Berry liqueur
Now is the time for all those marvelous berries you see riping at those side of the road farmers stands. For goodness sake, stop this year and pick some of all the flavors, and get your engines started for an out of this world Christmas present: homemade berry liqueur.
For this incredible homemade gift, you will need:
1) berries, fresh or frozen (you determine amount desired and a note about picking berries: you want them at the peak of ripeness, so look for the carton of berries that smells fantabulous and seems to be almost overripe. Those are the berries that are practically bursting with juicy flavor),
2) vodka (enough to cover berries completely).
A note about the vodka, since the flavor here you want is berries, there is no need to go top shelf or luxury with the vodka, but do not go so cheap that you could take the paint off your walls either. Go for a nice mid-price vodka for best results in my opinion.
3) 1 cup sugar per quart of liquid (or to taste),
4) jar with tight-fitting lid, and finally,
5) cloth for straining (I use organic muslin and/or cheesecloth)
Start with berries that are clean and ripe, and if possible organic so you do not have to worry about pesticides and such. I prefer using fresh but if necessary, frozen berries will work. Fill a jar with berries, then pour in the vodka until the berries are completely covered. Screw the lid on tightly and let the jar set in a dark, cool place for two months or until the berries lose their color.
For a very pure and clean liqueur, pour the contents of the jar through a cloth-lined sieve then discard the berries.
For a richer liqueur, pour the berries and vodka into a bowl and mash them together. Strain the mash through a fine cloth, then strain again. Draw the four corners of the cloth together and twist the cloth until the berries are enclosed in a bar. Hold tight to the end of the bag while pressing gently on the cloth to release the juices. Discard the berries once you have mushed all the juice out.
Pour strained liquid into a clean jar and add 1/2 cup of sugar for each quart of liquid you have. Stir and let set for a few days until all the sugar is dissolved.
Give it a taste test and add sugar again until you reach your desired sweetness. As a warning, it is easy to add too much sugar so start slow. I used about a cup of sugar to each quart of liquid.
If you do not add sugar, you end up with a wonderful berry-flavored vodka.
