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Copyright 2009-2015 www.4income.net
Liqueurs are alcoholic beverages usually 30% of alcohol by
volume. They are sweet in nature with a variety of flavours.
Ethanol is an alcohol being used for consumption. It has
excellent extracting capabilities from organic compounds such as
fruits and herbs, which is what we are after. The color, flavor
and aroma will come from the type of fruit used . To make things
interesting and certainly more robust, combination of two or
more fruits will produce some interesting liqueurs to say the
least. If we incorporate some of your favorite cooking extracts
to this equation the possibilities are endless.
All of the liqueurs, whether natural or extract, have several
main ingredients; the alcohol, sugar and some type of flavour.
Cherry Liqueur: this is the all time favourite, so we will use
it as the main example.
Take 1 kg (approx. 2 lb.) of whole sour cherries, remove the
stems, and wash them (fresh, pitted cherries are excellent as
well). Organic cherries would be the best choice, however if
none are available, make sure that you thoroughly wash the
fruit. The majority of orchards use pesticides during the
growing season. Pesticides, being organic compounds, will end up
in the liqueur unless you get rid of them.
Place the fruit in a sealable container, 1 gal. jar will
suffice, and pour 1 kg (approx. 2 lb.) of white granulated sugar
over the cherries. Pour Vodka, 40% by vol., so that fruit is
approx. ¾ "- 1" submerged. The sugar will sink to the bottom and
cherries rise to the top with spacing in between. This is
normal. Seal the container and leave it for several days. Shake
the jar several times to blend all the ingredients. Repeat this
every other day or whenever you think of it. If you do not shake
it, do not worry! The results will be the same it will just take
a bit longer. Once the sugar is dissolved and you are happy with
the color the liqueur is finished. Strain it through the fine
mesh strainer (cheesecloth. will do) and pour it in elegant
bottle. It is ready to drink.
The cherries will have some kick to them and provide excellent
garnish on desserts such as ice cream. They are also delicious
to eat, as is.
The sugar that you added will produce the sweetness, typical of
the liqueurs. If a less or sweeter liqueur is desired adjust the
quantity correspondingly.
The fruit will give the colour and aroma to the liqueur. The
alcohol and sugar will extract the juice from the cherries,
which have enough volume to dilute the alcohol content of the
liqueur to approx. 30% (it is approx. due to the variance of the
juice content in the fruit).
The amount of time that it will take will depend on the sugar
content and the temperature. Do not worry about the spoilage or
fermentation since the sugar, in high enough concentration, will
act as a preservative plus the alcohol content is high enough so
that the bacteria or yeast cannot survive.
This method will work on any fresh fruit. Excellent results are
obtained using the berries (strawberries, blackberries,
raspberries, blueberries, etc.) peaches (sliced), apricots
(sliced), pears, apples, bananas, coconut, oranges (peeled),
nectarines, etc. Some fruits, such as apples, should be cored
and seeds taken out. Seeds of apples contain small amounts of
cyanide, which you do not want in the liqueur. Cyanide is
poisonous.
Interesting aromas and flavours can be obtained by blending two
or more fruits. You are the creator so any combination is
perfect.
Some herbs such as mint yield delicious liqueur. Take ½ lb. of
fresh mint add 2 lb. of sugar, ¼ litre of water and place it in
a 2 quart jar. Top it up with vodka and proceed as for fresh
fruit. If more or less "minty" taste is desired, adjust the
quantity of fresh mint correspondingly
In your local wine supplier store, you can purchase liqueur
extracts. To make liqueur you can use your favourite cooking
extracts, such as vanilla, concentrated juice, food colouring
can be used to enhance the colour, etc. Extracts, as the word
suggest, is the extraction of flavours, colour, and aroma from
particular fruit, or the combination thereof, purified, and
concentrated. Most often, however chemicals are added for
enhancement.
ENJOY
About the author:
Mirko Davidovic is CEO of http://www.4income.net and
http://www.winemakingplus.com . V.P. of a successful
manufacturing corp. with formal education in Chemical Eng. ,
Biochemistry and Psychology. Mirko's main objective is to
empower individuals to achieve their financial dreams,
celebrating with their own exquisite, mouthwatering wine.
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