Nectarine sparkling water, three ways
The unsweetened infusion, the syrup, and the ratio that makes the finished drink.
In season: July and August, the same window as peaches, and ripened the same way on the counter.
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Infused, unsweetened
Use
2 ripe nectarines, sliced into eighths with the skins on, per 1 litre of water
Method
Slice, skins on, cover with cold still water, refrigerate. Nectarine infuses cleaner than peach because there is no fuzz shedding into the jar, so you can skip the straining step at the end.
Time
4 hours, 8 hours at the outside
Sparkling
Still water for the infusion, sparkling in the glass.
Keeps
2 days refrigerated, slices out at 8 hours
The syrup
Ratio
2 cups sliced nectarines with skins : 1 cup sugar : 1 cup water
Method
Simmer 10 minutes, steep 30 minutes off the heat, strain without pressing.
Keeps
2 weeks refrigerated, 6 months frozen
Note
A red-fleshed nectarine gives a pink syrup and a yellow one gives amber. They taste the same.
The finished soda
1 part syrup to 4 parts sparkling water, over ice
Nectarine carries more acid than peach and usually needs no lemon at all. Taste it before you reach for one.
The shrub version
2 cups sliced nectarines and 1 cup sugar, covered in the fridge 2 days, strain, stir in 3/4 cup white wine vinegar, rest 1 week.
What doesn't work: Treating it as a peach in the syrup pan and giving it 20 minutes. Nectarine flesh is firmer but its aroma is more fragile, and past about 12 minutes it flattens into generic stone fruit that could be anything.
Goes with: RaspberryBasilGingerLime