All About Food
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and anything else an epicurean might dream up!
and anything else an epicurean might dream up!
Friday, May 20, 2005
My Big Fat Greek Cherry Brandy
This is a Greek liquer that is meant to be drank in SMALL quantities ~ shot glass & sipped. It's homemade in the summer time because it uses the heat of the day to cook it.
** 2 1/2 cups of cherries, take the stems off ~ you can leave the seeds in
** 5 cups of sugar
** 2 whole cinnamon sticks
** 15-20 whole cloves
** 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
** 1 1/2 quarts of brandy
I took a large sized pickle jar (the largest one you can find at the grocery store), wash it out very well & put all ingredients EXCEPT for brandy in it. Seal it very well with the lid & place outside where direct sunlight will hit it for 40 days straight. You must have very warm temperatures ~ over 85 degrees ~ to do this. Since I live in Texas, I make this in June or July since it gets to be over 95 during that time frame.
I have ants in my neighborhood, so one thing I did to keep them away is I placed the jar in a flower pot bottom dish with water. The bugs won't go in it because of the water. I just keep the dish full of water at all times & make sure the outside of my pickle jar is clean before I place it outside (clean from any sugar or scents that will attract insects).
After the 40 days is over, I strain the cherries using a strainer lined with a cheese cloth doubled over. Only the juice goes back into the jar. I strain it 2 or 3 times, depending on how much stuff is left after each straining. After I place the juice back into a large jar, I add the brandy. I bought a medium-priced brandy. I let it sit in a cool, dry place for another 10 days & it was ready to go into individual bottles!
I've only made this once ~ 2 years ago ~ & I seem to remember that it wasn't quite as sweet as I wanted it to be, so I might add another cup of sugar this year just for fun. This is an after-dinner drink, something that makes dinner just oh-so-fine!
** 2 1/2 cups of cherries, take the stems off ~ you can leave the seeds in
** 5 cups of sugar
** 2 whole cinnamon sticks
** 15-20 whole cloves
** 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
** 1 1/2 quarts of brandy
I took a large sized pickle jar (the largest one you can find at the grocery store), wash it out very well & put all ingredients EXCEPT for brandy in it. Seal it very well with the lid & place outside where direct sunlight will hit it for 40 days straight. You must have very warm temperatures ~ over 85 degrees ~ to do this. Since I live in Texas, I make this in June or July since it gets to be over 95 during that time frame.
I have ants in my neighborhood, so one thing I did to keep them away is I placed the jar in a flower pot bottom dish with water. The bugs won't go in it because of the water. I just keep the dish full of water at all times & make sure the outside of my pickle jar is clean before I place it outside (clean from any sugar or scents that will attract insects).
After the 40 days is over, I strain the cherries using a strainer lined with a cheese cloth doubled over. Only the juice goes back into the jar. I strain it 2 or 3 times, depending on how much stuff is left after each straining. After I place the juice back into a large jar, I add the brandy. I bought a medium-priced brandy. I let it sit in a cool, dry place for another 10 days & it was ready to go into individual bottles!
I've only made this once ~ 2 years ago ~ & I seem to remember that it wasn't quite as sweet as I wanted it to be, so I might add another cup of sugar this year just for fun. This is an after-dinner drink, something that makes dinner just oh-so-fine!
9 Comments:
~L.
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Shoegirl