Friend Zone: A Zero-Proof Strawberry Drink

Name: Friend Zone: A Zero-Proof Strawberry Drink
Yield: 10
Cuisine: American

Recipe: Natalia Faustino , Little Saint , Healdsburg, California

Photo: Nicola Parisi

September 09, 2024

Zero-proof and zero-waste but 100-percent flavor.

When making strawberry syrup for a cocktail, Little Saint beverage manager Natalia Faustino didn’t want the leftover, sugary strawberry pulp to go to waste. “I decided to get creative,” she says. “I added some spices and fermented the pulp for five days, resulting in a vibrant, tangy kvass.” Faustino mixes the lightly fermented beverage with fresh lemon juice and a splash of citrusy tonic water to create this vibrant, zero-proof strawberry drink.

Ingredients

4 oz. strawberry kvass
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
2 oz. Fever Tree Grapefruit Tonic
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Strawberry Syrup
2 cups hot water
2 cups cane sugar
2 cups strawberries (remove and toss the tops, dice fruit)
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Strawberry Kvass
2 cups strawberry pulp (leftover from strawberry syrup)
3 1/4 cups room temperature filtered water
2 1/2 cups 1:1 Cane Sugar Simple Syrup
1/3 tsp. fennel seeds
4 cardamom pods
pinch of salt

Tools:shaker
Glass:Collins
Garnish:fennel frond, lavender

Preparation

Add the strawberry kvass and lemon juice to the shaker with a little crushed ice. Shake until the ice dissolves completely. Add a splash of the grapefruit tonic to the shaker. Pour the drink over ice into the glass. Garnish.
Strawberry SyrupAdd all ingredients to a pan and stir until sugar dissolves. Simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool for 20-30 minutes. Strain the strawberry pulp and save it for the strawberry kvass. Store the syrup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Strawberry KvassAdd all ingredients to a fermentation jar, stir, and seal the container. After 5 days at room temperature, open the container and strain the solids. Store the kvass in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.