Sonntag, 02. Juni 1996 08:19:10 Uhr
Von: Teresa Brucker,LAMG BBS
GRAND ORANGE-COGNAC LIQUEUR
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Grand Marnier is a classic orange liqueur to be savored. While
ordinary brandy can be used, we recommend a good cognac or French
brandy for best flavor. Ready in 5 to 6 months. Makes about 1 pint.
1/3 cup orange zest*
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups cognac or French brandy
1/2 tsp glycerin
Place zest and sugar in a small bowl. Mash and mix together with the
back of a wooden spoon or a pestle. Continue mashing until sugar is
absorbed into the orange zest and is no longer distinct. Place into
aging container. Add cognac. Stir, cap and let age in a cool dark
place 2 to 3 months, shaking monthly.
After initial aging, pour through fine mesh strainer placed over
medium bowl. Rinse out aging container. Pour glycerin into aging
container and place cloth bag inside strainer. Pour liqueur through
cloth bag. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Cap and age 3 more
months before serving.
*Note: Authentic Grand Marnier uses bitter Haitian oranges to produce
its classic taste. You may use any type of orange peel you wish;
however, a bitter type, such as Seville, is preferred for
authenticity.
Taken from " The Art of Making and Cooking with Liqueurs" Cheryl Long
and Heather Kibbey
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INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING FRUIT LIQUEUR
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(Tested on raspberries, blackberries and a mix of both).
Start with fresh fruit. Place cleaned fruit into a jar.
Add very strong alcohol just so it barely covers all of the fruit. I
used double distilled vodka (alcohol content probably about
55-65%). Beware though- Apparently operating a still is VERY illegal
;-)
Let the covered jar sit for about a week and a half (it's covered so
the alcohol doesn't evaporate). Note that no fermentation takes place
here- all that happens is that the fruit soaks up the alcohol, and
releases some of its juices. Depending on the type of fruit the level
of fluid may decrease. Once you've decided that the fruit has soaked
in much of the alcohol gently pour off the fluid so as not to blemish
the fruit (try one now for a taste experience :-). Call this (very
strong) fluid rack #1.
During the following steps you probably should avoid blemishing the
fruit if at all possible.
Replace the fruit in the jar, but layer it with sugar. How much sugar
is a bit difficult to say here. I usually tried to do my best to cover
almost all of the fruit with _some_ sugar. Cover the jar again. What
happens now is that the sugar makes the fruit give off its alcohol and
shrivel slightly. In a couple of days the level of juice in the jar
should reach almost the top of the fruit. This means it is time to
pour it off again, call this rack #2.
Now we repeat the layering with sugar step (getting rack#3, rack#4,
etc) until only a very small amount of juice is released. I have been
told that with cherries this can be kept up until only a tiny little
bit of cherry skin is surrounding the pit. Each rack is sweeter and
sweeter.
With rasp[black]berries I got to rack #4 and then got bored waiting
for really small amounts of juice. So I took the berries, threw them
into a cloth and twisted the hell out them to release the vestiges of
alcohol and juice. This was rack#5. The left over pulp can be used
with ice-cream. Note that this step is entirely optional, four racks
were plenty enough (but why waste alcohol :-).
Now comes the fun part. Invite several friends (I used 5) and mix the
different racks in
various proportions and get some feedback on how they taste (too
sweet, too alcoholic, too dry, etc). Don't use too many friends or
else you won't have any left after the tasting. Now you should know
what proportions to mix the final product in. Disposing of juice
_not_ used in the final mix is left as an exercise to the reader (I
had some sweet stuff left over and use it on ice cream).
Thoughts on the final mix:
In my case the final mix was very close to the ratio of rack#1:
rack#2: rack#3 etc. This was convenient because I got the maximum of
liqueur with minimal leftovers.
After a visit to a friends house in Poland and a sampling of his
Cherry Liqueur (THE BEST liqueur I have EVER tasted)- I have decided
to make liqueur also. Here are the directions he gave me (for cherry
liqueur):
Fill a Jar with cherries.
Add alcohol to cover all the cherries.
Let sit for a week or so, by this time the cherries should have
swelled and
there should be less liquid in the jar.
Pour off the liquid.
a)Layer the cherries with sugar and let sit another week.
b)Pour off resulting fluid.
c)Repeat steps a) and b) until the cherries are so small that they're
just basically the pit covered with a very thin skin.
Now mix all the batches that you poured off to suit your taste. The
first is most bitter, the last is the sweetest.
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the peel and spices out and rebottle.
------------------------------------
Title: Christmas Spirit
Categories: Liqueurs
Yield: 3 cups
2 c Cranberries
2 Clementines or small oranges
2 c Granulated sugar
1 Stick cinnamon, 2 "
2 c Vodka
Crush the cranberries evenly in a food processer or use a mortar and
pestle. Peel the rind, being careful to avoid the bitter white pith.
Squeeze the juice and add it and the rind to the cranberries in a large
jar. Add the sugar, cinnamon stick, and vodka to the jar and seal
securely. Shake the jar well to combine all ingredients. Store in a cool
place for a month, shaking every few days.
After a month, strain through a funnel and filter paper into pretty
bottles. Last year I made cranberry sauce with the cranberries strained
from the liqueur.
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Standard Sugar Syrup
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water
Put the sugar and water in a sauce pan and heat over a medium heat,
stirring occasionally until it forms clear liquid. Let it cool.
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--
Trey Jackson
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