When the alchemists invented the mythical elixir of immortality, by chance, as a side effect, they got liquor.
Nobody then even thought that such an invention would now become a regular alcoholic drink, for pleasure, although not without health benefits, provided that the measure was followed.
Cherry liqueur - basic technological principles
A characteristic external feature of liquors is a thick, viscous consistency. For the most part, all liquor drinks are served at the dessert table or are part of the cocktails, as they have a sweet, and sometimes even sugary, sweet taste.
In fact, liqueur is an alcohol tincture, a group of alcoholic beverages, with a strength of 15 to 45%. The alcohol content in liquors is regulated at the last stage of preparation, after extraction is completed.
According to recognized standards, liqueurs are made in three ways:
The first way. Prepared raw materials (berries, fruits, herbs and spices) are kept in alcohol (90%) for a short time, after which the tincture is distilled, that is, distilled through special apparatuses. Further, to reduce the strength, water and sugar or sugar syrup, other sweeteners are added. In industrial conditions, this method is the most acceptable, since it reduces the cost and time for the production of liquor. At home, of course, you can use the moonshine still, provided that it has high technical characteristics, but with small volumes of raw materials this method is not convenient.
The second way. The base of the liquors is soaked in alcohol for one to several months, after which the extracts are subjected to thorough filtration with the subsequent introduction of additional ingredients. Almost all fruit liqueurs belong to this group. The composition of the additives is usually kept secret.
Third way - a combination of the first and second, but it is used extremely rarely, because it requires high economic costs.
In the home-made “production” of liquors, any strong drinks can play the role of extractants: drinking alcohol, vodka, cognac, brandy, rum and even home-made moonshine, provided that it is thoroughly pre-treated (various impurities are unacceptable, since they harm not only health but also taste liquor).
The basis of liquors are fruits that are extracted using the above solvents.
Additional shades are created using herbs, spicy spices, aromatic essences.
When adding water to any of the recipes, you need to carefully consider its quality and remember that water also has a taste, and that it is saturated with those minerals that can radically change the taste of the drink. For the preparation of liquors, give preference to distilled water.
According to the alcohol content, liqueurs are classified into strong, dessert and creams. The sugar content in these drinks ranges from 30-60%. Also, each liqueur has a name that indicates the main flavoring component: cherry, peach, coffee, vanilla and so on.
Given that the summer cottage industry annually brings a significant part of the harvest of fruit and berry products, home-made liquor wines may well serve as an excellent basis for the invention of new recipes for gourmet drinks.
Cherry is a berry with a self-sufficient taste, so the liquor based on it has a great taste. As for compositional combinations, vanilla is especially worth noting, the taste of chocolate is the perfect complement to the cherry flavor. The same can be said about anise, almond, coconut aroma, giving sophistication to cherry-based liquors. The most successful combinations are the combination of cherries with apples, apricots, currants, blackberries, blueberries, and thorn.
Recipe 1. Strong cherry liqueur: sambuca
Fortress: 45%
Composition:
Sugar 5.0 kg
Water 3.0 L
Alcohol (90%) 9.0 L
Cherry 10.0 kg
Anise, star 50 g
Cooking:
From the washed and sorted cherries, remove the seeds and prepare the pulp: the cherry must be crushed so that the juice begins to actively separate. Do this in a clean enameled bowl. From 10 kg of cherries, an average of 6 liters of juice is obtained. This figure must be remembered in order to obtain the required liquor strength - 45% in the end result.
Put the pulp in a bottle and fill it with alcohol. Add anise. Seal thoroughly and leave to insist for two weeks.
Traditional Italian liquor is obtained by distillation. That is, further actions - distillation on the apparatus to obtain a flavored alcohol. If the moonshine still is not available, then you can restrict yourself to filtering; if necessary, this operation must be repeated.
Dissolve sugar in distilled water. Add the prepared syrup to a fruit extract, stir. Liquor can be consumed, but it is better to send it for aging in a dark place, at least for a week.
Recipe 2. Dessert Cherry Liqueur
Fortress: 30%
Composition:
Cherry (seedless berries) 5 kg
Alcohol (60%) 3.0 L
Sugar 2.5 kg
Cooking:
Prepare cherries, as described in the previous recipe, place in a bottle, cover them with sugar and pour alcohol. Insist for at least two months. At the end of the maceration process, strain and pour the liquor into the bottles. Cork. It can be stored indoors
Recipe 3. Cherry Liqueur: Chocolate Cream
Fortress: 28%
Composition:
Natural cocoa (powder) 200 g
Condensed Cream (8%) 1 L
Vanillin, crystalline 20 g
Alcohol 90% 1.2 L
Cherry 3, 5 kg
Sugar 2 kg
Cooking:
Cherry, washing and removing the seeds, crush in a mortar. Pour in sugar and pour in alcohol. You can immediately add vanilla and cocoa. Insist, as for a classic dessert liquor. Shake the container periodically without removing the lid. Two months later, strain to separate the cherries. Pour the cream into the finished liquor and let it brew again. Store tightly sealed in a cool room or refrigerator.
Recipe 5. Cherry liqueur (quick recipe)
Of course, any liquor takes time to insist, but this recipe can come in handy when all the berries are removed from the cherry jam for the festive dessert, and the syrup remains unused.
Composition:
Cognac
Syrup, Cherry
Cooking:
Just mix cognac with syrup in a 1: 1 ratio, shake the container. It is desirable that the jar was twice as large as the volume of liquor. Close it tightly and steam up to 30-35Ϲ. Allow to cool naturally without opening the lid. After complete cooling, pour into a bottle or damask and serve with a cherry dessert with chocolate.
Recipe 6. Cherry liqueur with oranges
Composition:
Sugar 3 kg
Oranges 1.3 kg
Mint, fresh 50 g
Vodka 40% 3,5 L
Cherry 1.5 kg
Cooking:
Wash the fruit. Sort cherries by removing damaged berries, stalks and seeds. Crush the cherry so that the juice separates more intensively. Cut the oranges into slices with the peel. Put the prepared fruit in one container and pour a measured amount of sugar. Add washed mint leaves to the mixture and pour vodka. Infusion time: 60-90 days. After this period, pass the liquor through a dense filter and pour into bottles.
Recipe 7. Strong Almond Cherry Liqueur
Composition:
Cherry wine 11% 3 L
Alcohol 90% 0.5 L
Almonds, crushed (raw) 300 g
Sugar 2 kg
Cooking:
Put the nuts in a jar and insist for about a month, so that a characteristic smell appears. Clean the finished tincture with a filter and mix with clarified wine and sugar. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved. For a brighter almond flavor, you can add an additional 25 mg of almond essence to the liquor. After a day, the drink is ready, but further exposure will better balance the aroma and taste of the liquor.
Recipe 8. Dessert liqueur made from cherry, frozen "Winter Cherry"
Composition:
Cherry frozen 1 kg
Sugar 1.5 kg
White rum 700 ml
Coconut milk 200 g
Lemon juice 100 ml
Vodka 40% 250 ml
Cooking:
Combine 0.5 kg of sugar with coconut milk, dissolve sugar by heating, but do not bring the milk to a boil. Pour in lemon juice and vodka when the coconut milk syrup is warm. Shuffle.
Pour cherry with the rest of the sugar and put on low heat in an enameled or stainless bowl. Boil the berries for 15 minutes, removing the foam. Throw them through a sieve. Try to squeeze out the resulting syrup with a spatula. Pour rum through a sieve, washing off the remaining syrup from the berries. Stir white rum with cherry juice and add the finished coconut liquor. Stir the drink and pack it into bottles, tightly corking.
Recipe 9. Cherry liqueur with linden blossom
Composition:
Honey 1.0 kg
Water 0.5 L
Linden flowers, fresh 100 g
Cherry juice 1.5 l
Vodka 40% 2.0 L
Cooking:
Wash fresh linden blossom. Boil water and pour linden over boiling water. Wrap the dishes well and leave to cool. Drain the linden infusion through cheesecloth when it cools. Mix cherry juice with honey and warm. Combine flower tea with juice. Add vodka and seal the container. Insist the liquor until completely clarified, and then carefully pour into the bottles.
Cherry Liqueur: Tips & Tricks
- In any case, do not throw away the alcoholized cherries remaining after the preparation of the liquor. This is the finished ingredient for the Drunken Cherry cake, in chocolate. You can make stunning homemade sweets or other desserts from these berries. Just put the hopped berries in a sterile jar, sprinkle their surface with sugar, and store in the refrigerator.
- When drinking, do not mix liqueurs on a milk or egg basis with fresh juices or water so that they do not curdle.
- Cherry liqueur can be diluted with champagne, dry wine. Goes well with the taste of sweet cherry liqueur apple or citrus juice.
- Liqueur wines are the basis of many cocktails, which are served as aperitifs or dessert dishes.
- For the preparation of liquors, an important point is the selection of mature raw materials. On often it is in the ripe, juiciest and sweetest cherry that small pests — “codling moths” —are found. On the one hand - the factor is unpleasant, but on the other - in bad fruits saturated with chemicals, such pests do not live. It is easy to get rid of uninvited “guests”: place the harvested crop in a bucket or basin and fill it with water for 2-3 hours. Keep the water cool. It is better to drain it several times so that new pests do not appear in warm water - bacteria that will start the fermentation of berries and violate plans for their processing at the very initial stage. After washing the berries with running water, under a strong stream: the pests will be eliminated - they will leave by themselves. You can slightly salt the water to soak the berries to speed up the elimination and prevent the colonies of bacteria that cause decay or fermentation.
- It is always better to start processing fresh, freshly picked fruits as quickly as possible, but if this is not possible, for example, cherries can be stored for up to 48 hours in the refrigerator. At the same time, it is better to place it in wicker baskets to provide air access to the lower layers of berries. The basket can be placed on a dish so as not to stain juice or refrigerator shelves with juice.
Natural cherry liqueur can serve as the basis for preparing fruit sauce for meat or dessert dishes.
