When alchemists invented the mythical elixir of immortality, by chance, in the form of a side effect, it turned out liquor.
At that time, no one even thought that such an invention would become an ordinary alcoholic drink today, for pleasure, although not without health benefits, subject to the measure.
Cherry liqueur - basic technological principles
A characteristic external feature of liqueurs is a thick, viscous consistency. For the most part, all liqueur drinks are served at the dessert table or are included in cocktails, as they have a sweet, and sometimes even a sugary-sweet taste.
In essence, liqueur is a spirit tincture, a group of alcoholic beverages with a strength of 15 to 45%. The alcohol content in the liqueurs is regulated at the last stage of preparation, after the extraction is completed.
According to recognized standards, liqueurs are made in three ways:
First method. 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, they are distilled through special machines. Further, to reduce the strength, water and sugar or sugar syrup and other sweeteners are added. In industrial conditions, this method is most appropriate, as it reduces the costs and time for the production of liqueur drinks. At home, of course, you can use the moonshine, provided that it has high technical characteristics, but with small volumes of raw materials, this method is not convenient.
Second method. The basis of liqueurs is soaked in alcohol for one to several months, after which the extracts are subjected to thorough filtration with the subsequent addition of additional ingredients. This group includes almost all fruit liqueurs. The composition of additives, as a rule, is kept secret. The third method is a combination of the first and second, but it is used very rarely, since it requires high economic costs.
In home “production” of liqueurs, any spirits can perform the role of extractants: drinking alcohol, vodka, brandy, brandy, rum and even home brew, provided it is thoroughly cleaned (various impurities are unacceptable because they harm not only health, but also taste liqueur).
The basis of liqueurs are fruits, which are extracted using the above solvents.
Additional shades are created with the help of herbs, spicy spices, aromatic essences.
Adding water to any of the recipes, you need to carefully consider its quality and remember that water also has taste, and that it is saturated with those minerals that can drastically change the taste of the drink. To make liqueurs, give preference to distilled water.
According to the content of alcohol, liqueurs are classified into strong, dessert and creams. The sugar content in these drinks ranges from 30-60%. Also, each liqueur has a name indicating the main flavoring component: cherry, peach, coffee, vanilla, and so on.
Considering that the country economy annually brings a significant part of the harvest of fruit and berry products, homemade production of liqueur wines may well serve as an excellent base for inventing new recipes of fine drinks.
Cherry is a berry that has a self-contained taste, so the liqueur based on it has an excellent taste. With regard to compositional combinations, it should be noted vanilla, the taste of chocolate is the perfect complement to the cherry flavor. The same can be said about anise, almond, coconut flavor, which adds elegance to cherry-based liqueurs. The most successful combination is the combination of cherries with apples, apricots, currants, blackberries, blueberries, and blackberries.
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
Star anise 50g
Cooking:
Remove bones from washed and peeled cherries and cook mash: cherries must be crushed in order to actively separate the juice. Do this in a clean enamel pot. From 10 kg of cherry, an average of 6 liters of juice is produced. This figure must be remembered in order to obtain the necessary strength of the liqueur in the final result - 45%.
Put the pulp in the bottle and fill it with alcohol. Add anise. Carefully seal and leave to insist for two weeks.
Traditional Italian liqueur is produced by distillation. That is, further action - distillation on the apparatus to get flavored alcohol. If the moonshine is not available, then we can restrict ourselves to filtering; If necessary, this operation must be repeated.
Sugar dissolve in distilled water. Add the prepared syrup to the fruit extract, stir. Liqueur can be consumed, but it is better to send it for aging in a dark place, at least for a week.
Recipe 2. Cherry Dessert Liqueur
Fortress: 30%
Composition:
Cherries (pitted berries) 5 kg
Alcohol (60%) 3.0 L
Sugar 2.5 kg
Cooking:
Prepare the cherries, as described in the previous recipe, place in a bottle, cover them with sugar and pour in alcohol. Insist at least two months. At the end of the process of maceration, strain and pour the liquor in the bottle. Cork. You can store at room conditions
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
Cherries 3, 5 kg
Sugar 2 kg
Cooking:
After washing and removing the bones, crush the cherry in a mortar. Pour sugar and pour in alcohol. You can immediately add vanilla and cocoa. Insist, as for the classic dessert liqueur. Periodically shake the container without removing the cover. After two months or later, strain to separate the cherries. In the finished liqueur pour cream and let it brew again. Store tightly closed in a cool place or refrigerator.
Recipe 5. Cherry liqueur (quick recipe)
Of course, any liqueur takes time to insist, but this recipe can come in handy when all the berries are extracted from the cherry jam for a festive dessert, and the syrup is not used.
Composition:
Cognac
Cherry syrup
Cooking:
Just mix cognac with syrup in the ratio of 1: 1, shake the container. It is desirable that the bank was two times larger than the volume of the liqueur. Close it tightly and warm to a couple to 30-35C. Leave to cool naturally without opening the lid. After complete cooling, pour into a bottle or shtof 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 liters
Cherry 1.5 kg
Cooking:
Wash the fruit. Go through the cherries to remove the damaged berries, stalks and bones. Crush the cherries so that the juice separates more intensely. Cut the oranges into slices along with the peel. Put the prepared fruit in one container and pour the measured amount of sugar. Add the washed mint leaves to the mixture and fill with vodka. Infusion time: 60-90 days. After this period, pass the liquor through a tight filter and pour into bottles.
Recipe 7. Strong cherry liqueur with almond flavor
Composition:
Cherry wine 11% 3 l
Alcohol 90% 0.5 L
Almond nut, crushed (raw) 300 g
Sugar 2 kg
Cooking:
Put the nuts in the jar and leave for about a month to create a characteristic smell. Clean the finished tincture using a filter and mix with clarified wine and sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar. For a brighter almond flavor, an additional 25 mg of almond essence can be poured into the liqueur. A day later, the drink is ready, but further exposure will balance the aroma and taste of the liqueur better.
Recipe 8. Dessert liqueur made from cherries, 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:
Add 0.5 kg of sugar to 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. Stir.
Cherry pour the rest of the sugar and put on a low heat in an enamel or stainless bowl. Boil the berries for 15 minutes, removing the foam. Throw them through a sieve. Try to squeeze out the syrup with a spatula. Pour through a sieve, washing away the remaining syrup from the berries. Stir in the white rum with cherry juice and add the finished coconut liqueur. Stir the beverage and pack it in a bottle, sealing it tightly.
Recipe 9. Cherry liqueur with lime blossom
Composition:
Honey 1.0 kg
Water 0.5 l
Linden flowers, fresh 100 g
Cherry juice 1.5 l
Vodka 40% 2.0 liters
Cooking:
Fresh lime color wash. Boil the water and pour the linden boiling water. Well wrap the dishes and leave to cool. Drain the lime infusion over the gauze when it cools. Mix the cherry juice with honey and warm. Mix flower tea with juice. Top up the vodka and seal the container. Infuse liquor until it is completely brightened, and then carefully pour into bottles.
Cherry Liqueur: Tips and Tricks
- Never alcoholic cherries remaining after cooking liqueur should be thrown away. This is a ready-made ingredient for Drunk Cherry cake, in chocolate. From these berries you can make great homemade candies or other desserts. Simply place the hop berries in a sterile jar, sprinkling sugar on their surface, and store in the refrigerator.
- When consumed, do not mix liqueurs on a dairy or egg basis with fresh juices or water so that they do not curdle.
- Cherry liqueur can be diluted with champagne, dry wine. It 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 as dessert dishes.
- For the preparation of liqueurs, the important point is the selection of mature raw materials. On often in the ripe, most juicy and sweet cherries, small pests are found - “moths”. On the one hand, the factor is unpleasant, but on the other hand, such pests do not live in bad fruits saturated with chemicals. It is easy to get rid of uninvited “guests”: put the harvest in a bucket or basin and cover 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 process of fermentation of berries and disrupt plans for their processing at the initial stage. After rinsing the berries with running water, under a strong stream: the pests will be eliminated - they will go away. It is possible to soak the water lightly with salt to soak the berries in order to speed up the elimination and prevent bacterial colonies causing rotting or fermentation.
- It is always better to start processing fresh, freshly harvested 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 in order to provide air access to the lower layers of the berries. The basket can be put on the dish, so as not to stain the juice products or shelves of the refrigerator.
Natural liqueur made from cherries can serve as a basis for preparing fruit sauce for meat or dessert dishes.
