Carrot tincture has a pleasant golden color and is remembered for its original taste without “vegetable” notes in the aroma and aftertaste. An excellent option for meat cold and hot appetizers.
For cooking, you can take any variety of carrots, as long as the fruits are free of signs of rot and mold (problem areas can be cut out). The more fragrant and sweeter the carrot, the better.
As an alcohol base, vodka, odorless sugar or grain moonshine (double distillation) or diluted ethyl alcohol are suitable.
carrot tincture recipe
Ingredients:
- vodka (moonshine, alcohol 40-45%) – 0,5 l;
- carrots – 400 g;
- dill seeds – a third of a teaspoon (optional);
- honey (sugar) – 1 teaspoon + to taste.
Dill enriches the taste, but makes the tincture a little tougher, so it is advisable to add fresh buckwheat or flower honey to the composition for softness, in extreme cases, beet sugar will do.
Technology of preparation
1. Peel the carrots, grate on a coarse grater, then lay them in an even layer (not thicker than 1,5 cm) on a clean, dry baking sheet covered with parchment or a silicone mat. Leave to dry in the oven for 2 hours at a temperature of 70-80 °C. After 60 minutes of drying, flip the carrots to the other side and leave the oven door ajar for 5 minutes to remove moisture. Cool the resulting carrot shavings to room temperature.
The main task of drying is to remove excess moisture and decompose all substances that give an unpleasant vegetable aftertaste, so the carrots will not be perfectly dry (this takes 6-8 hours), but this is enough to make a tincture.
2. Place dried carrots and dill seeds in a glass container for infusion, pour in the alcohol base (vodka, alcohol or moonshine), add 1 teaspoon of honey or sugar, mix and close tightly.
3. Infuse for 7 days in a dark place at room temperature. Shake once a day.
4. Strain the finished homemade carrot tincture through 2-3 layers of gauze, squeeze the pulp dry.
5. Taste the drink, sweeten it with sugar to taste if you wish. To reduce the strength, you can make sugar syrup (mix water and sugar in equal parts, bring to a boil, boil for 3-4 minutes, removing the foam, then cool to room temperature and add the finished syrup to the tincture).
6. Pour the carrot tincture into storage bottles. Transfer to the refrigerator or cellar, leave for 5-6 days to stabilize the taste.
During aging, a precipitate may appear, this is normal, but for transparency it is enough to filter the drink through cotton wool.
The shelf life of tincture on carrots is up to 2 years. Fortress – 32-24% vol.
