You can make orange liqueur at home at any time, as citrus fruits are sold all year round. It turns out natural alcohol with a characteristic smell of fruits and a mild taste. The recipe will not cause difficulties even for beginners.
Choose the most fragrant oranges without blackened parts, rot and mold on the peel, the quality of the drink depends on this. Alcohol and vodka can be replaced with well-purified moonshine or cognac (tannic notes will appear).
Ingredients:
- oranges – 8 pieces;
- vodka (diluted to 40-45% alcohol, moonshine) – 1 liter;
- water – 1 liter;
- sugar – 1 kg.
Instead of sugar, you can use 600 grams of liquid flower honey, but the taste will be different, for an amateur.
orange liqueur recipe
1. Scald oranges with boiling water, then rinse in warm running water to remove wax or other preservative from the peel, which is applied to citrus fruits to increase shelf life. Wipe the fruits with a dry cloth.
2. With a grater, vegetable peeler or knife, carefully remove the zest (yellow part) from the oranges. Peeled fruits are not needed and can be used for other purposes.
Attention! You can not touch the white flesh, otherwise the liquor will be bitter.
3. Place the zest in a jar or glass bottle, pour in the alcohol base (vodka, alcohol), close the lid tightly. Insist in a warm (at room temperature), dark place for 14 days. Shake every 2 days.
4. Mix water and sugar in a saucepan, bring to a boil, simmer for 3-5 minutes, stirring and removing white foam. Cool the syrup to room temperature, then pour into the orange infusion. Close hermetically. Insist for another 7 days. Shake 2 times a day.
If honey is used instead of sugar to preserve useful substances, after mixing with water, heat to 35-40 ° C, stir until honey is completely dissolved, removing foam, then cool.
5. Strain the finished orange liqueur through cheesecloth, squeeze out the zest. Then filter through cotton or coffee filter.
6. Pour the drink into bottles for storage, close tightly with stoppers.
Away from direct sunlight, homemade orange liqueur has a shelf life of up to 5 years. Fortress – 23-26 degrees. The taste of the drink differs little from similar stores, for example, Cointreau.