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Tonic water concentrate

Use small local lemons: limon balady (Egypt), kalamansi (Philippines), jeruk nipis (Indonesia). Alernatively, use a one large lemon and one lime: rather than blending, grate the peel, separate the juice and discard the pith. This recipe uses Gentian root rather than Cincona bark: it's safer for home-made tonics, and adds an interesting flavour, like angostura bitters, which are made from Gentian root.

Serves 30

Tags: Vegetarian, Web

100 g lemons
150 ml water
Blend the lemons and put in a pan
add the water
heat until it just starts to boil
leave to cool
2 tbsp gentian root
10 pods cardomom
2 star anise
1 tsp lavender
20 berries juniper
150 ml water
empty the contents of the cardomoms
break the star anise into pieces
put all these ingredients in a pan
bring to the boil
simmer gently for 15 minutes
allow to cool
50 g sugar
25 g citric acid
strain both liquors into another pan
add sugar and sugar and citric acid
bring to boil
warm a jar with boiling water
put the concentrate into a jar and seal it
allow to cool
store in the fridge
use 5-10ml for one glass G&T