It's Pronounced "Or-zat"
Here's a fascinating post from The Art of Drink about the history of Orgeat syrup, a delicious emulsion of almonds and rosewater. If you're an aspiring mixologist like me, then you know that Orgeat is a crucial ingredient in classic cocktails, such as the Trader Vic's Mai Tai and the Scorpion. What you probably didn't know, is that before the dawn of the Refrigeration Age, Orgeat was originally used as a milk substitute!
I was also very interested to see that Orgeat can be made rather easily at home: this would've been extremely useful to know several years ago when it was virtually impossible to find in my locale. Nowadays, I can simply pop into my local gourmet coffee shoppe and buy a bottle off the shelf.
[link]
Comments
Properly, it's pronounced "or'-zhah".
Posted by: Jonathan K. Cohen | February 12, 2006 7:29 PM
Thanks for posting this. I'd going to try to make the recipe, because we can't find this anywhere in South Korea!
Posted by: Brittanie | February 12, 2006 8:04 PM
As someone who prounounces French the way it's spelled and spells it the way it's pronounced, I'm hardly qualified to make a decision one way or another.
Now if it was a *German* word...
Posted by: MrBaliHai | February 12, 2006 8:06 PM
Brittanie: I feel your pain. I love soju, but I was extremely disappointed by the lack of variety in Korean bars.
Posted by: MrBaliHai | February 12, 2006 8:25 PM