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 bunch of red shiso (about 100 g of leaves) per 500 ml
- Solvent:
- water + rice vinegar + sugar; boil the leaves briefly, then add vinegar
- Shelf life:
- syrup: 2–3 weeks in the fridge
- Target compounds:
- anthocyanins (shisonin) are released by boiling and turn red with acid; essential oil with perillaldehyde partly
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 — Review of composition and traditional use; little clinical data.
Related
Perilla — Herb card
Herbal vinegar — Processing method detail