A gazoz is a carbonated nonalcoholic drink, but it becomes a refreshing still life, ready to sip, in the hands of Benny Briga, the Tel Aviv restaurateur who serves an array of them at his Café Levinsky. His new book, “Gazoz,” written with Adeena Sussman, shows you the necessary ingredients and how they are constructed. Mr. Briga ferments fruits in sugar for his drinks, a requirement for many but not all the recipes. Homemade fruit and vegetable syrups, nut butters, edible flowers and herbs all figure into the magical beauty of his glasses of gazoz, pictured throughout the book. He provides specific recipes for peach, cherry, watermelon, tomato and scores of other flavors, including a rose gazoz. They are at once fragrantly subtle and richly complex. And after you’ve finished the drink his advice is: “Eat the fruit.”
“Gazoz: The Art of Making Magical, Seasonal Sparkling Drinks” by Benny Briga and Adeena Sussman (Artisan, $17.95).Theresa 212-614-7756
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