In the 90s of the last century, Amaretto was very popular among Russians. This is one of the first foreign liqueurs that appeared on the shelves of our stores, many people remember its pleasant almond taste. But gradually they began to forget about this drink and now it is difficult to find it on sale. I propose to solve the problem in the simplest way – to cook homemade Amaretto according to a special recipe. This is easier to do than it seems. I will tell you about all the nuances.
Amaretto – This is a sweet Italian liqueur of dark brown color with a strength of 21-28 degrees, made on the basis of almonds, apricot pits and spices. The taste of Amaretto is reminiscent of marzipan, a confection made from flour and nuts. This liqueur first appeared in 1525 in the Italian region of Saronno.
Amaretto is a dessert liqueur. It is customary to drink it in its pure form with ice or add it to a mug with tea and coffee. Amaretto goes well with fruits, chocolate, nuts, ice cream. Other snacks are usually not served with it.
Due to the availability of ingredients and ease of preparation, Amaretto liqueur can be made at home. By strictly adhering to the technology, you will get a drink whose taste will be as close as possible to the original.
Classic Amaretto Recipe
Ingredients:
- vodka – 0,5 liters;
- apricot kernels – 50 grams;
- Almonds – 50 grams;
- water – 150 ml;
- granulated sugar – 350 grams;
- vanilla sugar – 2 teaspoons;
- cinnamon – 1 pinch;
- instant coffee – 3 grams;
- cloves – 2 bud;
- allspice – 3-4 peas.
Problems can only arise with apricot kernels. They are difficult to find in stores, so you have to extract them yourself from apricot seeds. Due to the laboriousness of this process, most homemade amaretto recipes do not use kernels. But without them, the taste of the liquor is not as rich and differs from the original.
Preparation
1. Pour boiling water over almonds, leave for 3-5 minutes, peel.
2. Dry the almonds until golden in a dry frying pan. 1-2 minutes before the end of frying, add cloves and pepper.
3. Wash the apricot kernels, add cinnamon to them and mix.
4. Pour roasted almonds and apricot kernels into a clean, dry glass bottle or jar.
5. Prepare sugar syrup. To do this, pour sugar into a non-stick pan, add 50 ml of water and heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has a caramel color. Then add vanilla sugar, 100 ml of water and mix.
6. Slowly pour the resulting sugar syrup into a jar of nuts.
7. After the mixture has cooled to room temperature, add vodka and coffee.
8. Close the bottle tightly, shake several times and put in a dark cool place for 30-35 days. During the infusion, I recommend periodically shaking the bottle (3-4 times a week).
9. Filter the finished homemade Amaretto through cheesecloth and pour into beautiful bottles for serving. In a dark, cool place, this liqueur can be stored for several years.
