Is sarsaparilla used in cooking?

Is sarsaparilla used in cooking? - Top view of crop unrecognizable cook frying halved brown and golden crunchy peanuts on old portable gas stove while holding handle of frying pan above colorful oilcloth on table

I love the taste of sarsaparilla. It's a key flavor in root beer, and I know Aviation Gin has some in it, but I've never seen it used in a food. Are there any ways to cook with it?

culinary-uses


Best Answer

You can make a great great BBQ sauce with:

  • Some sarsaparilla (..or root beer)
  • Pureed, drained tomatoes
  • Some soy sauce
  • Spicy Mustard
  • Dill
  • Little vinegar
  • Other spicings to flavor

Add the sarsaparilla a little at a time and just mix in half your base at first so you can work the flavor out as you go. Simmer 5 or 10 minutes and let cool. Make it really thick. Put that on some ribs, chicken wings or steaks...mmmm. tasty.

I've also had some Chinese and Thai food that had some and turned out pretty good. Not sure if it was 'authentic' but good.



Pictures about "Is sarsaparilla used in cooking?"

Is sarsaparilla used in cooking? - Brown Wooden Wheel on Brown Soil
Is sarsaparilla used in cooking? - Women at the Thrift Store
Is sarsaparilla used in cooking? - Top view of delicious pieces of milk chocolate bar with filling on wooden board near heap of aromatic coffee beans and instant camera with artificial chamomiles on table


How do you cook sarsaparilla?

Taste. Sarsaparilla is well-known for its bolder and pretty bitter taste. Nowadays, some manufacturers add licorice or some other sweeter ingredients to reduce the bitterness. On the other hand, root beer is sweet with a lighter aftertaste.

What is the flavor of sarsaparilla?

Both beverages are named after their distinct differences in ingredients when they were first made. Sarsaparilla was made from the Sarsaparilla vine, while Root Beer, roots of the sassafras tree. These days, Root Beer recipes do not include sassafras as the plant has been found to cause serious health issues.

Is root beer and sarsaparilla the same thing?

I believe sarsaparilla was the first soft drink to make it to the Old West and it was served in saloons because of the scarcity of pharmacies (or apothecaries) at the time. Sarsaparilla was used during the Civil War as a treatment for syphilis. It was touted as a blood purifier.


Before you buy SARSAPARILLA watch this...



More answers regarding is sarsaparilla used in cooking?

Answer 2

Yes, you can smoke chicken with sarsaparilla.

Answer 3

Well, I found an article titled "What local chefs are doing with sarsaparilla" with three example uses. Though in all three the sarsaparilla is used to flavor a liquid rather than as an actual ingredient, only the first one is a drink, the other two are "Sarsaparilla quail" and "Sarsaparilla skate wing."

(I've did some further Googl'ing, but the dearth of recipes in which sarsaparilla is used as an ingredient rather than as a flavoring seems to suggest it's not something you'd wish to eat on its own, unless you're a Smurf.)

Answer 4

I've used sarsparilla as a liquid for cooking rice in. One slow cooking recipe which I use is 600ml sarsparilla, one and a half cups of rice along with chicken drumsticks. Put them in a slow cooker and cook on high for three hours - the rice comes out delicious.

My grandfather used to make sarsparilla drinks (similar to root beet) in Cardiff (Wales) in the early 20th century, so I'm told.

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Kelly L, Emilie Leenaerts, cottonbro, Ena Marinkovic

Related Questions