Posts tagged waxing linguistical

I made chai buttercream frosting (for pumpkin cupcakes and then reprised for chocolate-spice cupcakes) and chai simple syrup last weekend (for cocktailing). You could say I was on bit of a chai kick.

While working out how to do these things, I did a bit of research on the stuff and learned, to my surprise, that “chai” is actually the word for just “tea” in much of South Asia. What we English speakers usually mean by the word is in fact really called, “masala chai,” and commonly contains cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, allspice, cloves, and the like. (Oh, and sugar — how could I forget?)

You learn something new every day, I guess.

Pumpkin chai cocktail, anyone? That’s what I thought you’d say.

I’ve had some pumpkin vodka infusing for a couple of weeks: a liter of Ketel (anything Smirnoff or Svedka and above would be fine), a can of pumpkin, a few whole cloves, cinnamon sticks and black peppercorns. Keep it in a cool, dark place, and shake every so often to mix it up.

I’ve been saving it for Thanksgiving, but couldn’t resist a test run last night. I strained it using a French press. Kind of a pain, and it kept getting stuck in the pumpkin sludge on the sides, but I think it was definitely the way to go. Coffee filters take too long. Cheesecloth would be worth a shot, but I was feeling lazy last night and the French press was closer.

I had made chai simple syrup last weekend: black ceylon tea, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, cloves and allspice, with the requisite sugar and water. Essentially your basic spiced chai, but concentrated and with extra sugar.

Mixed ‘em together, along with some brown sugar simple syrup I had, for good measure, and soda/seltzer* with a sprinkle of lemon zest.

Turns out, not surprisingly, that this pumpkin chai creation = autumn in a glass. Lovely way to spend a Friday night in front of the fire. (It’s OK, you can be jealous that I have a fireplace. Unless you have one, in which case, I hope you used yours last night, too.)

*I’ve discovered a regional disparity with the terminology used for carbonated water. Michigander that I am, I call it, “soda.” Now that I’m in New York, I find that if I order a “vodka soda,” there’s no confusion, but if I order a “soda water,” no one understands what I’m saying. I think people here mostly call it, “seltzer.” I suppose because “soda” is a term reserved for the stuff I call, “pop.”