean, I mean the
recipe is a secret, but like benzeldehyde shows up in
mass spectromedy. So yeah, mm hm m hmm.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Okay. So, but back to the Flaming Doctor Pep. The
Flaming Doctor Pepper in our second origin story in nineteen
eighty six, the sun of the owner of the New
Orleans bar the Globe the gold Mine Saloon, Dave Brinks,
was looking to come up with something new. The bar
mostly served beer to a wide array of customer but
(22:00):
it was struggling financially at the time. Nearby shot bars
were seeing some success. So I think this bar is
like a street or two down off of Bourbon Street,
so it's in that facund Okay. So Brinks, who was
nineteen by the way, he was like running it for
the summer for his mom. Started work shopping a list
(22:22):
of shots that he could offer at the bar, and
he wanted to make one that tasted like his favorite
soft drink, dr Pepper. He tried with a variety of
liqueurs and eventually landed on a local armaretto. He won't
say which one it is. He mixed it with Miller
Lite with a drop of Everclear, and then yes, he
(22:43):
lit it on fire. Brinks was happy at how it
turned out, how it imitated Doctor Pepper's taste, but he
didn't think anybody would order it. He was wrong. He
was wrong. People were into it. It soon became popular
enough that the bar was financially successful again. Brinks later
was pretty laid back about who invented the flaming Doctor Pepper.
(23:04):
He essentially said, we were doing two different things. I
had no idea about what they were doing, and I
don't think they had any idea about what I was doing. Nice.
I like that very He's very chill about the whole thing.
He's also like an author and a poet, and it
cracks him up that this is what people remember him for. Oh,
(23:26):
this is what he gets asked about the most Yeah, yeah,
uh huh uh huh yep. So those are the two
big names when it comes to the origins of the
Flaming Doctor Pepper. But a bartender at Ham's Restaurant in
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, also a college town, claimed that
they invented it theirs has Kalua and was being offered
(23:47):
by nineteen ninety and this is the first time the
drink appeared in print. From what I understand, though, North
Carolina later went on to ban the cocktail along with
a few other states based on fire injuries. Sure sure
yep in the nineteen nineties, and Oklahoma City bartenders botched
(24:08):
attempt at making this cocktail led to the creation of
a new cocktail called Edna's Lunchbox. So this is when
a shot glass of ameretto is placed in a chilled
beer mug that is then filled with coarse light and
finished with orange juice. It's intended to be downed like
a shot And I believe it's called the lunchbox because
(24:29):
it has everything you need in it. Yeah, it was
invented at a laid back bar called Edna's, and at
first it wasn't offered on the menu. It was only
offered to regulars and staff, but by two thousand and
five EDNA started tracking the numbers of lunchboxes being sold.
They marked their two millionth sale in twenty nineteen. The
(24:53):
drink was featured on The Tonight Show in twenty fifteen.
They now have twist on it like the cram Box
with Cranberry, they have sh It's a whole. But going
back to the Flaming Doctor Pepper. By the early two thousand's,
that cocktail that drink was made had made it to
Europe and Australia, apparently after trying the Flaming Doctor Pepper
(25:19):
at the gold Mine Saloon. Harry Shear, who is a
voice actor on The Simpsons, campaigned for the writers to
incorporate the cocktail on the show somehow, and the writers
went for it, coming up with the plot where the
bartender Mo steals Homer's cocktail invention and calls it the
Flaming Mo. And I remember that episode.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Oh yeah, yeah, I was tickled by that one.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
That's pretty great. That's pretty great. Lady Gaga had a
Flaming Doctor Pepper at the gold Mine Saloon in twenty fifteen,
So people, all right, people are into it.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
I I do remember like the nineties ishes being a
time when people really wanted to light alcohol on fire.
That whole ever clear Oh yeah, was a big thing
around that time.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Yeah. I mean I recently was I got my hair
cut and I was just talking to my bartender.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
My bartender, my hairstyle, My hairstyl is, thank you, Laura,
and she was like, before I even finished the story,
she was she said, this is clearly this is a
college drink that just that kind of got like a.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Almost a cult following because it's so silly. Yeah. I
didn't even have to finish the story. She's like, ooh,
this is college kids. Yeah, yep, yep. But it was
popular there for a minute to light things on fire
and then drink them.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
I would point out that evolutionarily, humankind came about because
we enjoy lighting things on fire.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
So sure, yeah, I made a flaming cocktail once and
it was really really cool. But then one of the glasses,
which was supposed to be like heat proof, exploded, and
I won't do it again.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Oh yeah, legit.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
But it was cool for the little until intill actual danger.
Till actual danger encroached. Then I was like, you know what,
no need, no need for this, Okay, So anyway, Yes,
by the early two thousands, ameretta was a pretty divisive
(27:44):
ingredient for bartenders and customers, especially in cocktails like a
Moretto sours.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
Yeah. I think it got a bit of a bad
rap for being too sweet. I mean, especially during that
era when we were coming off of a lot of
very too sweet drinks and super especially when you're using
cheaper versions and in large amounts.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
Yes, but that line of thinking has reversed in recent
years as more people have experimented with amaretto and other
ingredients or tried it straight, usually at the end of
a meal. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
Generally speaking, Italian cuisines and products have been pretty popular
for the last like five or ten years, and the
market experts think that there's probably a little bit of
like a rising tide effect for amaretto. The Ameretto sour
did get a remix around twenty ten to twenty twelve
in Portland, with this fancier version involving amaretto with a
(28:41):
little bit of cask proof bourbon than lemon juice, two
to one sugar syrup and egg white shake and dry
that is, without ice until it's frothy and then shaken
with ice to chill and dilute. A little bit served
over some fresh ice. Sounds delightful. That one was by
bartender Jeffrey Morgenthal Morgan Toller, I'm not sure. And a
(29:03):
new Italian brand called Adriatico even launched in twenty nineteen.
During the pandemic, consumer sales of amaretto went better than expected.
Home bartenders apparently like dipping their toes with this familiar ingredient.
And then after pandemic shutdowns, when people began returning to
bars and restaurants around twenty twenty two, amaretto sales went
(29:25):
up faster than the average. That year, Amato sales rose
five percent, as opposed to the liquor average of three percent. Also,
a riff on the my tie with amaretto in place
of argotte was making the rounds around then, and since
then various brands have been introducing new riffs on amaretto.
(29:45):
Liqueurs like de Serrotto released a cream amaretto, and Adriatico
has some aged amarettos using different types of liquor casks.
They've got one from Bourbon, from Rum and from Grappa
barrels ooh okay, yeah, yeah, right, like.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
To investigate that further. Mm hmmmm. But listeners, if you
have any thoughts about this, any recipes, any cocktails, anything
like that, if you want to help with my investigation.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Know, yeah, yeah, I will say that. If you're looking
for a bottle, I personally find De Serono to be
a little bit overpriced and a tiny bit on the
kloiing end. My preferred brand if you're going for something
like that is Lazaroni. I think it's lovely and if
you've never had Amorady cookies, they are delicious if you
(30:51):
enjoy having like a single suite with a cup of
coffee or an espresso or something that is lovely. But yes,
we would love to hear from you. We do already
have some listener mail, though, and we are going to
get into that as soon as we get back from
one more quick break for a word from our sponsors.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
And we're back. Thank you, sponsor, Yes, thank you, and
we're back with listeners. I wish I could spin in
my seat. I can't because I'm attached to so many cables.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
Oh oh yeah, yeah, I was like I could, but
then I was like, looking around, I'm like I've got
this screen precariously balanced behind me, and I'm attached to
several headphones, and yeah, oh you're right.
Speaker 1 (31:47):
Yes, well I did it that one time. Remember it
was disastrous. I have learned my lesson. Oh that's great, look,
but I wish I could spend all right. Sheldon wrote
about the tomatillo episode. When I saw the title, my
(32:07):
first thought was that it was a blast from the
past show It wasn't. I was shocked that you never
did this earlier. I don't know how long I've loved tomatios.
Years ago, I would only rarely see them at a store,
so I started growing them. They are rather prolific and
I usually can get about eight liters each year. Who
(32:29):
the plant grows like crazy with nice yellow flowers. Two
quick recipes that I make with them. Cut some pork
tinderloin into about three quarter inch cubes. Coat them with
a mix of flour, cuman and salt, lightly fry and
set aside. Tinderloin is tender but gets tough if cooked
too long. Fry some onions until soft, then add cut
(32:51):
up tomatios and some serrano peppers, and cook until the
tomatios are soft and turned into a sauce. Then add
the pork and some clancho and serve with rice. The
second one is only good with very fresh green tomotios. Annie,
(33:11):
if you would taste this fresh sausa, it would get
you started on using a food processor. It tastes that good.
Pure the tomotios and a food processor or a hand blender.
Then add some chopped onions, serano pepper, cilancho, lime juice,
olive oil, and salt. Let it sit for half an hour.
(33:31):
It's so good, but unfortunately it doesn't keep long and
it can only be made with fresh green tomotios. Also
note that everything should be with serrano peppers, not jlapino.
The taste is much better. And tarragon a few years ago,
I agree some not knowing at all what it would
taste like. When I tasted it, it told me exactly
(33:54):
what to do with it. I made a bash of
chicken tarragon sausages. The flavor was blended perfectly, served with
homemade noodles in a white cream sauce.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
Oh oh yeah, absolutely, Oh that is that is exactly
what teragon is meant for.
Speaker 1 (34:11):
Oky.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
I love, I love all of this. I am I'm
mad that I'm not eating that pork right now.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
Me too. And I'm especially mad because I went to
the grocery store recently and I was determined to get
some tomatillos and make I was gonna try to like
make a sauce of by cooking it of stove top.
There were no to maatios to be had. They usually
have some, so it was just a little bit of
a lit down. Oh but I'll try again next time maybe.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
Yeah, still on my list. It's still on my list,
but thank you. Yes, all of these recipes sound delicious.
That's amazing how many you're able to grow.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
Tomatoes are one of those things where if you if
you get them going, they're just like okay, and they'll
just and then you have too many tomatoes. Like yeah,
it's yeah for.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
Your friends, I'm sure very happy as I am with
my friend Hugo's tomatoes. Might guess send them all my way.
Speaker 2 (35:13):
Yeah, yeah, Kirsten wrote, there have been so many topics
I've been meaning to write in about over the past
several months, but as a new mom, it's been hard
to find the time. You guys kept me company during
a lot of nighttime feedings with baby in those first
few weeks, so thank you. Starting with shortbread. My husband
and I went on a trip to Scotland last fall
(35:34):
and I went on a day trip to a remote
lock on this side on the Isle of Sky. When
we got back on the boat after a day of hiking,
we were offered hot chocolate and homemade shortbread. Unfortunately, being
gluten free, I couldn't actually partake in the shortbread, but
the experience left an impression nonetheless, and I came home
on a mission to make a gluten free version, which
(35:55):
was a huge success. Scottish shortbread is now officially on
my holiday season bake shortlist, and whenever I make them,
I like to enjoy them with some hot chocolate and
it takes me back to memories of the rugged Scottish coast.
Next Tarragon, It really surprised me to hear about the
associations of Tarragon with French cuisine and fine dining. I
really only became familiar with tarragon a few years back
(36:17):
on road trip to Charleston and Savannah, where it seemed
to be a common ingredient in some delicious Southern comfort
food dishes. I still dream about au Sucotash with boiled
peanuts and tarragon cream dish that I had in Charleston.
Finally touching on Southern cafeterias, I was so excited when
this episode came up in my feed. Ever since our
Southern road trip mentioned above, this type of establishment has
(36:40):
been my husband's absolute favorite. In fact, he had a
meal at cafeteria in Nashville called Arnold's Country Kitchen that
I have heard him describe in loving detail so many
times to so many people. Sometimes I forget I didn't
eat it myself. He was devastated a few years ago
to hear that the restaurant was closing down. But good news.
Right around the time your episode about cafeterias came out,
(37:02):
we heard that Arnold's is actually reopening, so a trip
to Nashville may be in our future. And just for
the record, I am pro pasta salad and really didn't
know anyone had anti pasta salad views and just some
food for thought our Asian cold noodle dishes pasta salad.
Also enclosed is a photo for Tex which is a
(37:27):
very beautiful baby and a very beautiful cat and they
are hanging out together. The cat doesn't seem to mind,
which is fabulous because because the baby has it in
sort of like a like an adorable it's sort of
like a baby posed on a on a bear rug,
but the bear rug is the cat. It's like a
like a like a big old, big old tabby type
(37:48):
type mix uh kind of kind of medium long hair.
And the baby, oh my goodness, what a what a
what a little chubby button and it looks like with
tiny bit of like a mohawk going on, which I
always appreciate in small and small children.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
So thank you for the photo for tax. Yes, and
I love the size the apparent size difference in this photo.
I don't know if that's what it actually is, but
in the photo it looks like there's a pretty like
the cat's pretty big.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
Oh yes, yes, no, this looks like a healthy baby,
but an even healthier cat.
Speaker 1 (38:22):
So and I very much enjoy that. Also is a
picture of the Scottish Isle. It looks amazing.
Speaker 2 (38:31):
Oh oh yes, I didn't even scroll down heck oh wow, yeah, no,
that is a rugged Scottish coastline. Indeed, if I had
been there and consumed hot chocolate at that location, I
would I would still be dreaming about that to this day.
Speaker 1 (38:46):
Yeah, I mean I might dream about it just through
second experience here. Oh oh but yeah, very happy you
found a gluten free version that was a big success
of Scottish shortbread. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm very very
curious about these tarragon dishes in the South because I
may or may not be going to Savannah soon. Oh okay,
(39:08):
and so now I want to look at some menus
and see if I see tarragon on there.
Speaker 2 (39:13):
Yeah, I feel like I feel like I haven't seen
it that much around, but like a tarragon cream sauce
kind of situation sounds like it would go really well
with a lot of Southern cuisines. So yeah, and oh
yeah and the and the cafeteria is so good meeting threes,
just love them.
Speaker 1 (39:30):
Yes, and I think you should. I think you should
go to Nashville and go back to this restaurant if
you can.
Speaker 2 (39:39):
Absolutely, Yeah, take the kiddo. Oh and congratulations, congratulations, I
know that. Yeah that the first. I mean, yeah, parenting
seems like an absolutely impossible thing to do, which is
one of the many reasons why I haven't done it.
But congratulations to y'all.
Speaker 1 (39:55):
Yes, yes, yes, yes, and thank you to both of
for our listeners for writing in. If you would like
to write to us, you can or email us hello
at saverpod dot com.
Speaker 2 (40:06):
We're also on social media. You can find us on
Blue Sky and Instagram at saverpod and we do hope
to hear from you. Save is production of iHeartRadio. For
more podcasts from my Heart Radio, you can visit the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
favorite shows. Thanks as always to our super producers Dylan
Fagan and Andrew Howard. Thanks to you for listening, and
(40:27):
we hope that lots more good things are coming your way.
Hello, and welcome to favor Prediction of iHeartRadio. I'm Annie Reese.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
And I'm Lauren Vogel Bumb and today we have an
episode for you about Amaretto.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Yes, was there any particular reason this was on your mind, Lauren.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
I was looking for a type of drink and I
got really in the weeds with different the cores and
a lot of them. It seems like the backstory is, well,
it was the seventies and we wanted to make a
new liquor, and this one has a little bit more
(00:43):
of a history, and it happens to be something that
I have a half used bottle of sitting in my
house that I look at all the time and never
particularly consume.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Okay, Yeah, so I was like, yeah, let's look into
that one. Sure, that's funny, because I don't know if
there's well, there is a particular reason I do associate
Amaretto with you, not necessarily because I've seen you drink it,
but I feel like a lot of that after dinner
drinks you introduce me to, oh sort of more bitter,
(01:21):
which Amaretto can be. Not that, but those things that
you have after dinner, I feel like you have been
the person that's like you should try a better version
of whatever you had you were young in college.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Yeah, yeah, no, I love I love a nice tomorrow
after dinner, Like just a little bit on the rocks
is so delightful. And you know, if you're in the
mood for like a kind of like dessert drink after dinner,
certainly amorato on the rocks is nice, or a little
bit in a coffee or something like that. But yeah,
but there's but there's certainly nothing like I don't know,
(01:58):
you know, like it's it's nice.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Yeah, it is nice. My mom loves the flavor of amaretto,
which is funny.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Yeah, I love an almond like an almond cherry flavor
is one of my favorite flavor profiles.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Yes, my mom loves that. I don't know if she's
ever actually had amaretto, but if like a coffee machine
has like the amaretto flavors, oh that one. Yeah, so
I do think of her as well.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Yeah, Amaretto is definitely a flavor now, but so so
Marzapan is vaguely related maybe Marischino cherries episodes on stone
fruits like peaches and plums or other liqueurs like like chartreuse,
or or amari of various kinds. I have been studiously
(02:48):
avoiding doing apricots and almonds as topics because they're gonna
be a little bit big.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Yes they are, Yes, they are, so well not be
digging into the history of that necessarily. I also add
on or jotte just because I saw a lot of
people say orgjatte can mimic the flavor of ameretto. I
can't say that that's true.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
They're related. I'd say that they're pretty distinctly different. But yeah,
at any rate, drink responsibly.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Yes, yes, And this does bring us to our question, sure, amaretto.
What is it? Well?
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Ameretto is a type of liqueur that tastes like very
gently spiced candied almonds or maybe cherries, sort of sweet
and slightly bitter, uh, nutty and stone fruity, round and
rich uh. Making it involves taking a distilled liquor that's
probably pretty neutral, like a like a vodka or brandy,
(03:56):
and then steeping in flavorings. The main ingredient can be
a number of things. It can be like raw or
roasted almonds of either the sweet or bitter variety, or
things that are not almonds. At all, but are related,
like the seeds of apricots, peaches, or cherries. After the
main ingredient or ingredients, you might add depth with other
(04:18):
stuff like sort of like like like warm category spices
like cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, cocoa, vanilla, fennel. I say with
a question mark, I saw it and it sounds great. Anyway,
However long this stuff steeps it eventually all gets strained out,
and then you sweeten the resulting flavored alcohol, maybe with
(04:40):
white sugar, or maybe with something with a bit more
color and flavor, like brown sugar or caramel or honey.
The finished liquor will be a sort of toasty golden
brown in color, a little bit thicker and stickier than
like a straight alcohol, and sweet and smooth with dips
of all of these like complimentary nutty, prutty, warm, bitter flavors.
(05:02):
Amaretto can be drink alone over ice, or used to
add like sweet depth to cocktails or to help flavor
sweets like chocolates, baked goods, and other desserts. It's like,
you know, you know, that like anticipatory sugar rush that
you get when you walk into a fudg shop or
(05:23):
or a chocolate tears shop, or like a bakery that
focuses on pastries and that like buttery, sweet plus something
else sent just washes over you. It's like drinking that.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
It is. It's a strong sensation. It is, it is.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
It can be a little overpowering. Can yeah yeah, but yeah.
So the word amaretto literally means little bitter in Italian Italy,
being where the liquor is originally from, and it certainly
is only a little bit bitter. It's certainly less better
(06:05):
than most amari. But in the proud Italian tradition of amari,
amaretto makers are like real buttoned up about their process,
so I cannot get much more specific about how the
traditional products are made. However, I know that you can
make your own at home by steeping whatever main ingredient
or ingredients you like in vodka, brandy or like maybe
(06:27):
like a non spiced rum. There are lots of recipes
online and generally they call for steeping their ingredients for
like a few weeks. So I don't know. I don't
know if there's a part of the distillation process that
professional amaretto makers use, but here we are for home purposes.
That's what it looks like. However, I can talk a
(06:49):
little bit more about those ingredients. So amoratto is known
for being almond flavored, but that flavoring can come from
things related to almonds, and to get into that, get
a little bit into botany. Okay, So we treat almonds
like a culinary nut because of their size, but they're
technically the seeds of the almond tree. Fruit in almonds,
(07:13):
in the almond tree, the fruit itself isn't what humans
developed that tree for. Like, the fruit is dry, it's
sort of like like like paperboard when it's mature and ripe.
But almonds are in the genus Prunus, which means that
they're a close cousin to stone fruits like plums, apricots, cherries, peaches,
and nectarines, which we did develop for their fruit and
(07:36):
all of those. You know, Like the fruit is fleshy
and juicy and nice, and the pit or kernel is
kind of an afterthought, sort of the flip side of
the almond. But in both almonds and stone fruit, the
pit is this more or less oblong pointed shell that
reminds me of like a light particle board when it's dry,
(07:56):
and that's encasing an oil and protein and starch filled seed.
And seeds, of course, are these little packages containing all
the food that a sproutling would need to get started.
But we've learned that we like eating them too, suckers,
or we like eating them in some cases. Because of
all of these types of pruness, the only species that
(08:19):
we directly eat the seeds of most of the time
is a sub variety of almond called the sweet almond,
which are perhaps obviously because of the name, a little
bit sweeter than the other sub variety bitter almonds. Bitter
almonds and stone fruit seeds tend to be a little
bit too bitter and or potentially toxic to eat out
(08:40):
of hand. That bitterness is partially caused by a compound
called benzaldehyde, which is really aromatic and lovely like almonds
and cherries and burnt sugar and malt, all of which
we think of as sweet things, but it's got this
real bitter twinge to it, which just gives gorgeous depth.
It's used in a lot of perfume and cosmetics, and
(09:03):
it is contained in the seeds and the seed oils
of these prunus species. And going back to those kernels.
For a second, if you've never cracked open the stone
of a stone fruit, the seeds inside look remarkably like almonds.
Probably don't eat them if you try this at home,
because I mean, like, at least know exactly what species
(09:26):
of stone fruit you're dealing with and check with food
safety resources that are not us because again, there is
potential toxicity when being used in consumable products like liquors
and baked goods. These seeds are used in small proportions
along with safer stuff like sweet almonds. Other than that,
different brands of amaretto will fill out that kind of
(09:46):
warmth and roundness with all kinds of warm profile spices
and other seasonings. And you can see lots of our
prior episodes about how all of those work. But yeah,
just just trying to balance out all of the and
flavors a little. The amado brands on the market do
tend to range from like twenty one to twenty eight
percent alcohol, so smack between like a wine and a
(10:09):
straight liquor in terms of ABV, which means that they're
a relatively gentle drink on their own, like a nice sipper,
and also that they add a little bit more flavor
than like absolute punch to a cocktail if you're only
using like a shot or so. The sort of classic
amaretto cocktail is the Anaretto sour, which is often equal
(10:30):
parts anaretto and sour mix, sour mix itself being just
about equal parts simple syrup and lemon and lime juice
to taste like maybe a little bit more citrus in
there than simple. It depends. That's assuming that you're making
your sour mix fresh. The bottled stuff is usually some
unholy blend of corn syrup and citric acid and like
(10:52):
neon slimer colored food coloring.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
And look y'all.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
As we always say, it's enjoy what you enjoy and
also exert energy to your capacity to exert energy. If
you want to use sour remix or if that's what
you have the spoons to do today, I support you
in your venture. But this is one of my personal
leg lines in the sand. I'm like that that is
(11:17):
a miserable way for me to live, so I choose
to do not that just just just for me. Y'all,
do whatever you want, similarly to doing whatever you want.
Comeretto can be used in all kinds of things. It
goes really well with lemon, chocolate, coffee, and vanilla flavors.
(11:38):
Maybe not altogether, that's up to you. And also like
relatedly to all of that, like barrel aged liquors like
whiskeys and RUMs. It's a good nutty addition to like
teaky type drinks, or can provide like a like an
almond cherry boost to maybe like a sweetbread or muffin,
like scones, fillings for pastries or chocolates.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
All kinds of uses. Mm hmm, Well what about the.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Nutrition drink responsibly? Yeah, amaretto tends to be sugary treats
are nice, but does it cause cyanide poisoning?
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Does it?
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Okay? No, basically no, uh so Okay, The kernels of
fruit in the prunis genus can contain this class of
compounds that will release hydrogen cyanide when they're broken down
In amaretto made with some of these seeds, you can
wind up with some of those compounds in the final product. However,
(12:49):
and this has been studied recently, it's like not enough
to affect your health, assuming that you consume amaretto in
a reasonable capacity. It's one of those things it's like again,
like I might be more concerned about the alcohol in
the long term then unless you're just shooting a whole
(13:11):
bottle of amaretto, and then I don't know what's going
on in your life.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Yeah, that might be a separate that's a separate issue.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Don't don't do that. In any case. We love you, yes,
we need you. Yes, yes, yes, you're important.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
You are and we want to hear all of your
amaretto thoughts.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Oh my goodness, yes.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Yes, yes, okay, well we do have some numbers for you.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
We do.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
So Drinks International, which is this beverage industry publication. Every
year they pull one hundred of the best and or
most popular bars in the world about their top selling cocktails,
and the Amaretto Sour ranks in like the teens to
the twenties every year. As of twenty twenty five, the
Amaretto Sour is number fifen on that list, with a
(14:02):
note that it's in the top ten in sixteen percent
of the bars that they pulled.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
That's more popular than I thought it would be.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Me too, me too. I understand that the global market
for amearetto is something over a billion dollars a year,
about forty percent of that market is in Europe, thirty
percent is in North America and twenty percent and rising
in Asia Pacific. The brand Di Serno holds some seventy
(14:32):
percent of the global market share, which is wild. As
of twenty twenty four, I think they were producing some
nine million liters a year. I wasn't able to fact
check that the theistic. The way that the statistic was
phrased was a little bit funky, but it's about they're
making a bunch. It's a bunch, and they are celebrating
(14:57):
their five hundredth year this year.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Yes, and they are a big part of what we
can get about the history of Amaretto.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Yes, yes, this one was a little a little bit tricky,
but we're going to get into that slightly tricky history
as soon as we get back from a quick break
for a word from our sponsors.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
And we're back. Thank you sponsor, Yes, thank you. So yes, Well,
we get a lot of this story from Italy's oldest
commercial brand of Amaretto di Serono Ameretto, which dates back
to fifteen twenty five, and Serono, which is a small
Italian town, or it was at that time. The legend
goes that Italian painter Bernardino Luini needed a model for
(15:56):
a fresco of the Virgin Mary he was working on,
so he asked a widow innkeeper to pose for him
to thank him, which is a fact that I keep
getting hung up on. I feel like he should have
been thanking her. But anyway, to thank him, she gifted
him with a liqueur that tasted like almonds.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
The story goes that he was such a famous and
gifted painter that she was just so and she was
kind of enamored with him, and so she was so
overwhelmed by the beauty of the process that she wanted
to gift him with something with something equally beautiful.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
And from what I understand, and Listen's right in, this
still exists. This fresco still exists. Yeah, I think so. Yeah.
So anyway, I guess she got some kind of immortality
and artistic sense in that way. So, yeah, she gave
him this liqueur that tasted like almonds. According to the
(16:55):
family that owns the brand now Rena, they use the
same recipe today that the widow used back then. If
that is the case, there were no almonds involved in
this fifteen hundreds version. Instead, it was the almond flavor
came from the apricot kernel oil that she used. The
widow may or may not have been related to the
(17:17):
reign of family if she existed. As the story goes,
in sixteen hundred, Giovanni Rena discovered the recipe, the widow's recipe,
and he started producing it, and the recipe was passed
down through generations all up until today m hm.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Another brand that we have to talk about though, is Lazzaroni,
and they didn't actually get started making amaretto lecoeur. They
were first making a type of cookie called amaretti, Amoretti
being the plural of amaretto amoradi cookies could be a
probably short episode, but they're this type of gluten free
(17:56):
cookie that uses apricot seed flour or almond flour plus
like sugar and egg whites to make up the body
of the cookie, sort of like a macaron, though amaretti
can be baked either chewy or crunchy. They're nice anyway.
Exactly how these cookies came about is argued. Were they
created by a Venice pastry chef for the Court of
(18:18):
Savoy in the mid sixteen hundreds, Was it the invention
of a bakery in Serrano being visited by this fancy
cardinal from Milan in the early seventeen hundreds. However they
got here, they were popularized by this company run by
the Lazzaroni family in Serrano, which was selling them by
sometime in the seventeen hundreds.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Yes, and it wasn't until eighteen fifty one that a
liquid alcohol version debuted from this company. It also used
apricot kernel oil for that almond like taste, along with
mashed up and soaked amaretti cookies.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
From what I understand, that is how it is still
made to this day.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Interesting. Francis krim Deinyo, a liquor similar to ameretto, got
started in the nineteenth century. Separate episode, but it's yeah similar,
yeah related, Yeah. The Arena's family production of their amaretto
had grown into a large artisanal business by nineteen forty
and then jumping ahead in nineteen sixty eight, Ti Sarono
(19:22):
Ameretto made its way to the United States. It became
popular in cocktails like the Amaretto Sour and the Godfather,
which is amaretto and Scotch whiskey.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Yeah drinks. International reports of the amaretto sour probably popped
up around nineteen seventy four, maybe first as just amaretto
and lemon juice, but then pretty immediately with full sour mix.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Yes. I also read that The Godfather was named because
in the movie one of the characters specifically prefers Scotch whiskey.
I don't know if that's true, but interesting, which brings
us to something else I was not expecting to find
in this episode. The Flaming Doctor Pepper. I had never
(20:13):
heard of it, but all right. It has two main
competing origin stories. The first is that Luke Semino invented
it at his dive bar and the Ptarmigan Club sometime
in the late seventies or eighties. The bar was located
near Texas A and M. So this was a cocktail
(20:35):
designed for college kids. It was a combination of amaretto
and grain alcohol that was set on fire and then
dropped into a half pint of logger. And yeah, there's
no Doctor Pepper in it, but from what I read,
it tastes like Doctor Pepper. It was popular enough that
the bar developed a whole system to serve several at once.
(20:57):
I think at like precarious shot glass hovering.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Oh sure, Sure, you pound on the bar and the
shot falls into the drink. That kind of situation, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
I believe so, and it soon spread to other college
towns throughout Texas, including Lubbock by nineteen eighty six. These days,
the Ptarmigan Club has a sign that claims they're the
home of the Flaming Doctor Pepper.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Side note here, one of the flavorings in Doctor Pepper
is indeed the aforementioned benzealdehyde. I mean, I mean the
recipe is a secret, but like benzeldehyde shows up in
mass spectromedy. So yeah, mm hm m hmm.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Okay. So, but back to the Flaming Doctor Pep. The
Flaming Doctor Pepper in our second origin story in nineteen
eighty six, the sun of the owner of the New
Orleans bar the Globe the gold Mine Saloon, Dave Brinks,
was looking to come up with something new. The bar
mostly served beer to a wide array of customer but
(22:00):
it was struggling financially at the time. Nearby shot bars
were seeing some success. So I think this bar is
like a street or two down off of Bourbon Street,
so it's in that facund Okay. So Brinks, who was
nineteen by the way, he was like running it for
the summer for his mom. Started work shopping a list
(22:22):
of shots that he could offer at the bar, and
he wanted to make one that tasted like his favorite
soft drink, dr Pepper. He tried with a variety of
liqueurs and eventually landed on a local armaretto. He won't
say which one it is. He mixed it with Miller
Lite with a drop of Everclear, and then yes, he
(22:43):
lit it on fire. Brinks was happy at how it
turned out, how it imitated Doctor Pepper's taste, but he
didn't think anybody would order it. He was wrong. He
was wrong. People were into it. It soon became popular
enough that the bar was financially successful again. Brinks later
was pretty laid back about who invented the flaming Doctor Pepper.
(23:04):
He essentially said, we were doing two different things. I
had no idea about what they were doing, and I
don't think they had any idea about what I was doing. Nice.
I like that very He's very chill about the whole thing.
He's also like an author and a poet, and it
cracks him up that this is what people remember him for. Oh,
(23:26):
this is what he gets asked about the most Yeah, yeah,
uh huh uh huh yep. So those are the two
big names when it comes to the origins of the
Flaming Doctor Pepper. But a bartender at Ham's Restaurant in
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, also a college town, claimed that
they invented it theirs has Kalua and was being offered
(23:47):
by nineteen ninety and this is the first time the
drink appeared in print. From what I understand, though, North
Carolina later went on to ban the cocktail along with
a few other states based on fire injuries. Sure sure
yep in the nineteen nineties, and Oklahoma City bartenders botched
(24:08):
attempt at making this cocktail led to the creation of
a new cocktail called Edna's Lunchbox. So this is when
a shot glass of ameretto is placed in a chilled
beer mug that is then filled with coarse light and
finished with orange juice. It's intended to be downed like
a shot And I believe it's called the lunchbox because
(24:29):
it has everything you need in it. Yeah, it was
invented at a laid back bar called Edna's, and at
first it wasn't offered on the menu. It was only
offered to regulars and staff, but by two thousand and
five EDNA started tracking the numbers of lunchboxes being sold.
They marked their two millionth sale in twenty nineteen. The
(24:53):
drink was featured on The Tonight Show in twenty fifteen.
They now have twist on it like the cram Box
with Cranberry, they have sh It's a whole. But going
back to the Flaming Doctor Pepper. By the early two thousand's,
that cocktail that drink was made had made it to
Europe and Australia, apparently after trying the Flaming Doctor Pepper
(25:19):
at the gold Mine Saloon. Harry Shear, who is a
voice actor on The Simpsons, campaigned for the writers to
incorporate the cocktail on the show somehow, and the writers
went for it, coming up with the plot where the
bartender Mo steals Homer's cocktail invention and calls it the
Flaming Mo. And I remember that episode.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Oh yeah, yeah, I was tickled by that one.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
That's pretty great. That's pretty great. Lady Gaga had a
Flaming Doctor Pepper at the gold Mine Saloon in twenty fifteen,
So people, all right, people are into it.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
I I do remember like the nineties ishes being a
time when people really wanted to light alcohol on fire.
That whole ever clear Oh yeah, was a big thing
around that time.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Yeah. I mean I recently was I got my hair
cut and I was just talking to my bartender.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
My bartender, my hairstyle, My hairstyl is, thank you, Laura,
and she was like, before I even finished the story,
she was she said, this is clearly this is a
college drink that just that kind of got like a.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Almost a cult following because it's so silly. Yeah. I
didn't even have to finish the story. She's like, ooh,
this is college kids. Yeah, yep, yep. But it was
popular there for a minute to light things on fire
and then drink them.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
I would point out that evolutionarily, humankind came about because
we enjoy lighting things on fire.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
So sure, yeah, I made a flaming cocktail once and
it was really really cool. But then one of the glasses,
which was supposed to be like heat proof, exploded, and
I won't do it again.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Oh yeah, legit.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
But it was cool for the little until intill actual danger.
Till actual danger encroached. Then I was like, you know what,
no need, no need for this, Okay, So anyway, Yes,
by the early two thousands, ameretta was a pretty divisive
(27:44):
ingredient for bartenders and customers, especially in cocktails like a
Moretto sours.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
Yeah. I think it got a bit of a bad
rap for being too sweet. I mean, especially during that
era when we were coming off of a lot of
very too sweet drinks and super especially when you're using
cheaper versions and in large amounts.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
Yes, but that line of thinking has reversed in recent
years as more people have experimented with amaretto and other
ingredients or tried it straight, usually at the end of
a meal. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
Generally speaking, Italian cuisines and products have been pretty popular
for the last like five or ten years, and the
market experts think that there's probably a little bit of
like a rising tide effect for amaretto. The Ameretto sour
did get a remix around twenty ten to twenty twelve
in Portland, with this fancier version involving amaretto with a
(28:41):
little bit of cask proof bourbon than lemon juice, two
to one sugar syrup and egg white shake and dry
that is, without ice until it's frothy and then shaken
with ice to chill and dilute. A little bit served
over some fresh ice. Sounds delightful. That one was by
bartender Jeffrey Morgenthal Morgan Toller, I'm not sure. And a
(29:03):
new Italian brand called Adriatico even launched in twenty nineteen.
During the pandemic, consumer sales of amaretto went better than expected.
Home bartenders apparently like dipping their toes with this familiar ingredient.
And then after pandemic shutdowns, when people began returning to
bars and restaurants around twenty twenty two, amaretto sales went
(29:25):
up faster than the average. That year, Amato sales rose
five percent, as opposed to the liquor average of three percent. Also,
a riff on the my tie with amaretto in place
of argotte was making the rounds around then, and since
then various brands have been introducing new riffs on amaretto.
(29:45):
Liqueurs like de Serrotto released a cream amaretto, and Adriatico
has some aged amarettos using different types of liquor casks.
They've got one from Bourbon, from Rum and from Grappa
barrels ooh okay, yeah, yeah, right, like.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
To investigate that further. Mm hmmmm. But listeners, if you
have any thoughts about this, any recipes, any cocktails, anything
like that, if you want to help with my investigation.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Know, yeah, yeah, I will say that. If you're looking
for a bottle, I personally find De Serono to be
a little bit overpriced and a tiny bit on the
kloiing end. My preferred brand if you're going for something
like that is Lazaroni. I think it's lovely and if
you've never had Amorady cookies, they are delicious if you
(30:51):
enjoy having like a single suite with a cup of
coffee or an espresso or something that is lovely. But yes,
we would love to hear from you. We do already
have some listener mail, though, and we are going to
get into that as soon as we get back from
one more quick break for a word from our sponsors.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
And we're back. Thank you, sponsor, Yes, thank you, and
we're back with listeners. I wish I could spin in
my seat. I can't because I'm attached to so many cables.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
Oh oh yeah, yeah, I was like I could, but
then I was like, looking around, I'm like I've got
this screen precariously balanced behind me, and I'm attached to
several headphones, and yeah, oh you're right.
Speaker 1 (31:47):
Yes, well I did it that one time. Remember it
was disastrous. I have learned my lesson. Oh that's great, look,
but I wish I could spend all right. Sheldon wrote
about the tomatillo episode. When I saw the title, my
(32:07):
first thought was that it was a blast from the
past show It wasn't. I was shocked that you never
did this earlier. I don't know how long I've loved tomatios.
Years ago, I would only rarely see them at a store,
so I started growing them. They are rather prolific and
I usually can get about eight liters each year. Who
(32:29):
the plant grows like crazy with nice yellow flowers. Two
quick recipes that I make with them. Cut some pork
tinderloin into about three quarter inch cubes. Coat them with
a mix of flour, cuman and salt, lightly fry and
set aside. Tinderloin is tender but gets tough if cooked
too long. Fry some onions until soft, then add cut
(32:51):
up tomatios and some serrano peppers, and cook until the
tomatios are soft and turned into a sauce. Then add
the pork and some clancho and serve with rice. The
second one is only good with very fresh green tomotios. Annie,
(33:11):
if you would taste this fresh sausa, it would get
you started on using a food processor. It tastes that good.
Pure the tomotios and a food processor or a hand blender.
Then add some chopped onions, serano pepper, cilancho, lime juice,
olive oil, and salt. Let it sit for half an hour.
(33:31):
It's so good, but unfortunately it doesn't keep long and
it can only be made with fresh green tomotios. Also
note that everything should be with serrano peppers, not jlapino.
The taste is much better. And tarragon a few years ago,
I agree some not knowing at all what it would
taste like. When I tasted it, it told me exactly
(33:54):
what to do with it. I made a bash of
chicken tarragon sausages. The flavor was blended perfectly, served with
homemade noodles in a white cream sauce.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
Oh oh yeah, absolutely, Oh that is that is exactly
what teragon is meant for.
Speaker 1 (34:11):
Oky.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
I love, I love all of this. I am I'm
mad that I'm not eating that pork right now.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
Me too. And I'm especially mad because I went to
the grocery store recently and I was determined to get
some tomatillos and make I was gonna try to like
make a sauce of by cooking it of stove top.
There were no to maatios to be had. They usually
have some, so it was just a little bit of
a lit down. Oh but I'll try again next time maybe.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
Yeah, still on my list. It's still on my list,
but thank you. Yes, all of these recipes sound delicious.
That's amazing how many you're able to grow.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
Tomatoes are one of those things where if you if
you get them going, they're just like okay, and they'll
just and then you have too many tomatoes. Like yeah,
it's yeah for.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
Your friends, I'm sure very happy as I am with
my friend Hugo's tomatoes. Might guess send them all my way.
Speaker 2 (35:13):
Yeah, yeah, Kirsten wrote, there have been so many topics
I've been meaning to write in about over the past
several months, but as a new mom, it's been hard
to find the time. You guys kept me company during
a lot of nighttime feedings with baby in those first
few weeks, so thank you. Starting with shortbread. My husband
and I went on a trip to Scotland last fall
(35:34):
and I went on a day trip to a remote
lock on this side on the Isle of Sky. When
we got back on the boat after a day of hiking,
we were offered hot chocolate and homemade shortbread. Unfortunately, being
gluten free, I couldn't actually partake in the shortbread, but
the experience left an impression nonetheless, and I came home
on a mission to make a gluten free version, which
(35:55):
was a huge success. Scottish shortbread is now officially on
my holiday season bake shortlist, and whenever I make them,
I like to enjoy them with some hot chocolate and
it takes me back to memories of the rugged Scottish coast.
Next Tarragon, It really surprised me to hear about the
associations of Tarragon with French cuisine and fine dining. I
really only became familiar with tarragon a few years back
(36:17):
on road trip to Charleston and Savannah, where it seemed
to be a common ingredient in some delicious Southern comfort
food dishes. I still dream about au Sucotash with boiled
peanuts and tarragon cream dish that I had in Charleston.
Finally touching on Southern cafeterias, I was so excited when
this episode came up in my feed. Ever since our
Southern road trip mentioned above, this type of establishment has
(36:40):
been my husband's absolute favorite. In fact, he had a
meal at cafeteria in Nashville called Arnold's Country Kitchen that
I have heard him describe in loving detail so many
times to so many people. Sometimes I forget I didn't
eat it myself. He was devastated a few years ago
to hear that the restaurant was closing down. But good news.
Right around the time your episode about cafeterias came out,
(37:02):
we heard that Arnold's is actually reopening, so a trip
to Nashville may be in our future. And just for
the record, I am pro pasta salad and really didn't
know anyone had anti pasta salad views and just some
food for thought our Asian cold noodle dishes pasta salad.
Also enclosed is a photo for Tex which is a
(37:27):
very beautiful baby and a very beautiful cat and they
are hanging out together. The cat doesn't seem to mind,
which is fabulous because because the baby has it in
sort of like a like an adorable it's sort of
like a baby posed on a on a bear rug,
but the bear rug is the cat. It's like a
like a like a big old, big old tabby type
(37:48):
type mix uh kind of kind of medium long hair.
And the baby, oh my goodness, what a what a
what a little chubby button and it looks like with
tiny bit of like a mohawk going on, which I
always appreciate in small and small children.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
So thank you for the photo for tax. Yes, and
I love the size the apparent size difference in this photo.
I don't know if that's what it actually is, but
in the photo it looks like there's a pretty like
the cat's pretty big.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
Oh yes, yes, no, this looks like a healthy baby,
but an even healthier cat.
Speaker 1 (38:22):
So and I very much enjoy that. Also is a
picture of the Scottish Isle. It looks amazing.
Speaker 2 (38:31):
Oh oh yes, I didn't even scroll down heck oh wow, yeah, no,
that is a rugged Scottish coastline. Indeed, if I had
been there and consumed hot chocolate at that location, I
would I would still be dreaming about that to this day.
Speaker 1 (38:46):
Yeah, I mean I might dream about it just through
second experience here. Oh oh but yeah, very happy you
found a gluten free version that was a big success
of Scottish shortbread. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm very very
curious about these tarragon dishes in the South because I
may or may not be going to Savannah soon. Oh okay,
(39:08):
and so now I want to look at some menus
and see if I see tarragon on there.
Speaker 2 (39:13):
Yeah, I feel like I feel like I haven't seen
it that much around, but like a tarragon cream sauce
kind of situation sounds like it would go really well
with a lot of Southern cuisines. So yeah, and oh
yeah and the and the cafeteria is so good meeting threes,
just love them.
Speaker 1 (39:30):
Yes, and I think you should. I think you should
go to Nashville and go back to this restaurant if
you can.
Speaker 2 (39:39):
Absolutely, Yeah, take the kiddo. Oh and congratulations, congratulations, I
know that. Yeah that the first. I mean, yeah, parenting
seems like an absolutely impossible thing to do, which is
one of the many reasons why I haven't done it.
But congratulations to y'all.
Speaker 1 (39:55):
Yes, yes, yes, yes, and thank you to both of
for our listeners for writing in. If you would like
to write to us, you can or email us hello
at saverpod dot com.
Speaker 2 (40:06):
We're also on social media. You can find us on
Blue Sky and Instagram at saverpod and we do hope
to hear from you. Save is production of iHeartRadio. For
more podcasts from my Heart Radio, you can visit the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
favorite shows. Thanks as always to our super producers Dylan
Fagan and Andrew Howard. Thanks to you for listening, and
(40:27):
we hope that lots more good things are coming your way.
Savor News
Hosts And Creators
Anney Reese
Lauren Vogelbaum
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