angelica root?

[beefbandit]

Hey all,
im finaly geting things sorted for a gin run. i have angelica growing in the garden, but how an when to harvest the root and what to do with it IE dry it? to use for gin. dose anyone do this? an also can i use any other part of the plant for gin?

cheers mk

[NZChris]

Bumping the thread cos I want to know myself. It isn't necessary for gin, so it's no biggy if we don't use it.

Bite a leaf. Do you want that in your gin? I just chewed one of mine and didn't like it, so I'll wait for some root and chew on that before I decide if I want to use it.

[Kiwikeg]

I have no idea either i grew some last year i waited till it went to seed and pulled it then, the roots taste completly different to the leaves.
It must be a self fertile plant because little seedlings are sprouting up all over the garden

[NZChris]

We had it for years. Never used it for anything. It just looked nice where it grew when we bought that house and we left it to do it's thing for over ten years til we sold the house.

Planted it for gin last year because it's on my list of botanicals, but I don't recall ever seeing any ways of using it. I might have notes on another puter for why I wanted it and how to use it, but tasting the dried root will be the best test. Sometimes aged is better. Not sure about this one. I have year old orris root that is very floral now.

[sweeps]

LIft the plant after it's gone to seed, cut off the root just under where the soil level was, clean it, dry it thoroughly (I use a food dehydrator on its lowest setting) and keep it in an air tight container. It doesn't change quite as spectacularly with age as orris root does, but it does improve noticeably with a bit of time. The biggest surprise for me the first time I grew it was the small amount of root you get from such a big plant.

Be sure to harvest the seeds too - they are used in a bunch of liqueurs and I think they would work well in gin, although I don't recall seeing any gin recipes that include angelica seed. As mentioned in one of the absinthe threads, angelica seed is almost impossible to find in reasonable quantities at reasonable prices, but a couple of plants will provide you with a nice supply.

[beefbandit]

awsome thanks all , going to have to wait for them it to seed. will have to try a brew before then an keep some for comparing.