Here's what ya do:
Three months later UPDATE: For easy Brita straining instructions click here.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Worth Repeating
I know I've blogged about this before but I think it deserves repeating, besides "'tis the season." :) It's my apricot brandy recipe but you can use fruit of any kind. I've done it with crab apples, blackberries, and cherries as well as apricots. My favourite is apricot, with crab apple running a close second. I wasn't too keen on blackberries but I had some neighbours who cleaned it right up! Gee I wonder if I could use up zucchini this way?? LOL
Here's what ya do:
Get a GLASS gallon jar. I buy them for a dollar a piece at a local restaurant in town so I don't have to buy huge jars of pickles :) Fill it with apricots or whatever fruit you have. Don't pit them.
Add three cups of granulated sugar.
Looks like snow!
Here comes a 26 ounce bottle of vodka, the cheapest you can buy, nothing fancy here.
Write the date on a piece of masking tape. If it's an odd day put "up on odd" an even day; "up on even." You flip the jar every day for three months and the tape will let you know if you've flipped it on any given day, unless you forget about it for two days! Don't stick it away in your cupboard or you'll forget about it. Place it on your counter and for the first few days keep it inside an ice cream bucket in case of leaks. If it does leak, open the jar, dump the liquid back in, place a square of plastic wrap between the jar and the lid. Other than doing this, try not to open the jar for the full three months. **After three months strain through a jelly bag or pillow case overnight, if you want it really clear then strain again through coffee filters.** See note below for a better way to strain! I bottle it into small mickey bottles and tuck into Christmas baskets. Enjoy :)
Three months later UPDATE: For easy Brita straining instructions click here.
Here's what ya do:
Three months later UPDATE: For easy Brita straining instructions click here.
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55 comment(s).:
Hi Kansas...
I think apricot must be an old favorite. I like it too. We have two different kinds of cherries brewing here. One is black and the other is blacker :). They should make a very good brandy as both were very sweet tasting cherries and the color should be nice. We'll just have to sit back and wait to see.
I wonder if there is a lot of people that make their own brandy?? It seems quite easy to make but then I guess it would depend on what fruit was available. I think we are quite spoiled with all the fruit and vegetables we have available. I took a cucumber and zucchini to one of the Ladies at the Seniors Lodge and she was just so excited to get them. They just don't grow gardens anymore but they sure appreciate the fresh vegetables. I will take more over now I know.
Love Ya!
The colors are beautiful! A question: can one use a PLASTIC gallon jug? I have a few and I wondered it that might work - or will it make it taste funny? Or put horrid toxins in it or something? =)
Hi Donna!
I think it would be okay as long as it had been previously used for food and not chemicals or catfood, etc. I've only done it with glass so I can't be sure but I'd try it if that's all I had.
Try using a Brita water pitcher to filter the second time. Local college folks use it to improve really cheap vodka. Love the blog... Madison fan
Hi,
Saw your apricot brandy recipe and want to give it a try. One question, from the pictures it doesn't look like the fruit was peeled or anything (other than cleaned), is this correct? I want to try this with plums as well and just want to make sure I do it right.
Thank you,
Joe
also, sorry to hear about your horse Joey....
Hi Madison Fan!
That is a great idea about the Brita Water filter, I'll have to try that :)
Hi Joe :)
Nope the apricots are not peeled. Just clean them and I'm a bit lazy on doing that :) No matter what fruit I've used I've never peeled, cored, or seeded any of it. I did cut up the crabapples though. Let me know if you like it :)
Thanks about Joey :)
Kansas
Like the idea as have a ton of apricots to use up out here in Cyprus. But why vodka? Why not brandy - which is, after all, what we are looking to make, here! I'm thinking of using the local (slightly rough!) Cypriot brandy; what do you think?
Oh - and, of course, I need to find equivalents to your gallon, cup and bottle sizes!
Cheers!
Mike C.
Hi Mike, I use vodka because it's a lot cheaper than buying brandy. I can't see buying brandy to make brandy?? You already have brandy so why make it? I guess if you bought a cheap brandy and turned it into something wonderful that would work but in our neck of the woods vodka (especially cheap vodka) makes excellent brandy :)
Hi there.... I started my brandy a few days ago and notice that every day that I flip it the fruits that are floating above the water at the top are going very brown. This is happening daily and it does look a little worrisome. Is this normal? Should I be doing something different? Thanks, Karolina
Help!!! I am on my second day and the top apricots are turning brown (the ones not covered in vodka.) Is this normal or should I remove the brown ones. Thanks Ken
Don't worry about the top/bottom of the fruit getting brown, it's normal. Next time just add a bit more vodka so it covers all the fruit if you don't like to see it. Once the apricots settle a bit this will stop, and when you strain it it won't affect the brandy at all. You could also flip it twice a day so the fruit settles quicker. Let me know how it turns out for you :)
I started mine on June 17th. I don't know how I'm going to wait another two months to try it!
Hi Anna,
I just started two batches on Friday and the three months will seem like forever ;) but it's worth the wait.
I noticed that you do not fill the gallon jars completely with vodka... why is that? Wouldn't you get more brandy if you added more vodka?
If you let the batch sit for 4 months instead of 3, does the brandy get more of the fruit flavor in it or does the alcohol just get stronger... or both!?
And what do you do with the fruit? Can you eat it or do you just throw it out? I would think you could eat it... just like when you soak cherries in vodka or moonshine.
I don't fill the jars right up because I buy a 26 ounce bottle of vodka and use one for each batch. I would think the jar needs "breathing" room too.
I'm not sure if it would get stronger or more flavourful because I've never really let it get past 3 months. I would imagine you can only draw so much flavour out of the fruit and that's it. We don't eat the apricots but I guess you could, it's just that there isn't much flavour left to them.
i'm gonna try it with blueberries. Yummy!! And will try the fruit after as well.
We just talked about using blueberries yesterday! Please let me know if you like it!!
we made cherry bounce from flathead cherries(a process similar to the apricot brandy you describe) and found that the cherries are great eating afterward. they have a bit of a bite and are great on ice cream, in champagne, or dipped in chocolate. i'll let you know how the apricots are for eating after the brandy is done.
myrna in montana
holeeeeee @#!$$...this is goooddd! I have cherrys, grapes, apples and peaches! MMmmm
Have done it with bluberries, raspberries, orange/coffee (ask me how -the proceedure is a bit special), and cherries
What do you mean by cheap vodka.Can store bought fruit or our own frozen fruit be used?
Where I live we have vodka ranging in price from 20 to 50 dollars a bottle, I go for the "cheap" 20 dollar bottle.
I've never used frozen fruit at all, (actually I did once; for blackberry brandy!) It turned out okay so I guess you could use frozen but I usually use what fruit happens to be in season.
Do you get any metal taste from the lid or is that why you use the plastic wrap?
Nope, never had a metal taste before. I use the plastic wrap if a jar leaks, sometimes the lids aren't the best and the plastic wrap helps seals it. I've done lots with no plastic wrap though and the taste is fine :)
Hi,
I used Pomegranates in the brandy recipe and it turned out fantastic. Thanks so much for the recipe!!
Randy
Pomegranates! What a great idea, never thought of that fruit before :)
how about using straight grain alcohol??
I guess straight grain alcohol would work, let me know how it turns out :)
For the person who mentioned using pomegranates...or to anyone for that matter, I imagine it should be seeded right? Only the seeds should be put in the jar?
Hi Kansas, just started our first apricot jar and wondering if we started an apple one if we need to quarter the apples before putting them in the jar. Thanks
Deb in Michigan
Hi Deb,
You can quarter them or even in half depending on the size. You're going to strain the whole works so it's fine to cut them.
Hello Everyone, I have two trees loaded with Loquats that taste very sweet but are a pain to eat as they are quite small and have multiple seeds so I thought I'd try making Loquat Brandy. Not having glass bottles available I am using a 2-1/2 gal plastic water bottle with a spiggot. I filled it a little over half way with Loquats but when I used 26 oz of vodka it covered such a small amount of the fruit I kept adding Vodka until I used the entire 1.75 liter bottle and still didn't cover the fruit. Well we'll see how it turns out in a few months!
Kevin in Lancaster, CA
Dana in Kansas,
Hi just started my first batch of brandy, would like to know what I store it in when it is finished in 3 months. What type of jars and were do I find them? Thank you...
Hi Dana,
Any jars will do. I've used quart canning jars or old cleaned liquor bottles. Glass is best.
Hi Kansas,
Ok so do I need to have them sealed in any special way if I plan on storing some for awhile and giving them for gifts?
Dana
As long as you strain it and don't add any thing (My MIL tried to stretch her's and added some sort of mango juice (yuck) but I would imagine that would go moldy). Just keep it plain and it's no different than grabbing a bottle from the liquor store. I've never had one go bad and I've kept apricot stored in a cool dark place for more than a year! (Hidden of course lol). I've got cherry brandy my Mom made and have had it for about three years and it's fine sitting on my shelf.
Dana from Kansas,
Kansas, thanks so much for the information. I caint wait to try it. Have a great summer!!
Hi I am making my first batch of apricot brandy and I read some of the other comments and I added extra vodka and I was wondering should I add extra sugar since I added more vodka or would the results be the same. Thank you
I think it depends on how much extra vodka you use. If it's only a small amount I wouldn't add anymore sugar, but if you doubled the amount I'd double the sugar. Hope this helps :)
Hi Do I have to turn the jug every day or can it go unturned for a couple days if I go out of town for the weekend? Thanks
Leaving it unturned for a few days doesn't hurt it at all. :)
I have tried this a few different ways. My personal opinion is: Apricots should be pitted (they leave an off flavor) and halved(this speeds up the time frame drastically. I use 2/3 white sugar, 1/3 brown sugar and a few tables spoons of molasses (mainly for color). I did apple once with real maple syrup and sugar, super tasty.
Then I use all vodka and 1 cup of 151 or Captain Morgan spiced rum 100 proof, this gives it a little more kick, as people want to just drink it down. But with the kick, it slows them up a bit.
Done this way it is soooo good, and I have noticed that it is super good at around 2 weeks. I have never been patient enough to wait nor found the need Poor over ice, stir and drink... mmmmm tasty
Hi Don: I guess people have different opinions because even when I can apricots I throw a few pits in the jar for flavour, always have for years now. The other reason I don't pit or halve is it's quite quick to throw everything together and be done with the assembling of the recipe. I currently have three batches on the go and the wait is so worth it, and three batches is enough for Xmas presents as well as personal use ;)
True.
I noticed that the batches that I didn't pit them did take longer to taste as good. So what would you say is the difference in the product at 3 months comparative to any other time ? I contemplated removing a few shots worth along the way to compare them all at the end, but 3 months is soo long to wait. :(
Hi Don, I can't say what the difference is because I've always gone the three months. One time I had a batch that "someone" (not me, and I didn't know) opened and tested before the three months and it turned the whole works into mush. I wouldn't suggest opening and closing the jar during the sitting part of it. Open it once and strain it but don't continue to do it throughout the process. You can tell it builds up pressure because when I do open it after three months it goes psssst, the fermenting process?? Not sure but I would imagine you lose that and it take a bit to build back up if you continue to open/close it.
Because I've got three jars on the go I'll strain one off after two months and compare it to a three months one... I'll get back to you :)
My brandy is comming up done fast. I had used plastic gallon containers but had to change them because they were leaking.. I changed them about a 5 days after starting.. I have two jars that were in glass and I didnt have to change at all. The jars that I didnt have to transfer over have clear liquid in them. The transfered jars are a light brown color. My question is....Are they all ok no matter what color they are?
All the jars should be fine as long as you didn't continually open them throughout the process. Mine are a brownish colour when I'm done and it looks wonderful after it's all strained :)
Thank you! I hate to see 8 gallon jars go to waste... Im excited to try.. two weeks now..
Chuck
hello and thanks of giving idea of doing abricot brandy, that havent never occured to me. I have done Cranberry with and without vanilla, some with sugar, honey or brown sugar, from dryed appleslices with dryed rowan/mountain ash berries. I have used vodka, Koskenkorva ( spirit made from grains and potatoes, local Finland), some rye spirit. I did it quite simply, half filled or 2/3 jar with fruits, then filled it with sugar or honey, then much spirit as y can fill. with dry fruits, better fill just half, cos they will get twice bigger in few weeks, and all so needs few times of filling of spirit, to keep them covered.
I left them to be about 4 months, drained, and filled jars again with sugar and spirit, about same time before draining. I have let them to have time before using, 2-6 months. They have been quite delicious, more liquer than brandy.
But, for whole abricots, i think y should serve them with coffee or cheese, at least here in France, where i live now. those are considered like treats. I have tasted at friend house some whole eau de vie soaked whole plums, Mirabelles and those small black cherrys, Griottes are sold in liquor stores in cognac or spirit at very high price. But, they do are nice with icecream, i havent had heart yet use them for cooking ,) One i what y might like to try is basil liquor, it just needs variety diffrent kind of basil, but process is same. That has very unique taste, im not so fond of basil overall, but that i like.
Now im off to go try your idea of abricot brandy .)
Hi: I wander if one could make brandy using previously home canned apricots. How about it is it do-able?
thanks
Hi Anonymous,
I would think it's do-able but I'd cut the sugar down after draining the canned apricots. Let me know if it works out for ya :)
I did this using pears. I would miss a few days of flipping but did try to keep at it consistently. I did clean and quarter my pears due to size. I used Gallon jars and quart jars. The liquid from the quart jars was more of a burnt gold color and the liquid from the gallon jars more yellow. Don't know why as the mixture was mixed all the same for all the jars.
The taste is a bit different but good from both.
I will definitely be doing this again when my pear trees fruit out. I'm glad to know that once sealed into bottles it will keep for a while.
I just wish there was something to do with all the pears left over. It seems like a waste to throw them out. I did try one and it was a bit crunchy around the edges from the sugar and tasted of alcohol. I'm guessing I could make a "pear brandy cake" like you would a rum cake but I have not tried that yet.
Thank you for putting this on the web.
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