We continue the series on food preservation, and today we are talking about how to preserve fruit using alcohol.
Fruit has a long history of getting preserved in alcohol. In the 18th century Europe, fruits like peaches, cherries, and apricots submerged in brandy were served as a popular dessert.
The great thing about preserving fruit in alcohol is that you create a delicious fruit enhanced with the flavor of the alcohol you use to preserve it in but also the alcohol takes on the flavor of the fruit creating a delicious liqueur that you can use to make drinks, cocktails, or aperitifs. Homemade tinctures can also be a tasty elixir with a variety of medicinal properties.
Similar to salt and sugar, alcohol draws water out of food, and this is how it inhibits microbial growth. Using this method, you can store food for years. Quality flavorless vodka is one of the most common mediums for preservation, but you can also use rum, brandy, or cognac, and even wine (as long as the alcohol content is 15% and higher). Experiment with various berries and fruits: blackberry, raspberry, blueberry, cranberry, strawberry, apples, cherry, apricots, citrus, and more. You can add sugar and some amount of water to dilute the alcohol. Here are a couple of interesting recipes:
Raspberry Tincture Recipe
Ripe raspberry berries – 3 lb
Vodka – 500 ml
Sugar – 100 grams
One glass of pre-boiled water
Wash the raspberries and sort them out. Place the berries in a glass jar and mash them (mashing is optional). Pour the whole volume of vodka and stir. Keep raspberries in a room temperature for 5 days stirring daily. After 5 days, add sweet syrup to the infusion, which you prepare using 200 ml of water and 100 grams of sugar. For that, add sugar to boiling water and wait a minute for sugar to dissolve completely. Cool down the syrup and add to the raspberry tincture. Your tincture is ready to use in 2 weeks. You don’t have to store in a refrigerator after that.
Rumtopf
Rumtopf is a German method of preserving food in rum. You can use any fruits you like (exclude bananas) and cover them fully in rum. This summer project makes great Christmas gifts for friends and family. It’s like conserving the last summer in a jar and then sharing it as a delicious alcoholic treat which can be enjoyed on top of ice cream or other desserts. Apples, pears, peach, plum, pineapple, berries will work great for the rumtopf. You can start it in September, and in December divide it to smaller portions using smaller sized glass jars (rumtopf looks great). Place a festive ribbon, and let your friends, family, and neighbors know that you have been thinking about them all along!
