Chinotto

Chinotto (Homemade Italian Bitter Orange Soda)

Chinotto is a bittersweet Italian soft drink made from the chinotto citrus fruit. This homemade version simmers the peels in sugar syrup to capture the classic cola-like, herbaceous bitterness of the commercial original.

Prep

20 min

Cook

90 min

Total

110 min

Serves

makes about 1.5 L (50 fl oz)

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •8 whole fresh chinotto fruits, extremely hard to find outside Italy; substitute with 4 small unripe (green) bitter oranges plus 1 small regular orange
• •500 g (2¼ cups / 18 oz) granulated sugar
• •1.2 L (5 cups / 42 fl oz) water, filtered
• •30 g (¼ cup) fresh lemon juice, from 1–2 lemons
• •2 g (1 tsp) citric acid, food-grade; preserves color and tartness
• •1 piece cinnamon stick
• •2 whole cloves
• •1 piece bay leaf
• •1 pinch salt
• •1.5 L (6 cups / 50 fl oz) cold sparkling water, to dilute and serve; or null for a syrup concentrate

Steps

1. 1 Wash the chinotto (or bitter orange) fruits thoroughly under hot running water and scrub the skins to remove any wax. Pat dry.
2. 2 Prick each fruit all over with a fork or skewer (about 15–20 pricks per fruit) so the syrup can penetrate.
3. 3 Place the pricked fruits into a large heavy-bottomed pot. Add the sugar, water, lemon juice, citric acid, cinnamon stick, cloves, bay leaf, and salt.
4. 4 Bring the mixture slowly to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar fully dissolves.
5. 5 Reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 75–90 minutes. The fruits should become very soft and translucent, and the syrup should reduce slightly and turn deep amber. Skim any foam that rises.
6. 6 Remove the pot from the heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the candied fruits to a clean jar - they are excellent sliced and spooned over desserts or cheese. Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof bowl, discarding the spices and bay leaf.
7. 7 Cool the syrup to room temperature, then transfer it to a clean glass bottle or jar, seal, and refrigerate. The concentrate keeps for up to 3 weeks refrigerated.
8. 8 To serve, fill a tall glass with ice. Pour about 80–100 ml (about ⅓ cup) of the chinotto syrup over the ice, top with cold sparkling water to fill (roughly 150–200 ml / ⅔–¾ cup), stir gently, and serve immediately.
9. 9 For a non-fizzy 'sciroppo' version, dilute the syrup with still cold water instead of sparkling. For an aperitivo-style serve, pour the syrup over ice and add a generous splash of dry gin or vermouth.