CRAFT by Under My Host® Issue No. 18 Made in America: Part III | Page 90

W W W. C R A F T BY U M H . C O M
CAN YOU DIG IT?
EARTHLY DELIGHTS CRAFTED WITH SUBTERRANEAN STARCHY STOREHOUSES,
THE HUMBLE ROOT VEGETABLE.
BY CORI PAIGE
I don’t drink
sugary sodas as a
habit, but I do like
to dose sparkling
water with tart shrubs
to transform them into
fizzy H2O that comple-
ments my meal. Pok Pok
Som has an entire lineup
of drinking vinegars and
bottled sodas made with
their drinking vinegars. I’m
partial to savory flavors like
their citrusy, pungent Turmeric
(bright yellow rhizome in the
ginger family), as a shrub or in
this convenient RTD pop, Turmer-
ic Soda ($8/4-pk). Not in the root
vegetable family, but notable are
Tamarind and Black Pepper.
Kvass is not for everyone, but if you
dig funky probiotics like I dig funky
probiotics, you’ll appreciate beet
kvass’ lacto-fermented tang. Oregon
Brineworks Ginger Gold Kvass’ ($19/4-
pk) earthy, organic golden beet root
base is rounded out with sweet,
fresh-squeezed organic carrot juice,
and spicy, organic ginger—all sourced
from farms near Hood River.
Any opportunity I can find
(or make) to include Salt &
Straw ice cream in an issue,
I will. From classic riffs to
the straight-up bizarre, Salt
& Straw nails it every time.
Carrot Cake Batter & Praline
Hazelnut ($65/5 pints), part of
their Eat Your Vegetable
ice cream series, is
made with sweet
roasted carrots from
Gathering Together
Farm; molasses; loads
of baking spices; sweet,
crunchy hazelnut pralines,
and velvety swirls of cream
cheese frosting. Simply awe-
some. Note: I did not share
one spoonful from this pint,
and I don’t feel guilty about it.
Not one bit.
Don Ciccio & Figli prepares their take on the
Neapolitan classic finocchietto liqueur with
California fennel bulbs, Maryland dill, and
Italian fennel seeds. The result is a faintly
sweet, vegetal digestif that’s delightful served
straight up, over ice—with or without tonic
or soda—or in cocktails. In the kitchen, add
a splash of Finocchietto Fennel Liqueur ($35)
to shellfish dishes, I especially like it in my
cioppino.
Split Rock Distilling is obsessed with sourcing from local
growers, but because nobody in the state of Maine is
producing enough, the corn used in this ‘from scratch’
spirit comes from nearby Vermont. Two to four thousand
pounds of food-grade organic corn (mmmhmmm, some
producers use grain well below this standard) is needed
to create the base for their vodka. After its run through
Split Rock’s hybrid still three times, organic horseradish
from Snake Root farm is added to the high-proof 100-per-
cent corn vodka to create their Horseradish Vodka ($40).
Serve this not-too-hot infusion neat, in bloody Marys
and martinis, or in a Red Barn.
Several years ago we featured
Sidetrack Distilling Bete (beet),
and it remains one of my
favorites. Bete’s nose is earthy
and fresh like roots plucked
right out of the garden, on
the palate this spirit tastes of
warm roasted beets, minus the
residual sugar. Bete ($24) is so
unique; it’s a spirit I want to
share with everyone.
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