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Slivovitz is a strong alcoholic drink that is easy to make at home. There is both a classic recipe and a slightly modified version. The drink has a pleasant taste, excellent aroma. Suitable for home use, for serving to the festive table. Important! After distillation, the drink stands for a sufficient time. This is the secret of real slivovitz from Serbia, where it languishes for 5 years in oak barrels, acquires a spicy, delicate taste, unique aroma.
Serbian slivovitsa
Another name for slivovitz is brandy. Made according to the classic recipe by the Serbs. The country is the largest supplier of plums in Europe. The drink is produced in large quantities, only certain countries or factories have the right to sell, officially produce Serbian brandy.
Serbian slivovitz is a plum brandy made with fermented plum juice. The strength depends on the number of distillations. For example, Czechs prefer slivovitz, which is distilled three times. The strength of the drink is 75%.
The first tip for cooking: do not wash the plum thoroughly, as the fermentation process will not start. On the skin there are colonies of wild yeast. They will be able to start the fermentation process, if the technology is followed, the addition of artificial yeast or additional sugar will not be required. Just wipe the fruits with a cloth, remove visible dirt.
Experienced winemakers suggest pre-freezing the fruits so that the drink has a rich taste. Raisins are used for flavor, it will help activate fermentation, raisins have more natural yeast than plums. No need to add artificial yeast, the process will start on its own.
Secrets of making slivovitz at home
Slivovitz is considered a drink of Serbia and other Balkan countries, but every winemaker with little experience can make plum brandy at home for consumption at the festive table. Slivovitz – refined moonshine, unlike wine, is subjected to distillation, has a high fortress. This drink is not inferior in strength to good brandy or cognac, it even surpasses them in taste.
For cooking, the following ingredients are needed:
- 11 kg plums;
- 9 L of water;
- sugar to taste varietal sweet plums.
For cooking, it is necessary to use not only plums, water, but also sugar, if necessary. It depends on the degree of ripeness of the fruit. Ripe fruits have a sufficient amount of sugar, plum brandy is prepared without the addition of artificial sugars. Sometimes the fermentation process is started without additional sugar syrup, an unripe plum that has grown in a rainy year will need additional sweetness.
Slivovitz recipe at home
To make slivovitz, you need a plum. Any variety is suitable, better Egg, Mirabell, Hungarian. It is desirable to collect fruits before frost, while the plums are most sugary, while not wrinkled around the cuttings. Fruits fit strong, even, without signs of disease.
Be sure to sort the fruits, remove moldy, spoiled specimens. The fruits must be divided into two parts, pull out the bones, so there will be no bitter aftertaste. Throw away rotten fruits, they will spoil the taste and quality of slivovitz.
It is necessary to prepare the fruits for fermentation, after the fermentation process, a distillation process is necessary. Distillation can be carried out both with a store-bought apparatus and with a home-made moonshine still. It is enough to distill once, experienced winemakers distill twice. Depends on the quality of the distillation. The optimal drink appears only after the drink has been infused for a while. The unique drink is infused for 5 years, less at home.
Preparation of ingredients
The most ripe fruits are selected, maybe even too ripe, but without signs of rot or mold. Plums do not need to be washed, and very dirty specimens just need to be wiped. In this case, wild yeast remains on the peel, which starts the fermentation process.
The fruits, after the bones are removed, must be crushed into a mushy state. Fruits for plum brandy at home are most often crushed with a meat grinder or blender. Sometimes with a wooden mortar.
We put the wort for fermentation
In a container for fermentation, it is necessary to place crushed pitted plums. The optimum sugar content should be 18%. It can be measured with a special device. Experienced winemakers determine the sugar content by taste. If there is not enough sugar, it must be added. It is better to do this gradually, 200 g each.
After that, the fermentation container should be covered with gauze, set in a warm place. After a day, you can see the foam. A sign that the fermentation process has begun. If the process does not start, you need to add another 12 hours.
After the start of the process, it is necessary to add water, pour into another container with a narrower neck. The container should not be completely filled so that there is room for foaming. If you do not provide a place – the foam will pour out, excess moisture will form, an unpleasant odor. Therefore, experts recommend taking off the “cap” at the time of formation.
Fermentation process
The fermentation process should take place in a dark place, without direct sunlight. The fermentation temperature should be around 15°C. At home, the temperature can be brought up to + 22 ° C. The fermentation time depends on the external temperature. At a higher temperature, 2–4 weeks of fermentation is enough, and at 15 degrees, the process takes about 8 weeks.
The wort does not need to be stirred, this is done by the released carbon dioxide. But the “cap” rising up from the remnants of the plum should be regularly removed, since it contains various harmful substances. They affect the digestive system, spoil the taste, release toxins.
The slivovitz fermentation process ends when it stops emitting carbon dioxide. This can be seen from the installed water seal. A medical glove with a pierced finger is installed as a water seal. Slivovitz at home is prepared according to a simple recipe, it is important to simply withstand, control the fermentation process.
Distillation of homemade plum brandy
At home, it is necessary to distill plum brandy twice. The first time it is necessary to drive until the alcohol is no longer felt in the distillate. In this case, there is no need for fractional distillation, and it is not necessary to cut off the head and tail elements.
Cutting off the “tails” and “heads” occurs during the second distillation. It is important that the raw alcohol is diluted to 35%. After the second distillation, according to the rules, a drink is obtained up to 60 degrees. But at the same time, the drink should be diluted to the optimum 45 degrees. Then the drink turns out to be fragrant, tasty, and it is pleasant to drink it.
From 100 kg of plums, 11 liters of plum brandy can come out. Making plum brandy at home is a simple recipe, it is important to simply follow all the technology and apply the principles of distillation step by step.
Is it necessary to withstand plum brandy
In order for plum brandy to truly mature, it must be aged in oak barrels. If there are such containers and a place where they will stand, the slivovitz will turn out to be optimal and no different from a real Serbian slivovitz. An oak barrel is a universal container that allows you to save a drink, gives a piquant taste, a pleasant aroma. Slivovitz from an oak barrel is a festive, elite drink. Such a drink is expensive, sold to tourists in Serbia and the Balkan countries at an inflated cost. The minimum aging period in barrels is 5 years, sometimes the drink matures longer.
Glass containers are also used for aging at home, the main thing is to observe the storage technology. After distillation, plum brandy should be allowed to brew for at least a week. Only then can you start tasting. Tasting at the time of production will not give an effective understanding of the taste; you will not be able to taste the drink. The drink can be infused for several years.
How to drink plum brandy
Proper drinking of plum brandy made according to the Serbian recipe is very important. First of all, you need to understand that this is strong alcohol, which is consumed mainly before meals. Suitable for use with hot meats. Serbs prefer not to have a bite of the first glass in order to properly feel the whole delicate taste of the drink. Experienced winemakers do not advise mixing brandy with juices or other drinks, otherwise an unpleasant taste will appear and the delicate aroma will disappear. Potatoes, meat, and cornmeal bread are used as snacks.
Conclusion
Slivovitz is the national pride of Serbia. Plum brandy is treated to tourists, but to try this wonderful drink it is not necessary to visit Serbia. You can make delicious alcohol from plums that have grown in the country. The recipe is simple, the ingredients are also ordinary, and you can buy a moonshine distiller in a store or make it yourself. And the basics of the technology do not differ from the production of any fruit alcohol with a strength above 30%. It is important to understand that plum brandy is not wine, but a stronger drink, the production involves the process of distillation. This drink is tasty and healthy, but drinking it in large quantities is unhealthy.
