Recipe
Red shiso syrup (shiso juice)
- Herb:
- Perilla Perilla frutescens
- Method:
- Herbal vinegar
- Plant part:
- Leaf
About 20 minBeginnerRecipe science profile
Procedure
- Strip red shiso leaves from the stems, wash thoroughly and drain.
- Bring 500 ml of water to the boil in a pan, add the leaves and boil for 3–5 minutes until they turn green and the water darkens.
- Lift out the leaves and squeeze; dissolve 150 g of sugar in the liquid and add 50 ml of rice vinegar — the drink brightens to a clear pink.
- Cool, bottle and keep cold. Serve diluted 1 : 3 with water or sparkling water over ice.
Extraction
- Herb:
- 1 svazek červeného šiso (asi 100 g listů) na 500 ml
- Solvent:
- voda + rýžový ocet + cukr; krátký var listů, potom ocet
- Shelf life:
- sirup 2–3 týdny v lednici
- Target compounds:
- antokyany (šisonin) se uvolní varem a s kyselinou zčervenají; silice s perillaldehydem částečně
Notes
A Japanese summer drink with no particular risks. The colour develops only once vinegar or lemon is added.
Why it works
The anthocyanin shisonin is purple in a neutral medium and bright pink in acid — which is why the colour 'flips' after the vinegar. The traditional Chinese use of the leaf (zi su) for colds and its Japanese reputation as an 'anti-allergy' herb are summarised in Ahmed's review mostly on laboratory data.
Literature
- Ahmed HM (2018): Ethnomedicinal, Phytochemical and Pharmacological Investigations of Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. Molecules 24(1):102 — Přehled složení a tradičního použití; klinických dat málo.
Related
Perilla — Herb card
Herbal vinegar — Processing method detail