Burrata Water Will Transform Your Creamy Cocktails
Creamy, velvety cocktails may not be on your radar, but they should be. There's nothing like a homemade classic White Russian on a cool winter's eve while watching "The Big Lebowski" — the movie that made it famous — or sipping on an elegant and sophisticated Brandy Alexander to finish off an evening after feasting on a holiday dinner with family. According to Wine Enthusiast, the creamy ingredients — think crème de cacao and heavy cream — in the Brandy Alexander make it thick and delicious. Similarly, Kahlua and cream give the White Russian its "dessert-like" quality, per Simply Recipes.
In fact, if you give these cream-based alcohol beverages a quick Google, you will find them described as having a "milkshake" like quality. Creamy cocktails are quite tasty. But as Simply Recipes notes, if the cream itself is what is holding you back, you can try an alternative. While the site suggests avoiding those dairy and dairy substitutes that do not contain fat, Life Hacker offers a solution for creating that creamy consistency that might seem a little unconventional.
The suggestion: Don't toss the water your burrata is sold in and instead use it to transform your creamy cocktails.
Why it works
According to Life Hacker, in the tale of waste not want not, burrata water, which would otherwise be tossed, can become a star ingredient. It can add a creamy element to cocktails, especially of the "sour" variety, without adding the "heaviness" of a cream. The site goes on to reveal burrata water, when shaken with or without ice, will create a long lasting egg-free foam that is similar to egg whites but with a little bit of a savory element and sans the gag reflex of using egg whites in a drink. But Life Hacker isn't the only one touting this substitute.
Liquor.com seconds the motion of using burrata water in your cocktails rather than spilling it down the kitchen sink's drain. This source goes on to detail how the beverage director at a bistro in Brooklyn, New York used burrata water to create a "breakfast margarita," explaining its high protein content and briny nature made it the perfect contender for adding a milky "body" to these alcoholic drinks. Why does it work? The outlet explains that when the alcohol mixes with the burrata water, there is a "denaturing" of its proteins, or as Britannica explains, it makes the protein's structure "looser" and "insoluble."
But burrata water isn't the only liquid you should hang on to. Liquor.com shares aquafaba — the liquid that garbanzo beans come in — can also be used in place of heavy dairy products to create a frothy, creamy foam for your cocktails.