Monday, December 12, 2011

Cherry jubilee

Two years ago, in 2009, we had a good cherry crop. The trees around us were bursting with cherries and they were there for the picking. There are several trees nearby that no one really picks, and if the fruit stays on the trees too long, the birds get it all. That year, Ken picked a bunch of cherries and we ate clafoutis and made preserves.

A little cherry cordial in a tiny glass.

One other thing we did with cherries was to put them in a jar with sugar and alcohol and set them in the pantry. After a few months of maceration, the cherries flavor the alcohol and you have a nice little cordial.

Well, we forgot it and left that jar in the cellar for two years. I opened it last week and drained out the cherries. The fruit was not good to eat any more; the flesh had gotten tough and had no flavor. But the alcohol has a beautiful pink color and a rich cherry flavor. Yum! I put it in a bottle for holiday sipping.

10 comments:

  1. I have found that you have to leave these homemade fruit or nut liqueurs to fester in the dark for 2-3 years for the transformation into something drinkable. It's a bit like magic. And I agree with you - the fruit is just for flavouring the liquid. It is not worth eating no matter when you remove it from the liquor.

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  2. I'll drink to that!
    Looks yummy.
    m.

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  3. Wow! I love that glass, too. Did you buy that in France, or in the U.S.?

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  4. Sounds and looks like strong stuff to me ... but perfect after a long winter walk in the vineyard with Callie. Enjoy! Martine

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  5. What a great surprise treat! It looks beautiful in that glass.

    I'm wondering how our peaches, which we bottled a couple of months ago will turn out. Maybe we should just 'forget' about them for a few years and see if we get a nice peach liqueur

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  6. What a happy accident. This is the first I've read anything about a new SNCF schedule.

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  7. I'm pretty sure I bought that little glass and others, half a dozen in all, in a second-hand shop in the south of England on a trip in 1995. I think the name of the town was Billingshurst.

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  8. susan, I might not have used the word, "fester." LOL

    mark, cheers!

    judy, see Ken's reply below. :)

    martine, you bet!

    n&a, did you add alcohol to them?

    chris, the best kind!

    starman, the new schedule has been coming for a while. They have to adjust the system for new TGV services that are coming on line and work around some rather large upgrade projects.

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  9. What a nice drink for the holidays. I read a book from the library on making fruit cordials during the summer when the fruits were available and then promptly forgot about it. Next year!

    Mary in Oregon

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