Last year I wrote about tinctures, or herbal extracts made with alcohol. This year, on the way home from the USA, we picked up a few bottles of duty free vodka. And within 72 hours of landing, though not before picking copious amounts of berries both in our garden and in the forest, I caught the infusion bug. Just a taste:
Left to right: sour cherry (with pits) and cinnamon, forest bilberry (skogsblåbær), black currant (solbær) in cognac, wild strawberry (markjordbær).
Basic rules for infusions are:
Add your fruit to the vodka and store in a sterilized vessel (bottle, jar, etc) for 3-5 days for "soft" fruits and up to a few weeks for "harder" fruits. Steeping times will vary based on temperature and personal taste. Last year we forgot a small bottle of whiskey with black currant in a cabin cabinet over the winter. The fruit was steeping for almost a year and had not noticeably degraded physically before we got around to drinking our concoction. The liquor itself was dark purple and pretty delicious! Black currants are a "harder" fruit, i.e. they do not smoosh when gently pressed between fingers.
As long as the alcohol fully covers the fruit, it should not spoil. Adding more or less will produce a weaker or stronger infusion.
What sort of alcohol can be used? Any sort, though the clear ones will allow the taste of the fruit be the focus. 40% AVB is a good starting point, though higher will produce a stronger and more efficient infusion. However, there are some exceptions: Japanese umeshu (plum wine) is traditionally made with ume plums steeped with sugar in sochu, which is only 25%.
If desired, a little white sugar can be added while the berries steep and to improve the flavor / sweetness. For a more pure infusion, I prefer white sugar because it tastes less.
If you want to make a liqueur (schnapps) out of your infusion, simple syrup can be added after steeping to add both sweetness and body. Of the bottles above, only the wild bilberry and strawberry infusions have added sugar from the beginning. However, I do not think they technically qualify as schnapps because they are still quite thin.
After the infusion is finished, the fruit should be strained out and the liquid transferred into another sterilized bottle / container. Infusions can last indefinitely but should be stored out of direct sunlight and at a constant temperature. Over time the taste of the infused spirits will round out and mellow, just like with wine.
A selection of infused syrups and spirits from my cocktail cabinet. Left to right: nettle syrup, wild cherry syrup, caramelized dandelion vodka, echinacea flower gin, wild strawberry vodka, bilberry vodka
Drink recipes forthcoming this winter!
Notes:
The sour cherry and cinnamon infusion is still steeping right now, though I took out the small piece of cinnamon stick and added extra cherries (without pits) and a little sugar. Cinnamon is very strong! This one will probably take some months after bottling to round out. I will also perhaps need to add a little of the cherry syrup before bottling. The taste is good but needs more cherry.
The caramelized dandelion vodka was made when I accidentally let a pan of dandelion syrup caramelize into a sticky, heavy (albeit tasty) goop. Adding vodka produced a thick, sweet, alcoholic, not-quite-syrup. Perhaps the closest to "proper" liqueur of the bunch.
The strawberries were steeped for four days and tasted fantastic, the bilberries for five.
Left to right: sour cherry (with pits) and cinnamon, forest bilberry (skogsblåbær), black currant (solbær) in cognac, wild strawberry (markjordbær).
Basic rules for infusions are:
Add your fruit to the vodka and store in a sterilized vessel (bottle, jar, etc) for 3-5 days for "soft" fruits and up to a few weeks for "harder" fruits. Steeping times will vary based on temperature and personal taste. Last year we forgot a small bottle of whiskey with black currant in a cabin cabinet over the winter. The fruit was steeping for almost a year and had not noticeably degraded physically before we got around to drinking our concoction. The liquor itself was dark purple and pretty delicious! Black currants are a "harder" fruit, i.e. they do not smoosh when gently pressed between fingers.
As long as the alcohol fully covers the fruit, it should not spoil. Adding more or less will produce a weaker or stronger infusion.
What sort of alcohol can be used? Any sort, though the clear ones will allow the taste of the fruit be the focus. 40% AVB is a good starting point, though higher will produce a stronger and more efficient infusion. However, there are some exceptions: Japanese umeshu (plum wine) is traditionally made with ume plums steeped with sugar in sochu, which is only 25%.
If desired, a little white sugar can be added while the berries steep and to improve the flavor / sweetness. For a more pure infusion, I prefer white sugar because it tastes less.
If you want to make a liqueur (schnapps) out of your infusion, simple syrup can be added after steeping to add both sweetness and body. Of the bottles above, only the wild bilberry and strawberry infusions have added sugar from the beginning. However, I do not think they technically qualify as schnapps because they are still quite thin.
After the infusion is finished, the fruit should be strained out and the liquid transferred into another sterilized bottle / container. Infusions can last indefinitely but should be stored out of direct sunlight and at a constant temperature. Over time the taste of the infused spirits will round out and mellow, just like with wine.
A selection of infused syrups and spirits from my cocktail cabinet. Left to right: nettle syrup, wild cherry syrup, caramelized dandelion vodka, echinacea flower gin, wild strawberry vodka, bilberry vodka
Drink recipes forthcoming this winter!
Notes:
The sour cherry and cinnamon infusion is still steeping right now, though I took out the small piece of cinnamon stick and added extra cherries (without pits) and a little sugar. Cinnamon is very strong! This one will probably take some months after bottling to round out. I will also perhaps need to add a little of the cherry syrup before bottling. The taste is good but needs more cherry.
The caramelized dandelion vodka was made when I accidentally let a pan of dandelion syrup caramelize into a sticky, heavy (albeit tasty) goop. Adding vodka produced a thick, sweet, alcoholic, not-quite-syrup. Perhaps the closest to "proper" liqueur of the bunch.
The strawberries were steeped for four days and tasted fantastic, the bilberries for five.
you're making medicine!
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