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Due to its pleasant taste with a slight acidity, cranberry liqueur is considered one of the best alcoholic drinks that can only be prepared at home. Cranberry liqueur can easily be confused with a tincture, as the preparation technology and ingredients are similar. There are two main differences: the holding time of the tincture is usually limited to several weeks, while it is recommended to hold the tincture for at least two to three months. In addition, the strength of the cranberry liqueur is usually lower, while the sweetness, on the contrary, is felt more.
Traditional recipe for cranberry liqueur
Before proceeding directly to the recipe, one cannot fail to mention a few unwritten rules for making liqueur, which simplify and optimize the process:
- Since a large amount of cranberry juice is needed for the liqueur, the berries are slightly frozen before use.
- Insist the drink in a dark place at room temperature for several months.
- Of the spirits, vodka and refined moonshine are best, but technically you can use any alcohol with a strength of 40 degrees, for example, rum or cognac.
- The filling can also be prepared using wild yeast fermentation, without the use of alcohol.
- You can add spices to any recipe to your liking. This is done initially, after the berries give juice.
- The taste of the drink can be adjusted differently - by adding other fruits to the basic list of ingredients.
So, in order to prepare cranberry liqueur according to the traditional recipe, you need the following ingredients:
- cranberries - 0.5 kg;
- sugar - 0.7 kg;
- water - 0.5 l.
During cooking, you will need a water seal.
A water seal, also known as a water trap or valve, is used as a means to prevent explosions of carbon dioxide that yeast releases during fermentation. By using a water seal, the generated gas can be safely removed from the container. In addition, the valve protects the contents from the ingress of oxygen.
As the simplest water seal, you can use:
- A pierced medical glove worn at the neck. The advantages of this method include: ease of use, low cost of consumables, compactness, and the ability to determine the end of the fermentation process. The disadvantages are that this method is suitable only for containers of medium volume with a wide neck. To prevent the glove from falling off, it is fixed with adhesive tape.
- A thin rubber hose passed through a hole in the lid and dipped into the water. An approximate usage pattern can be seen in the diagram below. The advantages of this method include its reliability and simplicity. The disadvantages are the need to additionally secure the tube and close the hole in the lid. Usually, plasticine or a special sealant is used for this purpose. In addition, using an additional container of water can be inconvenient, especially if there are active animals at home.
This is what one of the options for a homemade water seal looks like.
Prepare as follows:
- The berries are sorted out, small debris and dirt are removed, but not washed.
- Using a pusher or rolling pin, knead them into a homogeneous mixture.
- Pour sugar into the resulting mass and pour in water, stir.
- Close the neck with a cloth or thick gauze and leave in a dark place at room temperature for 4–5 days.
- Stir daily with a wooden spatula.
- After the berries ferment, put a water seal on the jar - purchased or homemade.
- After a month and a half, when fermentation is over, the liquid is carefully drained, trying to touch the cloudy bottom sediment. The filling is filtered and poured into prepared bottles. Insist for several more months.
- If the strength of the drink seems too low, at the last stage you can pour a small amount of alcohol into the liqueur and let it brew.
Alcoholic cranberry liqueur with alcohol
If a recipe involving prolonged fermentation is not suitable for the cook, you can use alcohol-containing components.
Ingredients:
- 0.25 kg of berries;
- 500 ml of water;
- sugar - 0.5 kg;
- 500 ml of alcohol.
Prepare as follows:
- First, the berries are washed, they are carefully sorted out.
- Drain the water and let the cranberries dry a little.
- The berries are pierced with a needle or slightly kneaded with a crush or rolling pin and left for half an hour to let the juice go.
- Pour in alcohol. At the same time, water is put on fire.
- Warm boiled water is added to the berry-alcoholic mixture.
- Carefully mix the workpiece and transfer the container to a shaded place, where the liqueur is infused at room temperature of 20 degrees.
- A month later, the liqueur is filtered, after which you can drink it.
Cranberry tincture 20 degrees
Since the tincture and the liqueur are very similar both in taste and in the purpose of preparation, and differ mainly in strength, it is easy to confuse a twenty-degree tincture with a regular liqueur.
For cooking, you will need the following ingredients:
- 300 g cranberries;
- 250 g granulated sugar;
- 150 ml of water;
- 500 ml of vodka.
You will also need a sieve and gauze.
Prepare as follows:
- First, the cranberries are sorted out, washed and thoroughly kneaded with a crush.
- Vodka is added to the crushed berries.
- Close the container with a lid and leave to infuse in a dark place for 5-7 days.
- The sieve is lined with gauze in several layers, placed over the pan and the infused mixture is carefully filtered through it.
- Sugar syrup is made in a separate container, cooled and combined with the alcoholic component.
- The tincture is bottled and left for a few more days.
Vodka-based cranberry liqueur recipe
To make a sweet vodka liqueur, you need the following ingredients:
- cranberries - 500 g;
- vodka - 1 liter;
- sugar - 1 kg;
- water - 1 liter;
- you can add spices to taste - mint, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, etc.
Prepare as follows.
- The berries are sorted out, removing spoiled or rotting ones, washed and the stalks are removed.
- Knead with a crush or rolling pin until smooth, as an option - pass through a meat grinder, food processor or grind with a blender.
- Add spices and pour in alcohol, mix.
- The container with the filling is insisted away from direct sunlight at room temperature for two weeks.
- After two weeks, they move on to the next stage - combine water and sugar in a saucepan and prepare syrup. Allow it to cool at room temperature.
- Syrup is poured into the liqueur, mixed and again left to infuse for 10-14 days.
- Then the finished liqueur is filtered through cheesecloth folded in several layers. The resulting cake is properly squeezed out and thrown away, and the drink is poured into bottles.
Shelf life
Cranberry liqueur has a rather long shelf life - on average, it can be consumed within two to three years from the moment of preparation. However, if stored improperly, the shelf life can be significantly reduced.
For the drink to be stored longer, it must be kept away from direct sunlight in a cool place. Therefore, a refrigerator or a basement or cellar is best suited for storing cranberry liqueur.
Conclusion
Cranberry pouring is very similar to cranberry liqueur - both in taste and in the set of essential components. Their main difference is "gender", since it is believed that the tincture is very popular among men, and the liqueur, like liqueurs, is among the fair sex. Another difference could be considered the difference in the strength of the drink, however, due to the variability of recipes, this indicator is rather arbitrary.
