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The other day I went with my friends to the village to rest, to my grandfather. He is an old school man with standard village traditions. This, of course, is the preparation of moonshine, and evening “tea parties”. Here we are on a similar feast.
The older generation began to teach me and my friends how to live competently. And the obligatory rule of life is to drink only real pure Russian moonshine. And nothing more! Having succumbed to an active discussion, I got involved in an argument.
And he said that my homemade cranberry tincture is in no way inferior to the village exclusive. By the way, it is absolutely easy to cook it, and the result will be excellent even if you cook it on moonshine, even on vodka.
The story was shared by blog subscriber Anatoly.
What ingredients and equipment will be needed
There are a lot of cranberry tincture recipes, but I prefer the classic one. No special equipment is required for its preparation. Only a saucepan or a glass jar will come in handy.
For a classic tincture, 3 ingredients are needed:
- frozen cranberries – 250 gr. (I bought a package of 300 grams in Pyaterochka for 259 rubles);
- vodka “Belenkaya” – 0,5 l (purchased in the same minimarket for a promotion for 249 rubles);
- sugar – 2 tablespoons (per kilogram – 46 rubles).
To prepare the tincture, I recommend using frozen cranberries. After defrosting, they will give more juice and make the alcohol as saturated as possible. If you bought fresh cranberries, sort them out. Unripe and bad berries are unsuitable for tincture! Then put in the freezer for a day.
The products of the “Red Price” are considered to be of insufficient quality, which is why the price for it is low. But not for the first time I buy their frozen cranberries – I am satisfied. Therefore, I recommend you.
Sugar can be replaced with honey. Determine the quantity according to your preferences. Since cranberries will add sourness to the drink, you can add more sweets.
The cooking process
To begin with, I defrost the cranberries, pour them into a container and knead well with a mortar. You should get a thick gruel, without whole berries. Then I put it in a jar, fill it with vodka (or moonshine), close it and shake it vigorously.
You need to knead the cranberries until you get such a scarlet gruel.
I put the prepared mixture in the corner of the room near the battery and cover it with a towel. Unlike most settings, cranberry needs to be infused strictly warm, not cold. But the balloon should not be exposed to sunlight.
After 2 weeks, shake the jar, open it, add sugar, mix. I leave for another day, then filter through cheesecloth. I put it in the refrigerator, so that later I can taste the chilled tincture.
What will be the result
Despite the large amount of vodka, neither its smell nor taste is particularly felt in the tincture. Cranberry has the ability to level alcohol and make it almost imperceptible.
The color is scarlet, saturated. The aroma is pleasant, berry. The taste is sour, but quite soft, refreshing. By strength, about 25-30%, which is quite a bit for tincture (the percentage is reduced due to the combination of berries with alcohol).
After filtration, the tincture is clean, transparent.
This is not the first time I have made cranberry tincture according to this recipe. And I want to give advice – the longer it is infused, the tastier the result is. I recommend to withstand not the minimum period of 2 weeks, but at least a month.
As a result, I received about 0,7 liters of excellent tincture for a small price. Profitable at cost. I spent 554 rubles on the purchase of products. At the same time, both cranberries and sugar remained in stock. If you take moonshine instead of vodka, then it will turn out even cheaper.
How to serve and with what to use
Cranberry tincture is only infused in heat, and it must be stored exclusively in a cool place. If you keep the bottle in the refrigerator, the tincture will be served chilled, as is customary. If you taste it immediately after preparation, I recommend trying it by adding a piece of ice to the glass.
Cranberry tincture will be a great addition to dinner. It goes well with any meat dishes. In the form of a light snack, I recommend sausage and cheese cuts.
Since the taste of cranberry tincture is sour, you can also snack on sweets. It goes well with chocolate, honey, confectionery.
I really like the simplest combination – a glass of cranberry tincture with a spoonful of honey.
Quite often I make cranberry tincture, but it is according to the classic recipe I described. The taste is very pleasant, although sour. I think it’s time to add variety to your experiments. Any advice on how to make cranberry juice?
Dear readers, remember that alcohol abuse harms your body. Take care of yourself!