Once I caught myself thinking that I was tired of sweet fruit and berry tinctures. Not that I completely and irrevocably stopped loving them, but I just wanted to, so to speak, diversify the menu.
Here, somehow, my father-in-law and I went to the bathhouse, and I felt such an amazing fresh aroma that I didn’t even immediately realize that it smelled like pine.
To my astonished expression, my father-in-law explained that he often uses cones to kindle a bath, and I came up with an amazing idea to make pine tincture! The only thing left to do is to beg for cones from the father-in-law!
This story was sent by blog subscriber Peter.
Ingredients and equipment
To prepare an experimental pine cone tincture, we need:
- distillate 65-80% – 3 l;
- pine cones – 1 kg;
- partitions of walnuts – 50-70 g;
- honey – 1 tbsp. l.
I would like to immediately make some clarifications regarding the ingredients.
Firstly, you can either buy 3 liters of distillate or moonshine or cook it yourself. If we talk about the cost of alcohol, then moonshine, of course, will cost less than pure distillate, but it should be understood that this will not affect the quality of the final product.
I had my own double-distilled alcohol, the cost of which was approximately 270 rubles per 1 liter.
Second, the time of year matters. Young pine cones can be collected from June to August in different regions of the country. But if the time for preparing the tincture fell in winter or spring, you can also use the cones of the old crop, which also will not affect the gastronomic properties of moonshine.
Of the equipment, we only need two 2-liter jars in which our infusion will be prepared, or other similar containers. The total capacity of the container must be at least 4 liters. I used a 5 liter bottle.
How to prepare cones
If you are using young buds, then pay attention to their quality. The fruits must be firm, at least 4 cm in length. Smaller pine cones can add extra bitterness to the tincture. If you have collected the cones along with the twigs, then they can also be used to make an infusion.
If you have cones from the last harvest, then they should also be sorted out, excluding spoiled or deformed fruits.
Further, in both cases, the cones must be washed well and scalded with boiling water. It is recommended to soak young cones for several hours at least once. The older the buds, the less processing the fruit should be.
When our cones are ready, we proceed to the preparation of the tincture itself.
The cooking process
The tincture recipe is extremely simple, and, as I mentioned above, does not require further distillation or distillation of alcohol.
We act in the following sequence:
- The container for moonshine must be scalded with boiling water.
- Cones and partitions from walnuts are placed at the bottom of the container. If you are using young buds, you can add some pine branches to the jar. The main thing is that the needles are not yellow and dry.
- Fill the cones with moonshine or distillate, close and put in a dark place for 2 weeks.
- After 14 days, open the container with the infusion and add one tablespoon of honey, mix and leave for another 3-4 days.
Our moonshine on pine cones is ready. It remains to strain our wonderful tincture and you can start tasting.
Result and cost
We should get an infusion of a pleasant cognac color. If young cones were used, then the color of the moonshine may give off greens. The transparency of the drink will depend on what base you used: if the tincture was made on the basis of moonshine, then it will be a little cloudy, which is normal.
Moonshine from cones will have a refreshingly tart aroma, with a slight hint of walnut. Honey will remove excessive bitterness and give the infusion a subtle sweetness.
Let’s calculate the cost of our pine tincture:
- 1 liter of distillate will cost approximately 270 rubles (1 liter of moonshine – 200 rubles).
- If you collected the cones yourself, then their cost is zero. If you buy cones, then 1 kg will cost from 150 to 750 rubles, depending on the statute of limitations for harvesting.
- Partitions of walnuts can be bought at a pharmacy: a pack of 50 g costs approximately 50 rubles.
- One tablespoon costs from 30 rubles.
In total, 1 liter of moonshine from pine cones will cost from 230 to 550 rubles, depending on the presence of the main ingredient and the choice of alcohol base.
I recommend using this moonshine 20-30 g in its pure form in the morning before breakfast (on weekends, of course) or add 1-2 tablespoons to tea if you don’t need to drive.
Now I want to try pine nuts tincture. Who knows how it’s done?