The popularity of the “Russian liquor”, as they call it now, there was no competition until our autocrat cut through the “window to Europe” and from there the busted “Monsieurs” poured out in search of work and a better life, to teach our “Mitrofanushki” European wisdom.
Together with overseas teachers in Russia, new alcoholic drinks appeared, among which was liquor - the closest "relative" of the liquor. The difference between them was only that in the liquors the main component was and remains not alcohol, as in liquors, but its fruit component. Alcohol came to us from the east, and our ancestors “sinned”, to a maximum, fermented juices on honey, so they added vodka to the original Russian drink later, solely to extend the shelf life of the drinks.
The variety of liquors in Russia is now approaching the variety of fruits and berries, not only growing here, but also those that fill shop windows, markets and supermarkets depending on the season. But first of all, liqueurs are prepared from the most affordable, domestic fruits.
Apricot was once considered an overseas fruit in Russia, and therefore, pouring it was considered a luxury for the nobility, but so far there are people in our backwoods who know the recipe for homemade apricot filling by heart from their great-grandmother, and have never heard of liquors , and are unlikely to be upset by this fact.
Let's talk about apricot liquors at home, about the general principles and the intricacies of its preparation. Domestic home-grown producers of "Russian liquor" have something to be proud of.
Home-made apricot cord - basic technological principles
Pouring is not only a folk drink. Its manufacture was established back in Soviet times on an industrial basis, and very successfully. Of course, the technologists of distilleries have developed recipes for liquors. But the homemade liquors made from apricots and other fruits are wonderful because the people in their home distilleries are not connected by technological conventions, saving modes and other industrial "troubles". If we want, we can afford any degree, and aroma, and taste, and fruity saturation.
Of all the conditions considered sacred and obligatory for execution in production, we will only use the most necessary ones.
Pouring - fruit extract, with an alcohol content of 18-20%, sugar - 28-40%. In industrial conditions, one of the methods for its preparation involves the use of alcoholized fruit juice, fruit drinks, food colors, flavor enhancers (essences), and other additives.
In home liquors, natural raw materials are mainly used. Juice or chopped fruits, bypassing the fermentation process, insist on vodka, alcohol or other strong alcoholic drinks, with or without water. The resulting fruit extract is filtered, sweetened and aged until tender. Despite the fact that sugar dissolves in the liquids rather quickly, it takes some time for a harmonious taste to form, since immediately after dissolving the sugar dissonates sharply in the drink.
Depending on the fruit raw materials used, late-ripening, mid-ripening and early-ripening liquids are distinguished. The denser the pulp of the processed fruit, the longer the ripening process of the liquor. The quantitative composition of the ingredients for liquors does not need to be kept in the strictest form, if you do not set the goal to prepare an already tried recipe, just repeat its taste.
The technology of homemade apricot filling is very simple and accessible to every housewife who wants to enjoy a lady's drink with her friends during the dessert.
1. Recipe for homemade apricot liquor on alcohol
Composition:
Water 1.0 L
Apricots, garden 1 kg
Sugar 450 g
Alcohol 93.6% 350 ml
Cooking:
Choose ripe apricots. For filling, you can use slightly crushed berries, but without signs of spoilage. Wash and let the water drain. Remove seeds and grind well. The smaller the particles of fruits, the better: small particles will quickly transfer juice and all substances contained in apricots to alcohol. Place the prepared raw materials in a jar with a capacity of 3 liters. Pour the berries with alcohol. And mix well. Alcohol should cover apricots 2-3 cm. If this does not work, then add 0.5 liters of water. We use water for all liquors only specially prepared (distilled, thawed, spring). Water should be soft, free from impurities.
The extract is aged 15 days and do not forget it regularly, at least in the morning and in the evening, shake well. Extraction will be more successful at higher temperatures.
If you meet the advice that the extract should not be covered tightly, with a lid, and tie the neck with gauze - do not believe it. Of course, you can protect the extract from dust and insects in this way, but at the same time all the alcohol and the aroma of the berries will disappear along with it even before the berries have time to be extracted. Close only tightly.
Pass the resulting tincture through a dense filter. Pour the remaining thick with the second part of the water, warm it up, then strain the water. After the second discharge, the thickener can be thrown away. Add sugar to the water and cook the syrup to a thick thread. Pour the syrup which has cooled down to 25-30 ° C into tincture, mix in a closed container and keep the finished homemade apricot liquor warm for another week. Can be bottled and sealed. Alcohol is stored for a long time. When stored, its taste only improves.
2. An old recipe for homemade apricot juice "Zhardel"
Composition:
Wild apricots 3 kg
Honey, May 1 l
Vodka, apricot 2.8 l
Water 3.0 L
Cooking:
Ripe forest apricots with a brush, wash and remove seeds and all spoiled berries. Put the prepared fruits in a ceramic pot and pour spring water to the top. Put in a hot oven (100-110С), covered with a lid and simmer until the heat has gone (until the oven cools).
Preheat the oven again. In the infusion, add the remaining water combined with honey. Tomite infusion. In order not to boil, warm warmly under the lid for 2-3 hours. Do not open the oven, but if necessary lower the temperature, turn off the heat, cool, and warm again.
In the Russian oven, such an infusion was prepared for 3 days and a pot of apricots and honey was placed in the oven after cabbage soup. So in the old days the temperature was measured for cooking in the oven: after bread, after cabbage soup.
When the container has cooled completely, pour its contents through the filter into an enameled bucket. Add vodka, soak until clarified and, having removed from the sediment, pour into bottles.
3. Pouring apricots at home with kernel kernels
Composition:
Garden apricots 3.3 kg
Sugar 1.2 kg
Purified moonshine or vodka (40%) 2.5 l
Cooking:
Wash sorted ripe apricots, remove seeds. Crush the pulp and mix it with sugar. Crush 10% of the seeds, remove the kernels from them and, also chopped, add to the bottle with apricot pulp and sugar. Pour the mixture with high-quality vodka or moonshine, without extraneous odors.
Soak for 3-4 months. The container should be shaken periodically to improve extraction. Filter and pour the finished filling into bottles. Crushed apricot kernels will give the caramel a resemblance to the famous Amaretto, and such a drink is very useful for making fragrant pastries, for example, one of the most delicious Soviet-era cakes "Apricotin".
4. Homemade apricot and bird cherry liquor
Composition:
Bird cherry (berries) 150 g
Apricots 5 kg
Sugar 1.5 kg
Alcohol, wine (70%) 1.7 L
Water 1.5 L
Preparation of liquor:
Seedless apricots and cherry berries are dried by spreading them in a thin layer on a wire rack. Soak the berries in the fresh air, in hot weather, but not in the sun, but in the shade. To protect them from insects, cover with gauze. After chopping the fruit and put it in a bottle. Cook a thick syrup, pour it into a bottle with berries and add alcohol when the syrup is still warm. Cover the container, shake. Keep the infusion at least three months warm. Then pass the composition through the filter and seal the finished filling in bottles.
5. Pouring apricots at home with oranges
Composition:
Juice, orange 1 l
Apricots (mashed potatoes) 2 kg
Sugar 900 g
Vodka 2.2 L
Vanilla 2-3 pods
Cooking method:
Place the finished apricot puree with vanilla pods in a bottle and fill it with vodka. Soak the tincture for 14 days. Place the bottle in the kitchen, closer to the heat. It must be shaken in the morning and evening, and if possible, more often. Strain the tincture after the specified time. Pour the thick orange juice and add sugar. Warm the sugar to dissolve, but do not boil it. Also filter the syrup. Combine it with tincture. Soak in the bottle for up to two months. Repeat filtering if necessary. Pour into prepared containers and seal. Such filling is interesting not only as a drink, but also indispensable for the preparation of delicious desserts and pastries.
6. Homemade apricot, raspberry, strawberry and gooseberry cordial
Composition:
Berries in arbitrary proportion 2 parts
Sugar and water - 1 part each
1.5 parts vodka
Cooking method:
The drink should be thick and rich, lasting consistency. Selected and crushed berries pour vodka. Forget about the jar for a month or a half. Then squeeze the berries and add in them a syrup made from equal parts of water and sugar. Soak the drink in a closed container for a couple of months.
Apricot filling at home - useful tips and tricks
To prepare a filling from fruits with dense flesh, which are difficult to obtain juice from, it is possible to partially use industrial technology, where the fruits are preliminarily fermented to obtain a more intense juice separation.
To increase the volume of juice, the following method of preparing the filling is used: after receiving natural juice, squeezed the pulp of the fruit is poured with hot water, mix and pour the diluted juice through the filter again. Based on this juice of the second plum, you can prepare a syrup, which is then combined with alcoholized juice. In addition to increasing the volume of the drink with this manufacturing method, the quality of the beverage is significantly improved.
