Orgeat syrup

Sirop d'orgeat

What it is

The name comes from orge, barley: orgeat began as a barley emulsion, and almonds only replaced the grain in the eighteenth century while the word stayed where it was. It survives today largely because of a California tiki bar in the 1940s, which put it in the Mai Tai and kept a French barley drink in business a continent away.

In the kitchen

It is an emulsion, not a syrup: never boil it, and shake the bottle before pouring or you get sugar water off the top and almond sludge at the end. Refrigerate once opened — the nut solids sour.

Goes with

Lime Dark rum Orange blossom water Pineapple Mint Coffee

Same species

Bergeron apricot Almond Almond flour Almond oil Amardine Amarena cherry in syrup

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