Chokeberry, or black chokeberry, is a fruit shrub that reaches a height of no more than 2 m. It belongs to the Rosaceae family. Flowering occurs in May, the fruits ripen by September.
It is necessary
- - 5 kg of chokeberry;
- - 170 ml of alcohol 70%;
- - 330 ml of vodka;
- - 230 g of sugar;
- - 150 ml of water;
Instructions
Step 1
To prepare the black chokeberry liqueur, it is necessary to select the ripe berries. Remove all debris, roots, twigs, stems. Rinse thoroughly with warm water and drain off excess liquid. Such preparation of berries for further processing is the key to obtaining a quality drink. The quality of the liqueur will not become worse if some of the berries are mint.
Step 2
Using a pusher or blender, grind the berries until smooth. It is necessary to grind in small portions, because the blackberry berries are very dense. Place the berries 2/3 into a large-necked bottle.
Step 3
Then pour in alcohol and vodka so that it is 3-5 cm above the level of the berries. Close the bottle tightly with a plastic lid and place in a warm place for 20 days. The optimum temperature for fermentation is 23-28 ° C, at a lower temperature the fermentation process slows down or may stop altogether. Do not fill the container to the very edge, because the volume increases during fermentation. During fermentation, you should also not open the lid, since alcohol, when interacting with oxygen, forms acetic acid, and in the future the drink can become sour.
Step 4
After 20 days, the tincture must be filtered through a fine sieve or several layers of gauze with a layer of cotton wool. The berries must be left for further processing.
Step 5
Add sugar syrup to the strained liqueur, for this mix sugar with water, mix everything well. Bottle, it is better to use dark glass bottles. Place in a cool place for 10-12 weeks to ripen.
Step 6
After the chokeberry liqueur is ready, it must be filtered 2-3 more times to remove the sediment.
Step 7
As a result, you get a liqueur with a strength of 10-30 degrees. You can store it for two years. The taste is slightly bitter and astringent, and the color can vary from red to deep purple.
Step 8
If the drink turns out to be strong, then you can slightly lower the degree. To do this, add the remaining berries and sugar in a 2: 1 ratio. Expose to sunlight and leave for a few days until the sugar is completely dissolved. Strain the resulting juice and dilute the finished liqueur to the desired concentration. You can get juice from berries in this way up to 3-4 times.
Step 9
It should be remembered that chokeberry liqueur can lower blood pressure, so people with low blood pressure need to drink this drink carefully.
