Serendipity

This post contains affiliate links: As an Amazon Associate I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.

One would not typically think to combine the flavors of tomato, passionfruit, and grapefruit, but they all work so beautifully together.

You’ll need the following equipment:

Ingredients:

Agar Agar Powder
Frozen Passionfruit
Tomatoes
Garnish Ingredients:
Canola Oil
Passionfruit
Grapefruit
Blood Orange

Serendipity from Existing Conditions in NYC was just one of those drinks I couldn’t get out of my mind since the last time I had it. Now that the bar has closed, I was determined to recreate it at home.

This was one of the best drinks I had out right before quarantine started. It was from Existing Conditions, which was co-owned by cocktail geniuses Dave Arnold, Don Lee and Greg Bohem- unfortunately the bar has shut down for good- one of the many bars and restaurants that have had to close due to the pandemic.

This was the drink that really changed my mind and made me question all I knew about alcohol free cocktails, and what they should and could be.

The menu description was simple enough: clarified tomato, clarified passionfruit, grapefruit twist, but it is such an interesting drink. It’s so savory and different, yet all the flavors go together so well.

Since I will likely never have this drink out again, I knew I’d have to make it myself. Unfortunately, I don’t have access to any of the fancy equipment they had at the bar- so I needed to figure out how to clarify the juices.

When we think of tomato juice, we immediately think of the thick red juice you buy at the grocery store or find in Bloody Mary mix, but the juice of a tomato is actually clear, it’s just difficult to extract.

To get the clarified tomato juice, I started my cutting my tomatoes into quarters- I like using on the vine tomatoes. I find their flavor sweeter and juicer than a beef steak tomato, especially when tomatoes are off peak.

Since I don’t own a juicer, I’ll use my blender to blend these up.

After the tomato has been puréed, I’ll to add them to my saucepan and let this all come to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer for about 10 minutes. This will cause all the pulp to float to the top and separate from the tomato water.

The best way to strain this is to let it drain into a bowl through a damp kitchen towel.

After the tomatoes have finished draining, lift up the kitchen towel and you are left with pretty clear, and very fragrant tomato water. You could also extract the water from the tomatoes by freezing the tomato purée and letting it thaw at room temperature, but I think cooking the tomato makes it taste more tomatoey.

For the passion fruit, I will be using agar agar powder to clarify. Agar is a gelling substance that is derived from seaweed. Basically, it’s the vegan alternative to gelatin.

I prefer to use frozen passionfruit over fresh. I find it easier to clarify and more economical and easier to use. I just let the passionfruit cubes thaw at room temp before using. I use the Pitaya Foods brand that I found in the frozen fruit section at Whole Foods.

First, I’ll weigh out the thawed passionfruit juice.

To clarify with agar, you need to 2 use two percent of the weight of the juice you are trying to clarify.

The passion fruit juice weighed in at 186 grams, so I will need 3.72 grams of agar.

I will add about a quarter of the passionfruit to the saucepan along with the agar powder and which together to combine.

This needs to boil for about 2 minutes to hydrate the agar which activates its gelling properties.

You will notice that it thickens pretty quickly.

After the agar and passionfruit have boiled, turn off the heat.

Now you can whisk in the rest of the passionfruit juice.

Then place the bowl of passionfruit juice in an ice bath until it solidifies. The agar will set pretty quickly. This is another great property of agar as opposed to using gelatin. It has a pretty high setting temperature, unlike gelatin.

Once the passionfruit has set into a gel, all you have to do is squeeze it through a kitchen towel- I used a nut milk bag and immediately regretted it- you will want to use something with a closer knit so that none of the gel gets pushed through.

Since I made the mistake of using a nut milk bag, I had to filter my passionfruit juice through a coffee filter which took forever. Avoid my mistake and very gently squeeze out the juice. Or you can avoid squeezing all together by freezing the gel, then letting it melt through a kitchen towel at room temperature. This method will take longer though.

It’s pretty amazing how great agar works- the passionfruit juice I used was really thick- almost a purée and it came out almost crystal clear, and still tastes and smells exactly the same as before it was clarified.

Since I had the agar out, I thought it would be fun to use it to make a garnish. The garnish this drink came with was a simple grapefruit twist, so I will be using grapefruit juice to make some grapefruit pearls.

First thing I’m going to do is to juice the grapefruit.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any ruby red grapefruit for this, but I really wanted the color to pop, so I will also be adding the juice of one blood orange.

To make the grapefruit pearls, I will be adding a half cup the grapefruit blood orange juice to the saucepan, along with 1 gram of agar powder.

I will let this boil for exactly two minutes whisking to combine.

After the mixture has boiled for two minutes, remove from the heat and transfer to a jar or glass.

I will be using a syringe to extract the grapefruit mixture, and slowly add droplets to a glass of cold canola oil- you can use any neutral oil, as long as it doesn’t solidify in the refrigerator. I let mine sit in the fridge for about two hours to chill.

The droplets immediately form into little gel spheres thanks to the cold temperature of the oil. This is what’s it known as cold oil spherification.

The liquid gel and the oil repel each other causing a droplet to form. The cold temperature of the oil triggers the gelling properties of the agar. The droplets should sink to the bottom of the glass.

Once all the pearls have formed, strain off the oil, and give them a rinse under cold water.

I think they came out so pretty. I love the color they turned out to be- they look almost like salmon roe.

Before I make the cocktail, I want to prep my garnish first. To hold the pearls, I’m going to cut my passionfruit in half and remove the seeds. Once my little passionfruit half is cleaned out, I’m simply going to spoon in the pearls until they fill the passionfruit half.

I am also still going to peel a grapefruit twist to express on the finished drink

Now we are all set to build the cocktail.

First, I’ll add 1.5 oz of tomato water to my mixing glass
Next, I’ll add 1.5 oz of clarified passionfruit juice
Now just add the ice and stir for 10 to 15 seconds.
I’ll strain the cocktail into a rocks glass over a large ice cube.
Then express a grapefruit twist over it

Before carefully adding the garnish, and here it is- my attempt at Existing Conditions’ serendipity cocktail.

It’s such a great savory sipper, and I don’t miss the alcohol at all! The grapefruit pearls add a bit of sweetness and you can snack on them while enjoying the drink.

While it wasn’t as perfectly clear as theirs, I think I did a pretty solid job. I think I will keep tinkering with the juices to get more clarity, but probably won’t be investing in a centrifuge anytime soon- though I would love one! My take on EC’s Serendipity: