Grasshoppers Reloaded

Posted on Mar 15 in Spirit World Blog, Well Fed Network, bread, cooking, drink, holiday, latino, recipeby NikaPrint

[This post appeared on the Spirit World blog, a member of the Well Fed Network]

For this month’s designated driver drink, I had to stretch beyond the trite Saint Patrick’s day “stock drinks”. I also didnt want to explore virgin irish coffees, whats the point?!

Today’s nonalcoholic drink is a fusion between Colombia (my childhood influence) and a drink popular in the 1970s here in the US, the Grasshopper. I put this together because its green but also filled with tropical goodness.

Guanabana (Guanabanus muricatus) is the fruit base. It is called “soursop” by the British (not at all sure why, sour doesnt really describe the unique flavor of this fruit). It is related to the Paw-Paw and Cherimoya. If you live anywhere near an urban center, you may find latino food stores and in those stores, in the freezer section, you will likely find the guanabana pulp frozen into packages. Of course, the fresh fruit will never be replicated by frozen or concentrate, but these frozen pulps are a great stand in.

Regarding the taste. In the case of this fruit, texture is coupled to the flavor. I can not articulate it completely, but there is a textural heaviness or “grit” that coats the mouth while the flavor has a slight tingle/prickly ever-so-slightly sour bite that travels across the roof of the mouth and a bit on the back of the tongue.

If you have had guanabana and like to describe it differently, please comment because I would love to see how others experience this fruit.

I remember my parents making grasshoppers and pink panthers at home. My mom says it was a 70s thing. It marked my childhood, just like Elvis, skateboards, and Sha Na Na did.

The typical grasshopper contains Green Crème De Menthe, light cream, and Crème De Cacao. Yikes, talk about heavy. My parents would make non-alcoholic versions of it with ice cream.

This grasshopper that I have put together for you today is a more globalized version. It contains a lot more vitamin C and a lot less proccessed “Creme“, whatever THAT is.

Gobstopping Grasshoppers

Ingredients:

 

• 1 frozen package of Guanabana pulp
• 1 C cold skim milk (I used skim because thats what we had on hand, you use what you like)
• 1/2 C white granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon freshly minced ginger
• 1 tablespoon Key Lime Juice
• pinch of salt
• 2 large tablespoon dollops non-dairy whipped cream (Cool Whip)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint (In this case, my fresh mint was “displaced” by a family member, I had to use a scant drop of mint extract)

Directions:

Blend all these ingredients into a frothy cold shake and serve in frozen mugs or goblets.

Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Spirit World, Well Fed Network, designated driver drink, Saint Patrick’s day, irish coffee, nonalcoholic, Colombia, Grasshopper, tropical, soursop, British, Paw-Paw, Cherimoya, latino, guanabana, pulp, fresh, pink panthers, Elvis, skateboard, Sha Na Na, Crème De Menthe, Crème De Cacao, ice cream, globalized, vitamin C, Creme, Gobstopping, ginger, Key Lime Juice, whipped cream, mint

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One Comment

• Cate O'Malley says:

  March 15, 2007 at 8:42 pm

  Looks delicious!

  Reply

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