My advice – don’t be lazy, you too go to the cranberries on one of the next holidays. These berries are real health bombs, but also one of the most sour berries, you won’t eat much by themselves. Therefore, you need to think about how to prepare them. If fresh berries do not go in, you should try something else – you can boil them in syrup, roll them in powdered sugar, make jam. But you can also prepare alcoholic infusions.
Cranberries with lemon balm
A very good infusion for the wet autumn and winter months that are inevitably approaching. Shoot 20-30 grams in the evening with hot tea.
There is nothing complicated in the preparation, it will take 15 minutes. The given amount of ingredients will make a couple of small bottles.
Ingredients: 300 g of cranberries a small handful of lemon balm leaves 200 g of caramel sugar (in pieces) 0.5 l of vodka
Preparation:
1. Pick the cranberries and rub them in a container. It is better to use lemon balm fresh, but if it is not available, you can also use dried.
2. Squeeze the berries a little in a pestle – just enough so that the cranberries are better able to give their benefits. If you have time and patience, the ideal option is not to press, but to prick each berry with a fork or other sharp object. Then mix the cranberries with lemon balm leaves.
3. Put cranberries with lemon balm leaves in a large jar and sprinkle sugar on top.
4. Pour vodka over everything and close the jar tightly. Shake and keep at room temperature for three weeks. Then it is filtered and filled in small bottles.
Cranberries with juniper berries
An interesting infusion – both juniper berries and cumin give the drink a unique taste and aroma, so it can be used in cooking, for example, added to a sauce. It can also be used as an aperitif – it tastes best chilled in the freezer.
Preparation is simple, it will also take about 15 minutes. The given amount of ingredients will make a couple of small bottles.
Ingredients: 500 g cranberries 6-7 juniper berries half a teaspoon cumin 125 ml water 200 g caramel sugar (in pieces)
Preparation:
1. Put the cranberries in a bowl and press them a little with a wooden pestle.
2. Crush the juniper berries and cumin in a stone pestle.
3. Place the slightly pressed cranberries in an enameled pot, mix with spices and add water. Everything is heated, but not boiled!
4. Pour the heated berries into a jar, cool, add caramel sugar and pour over vodka. There at room temperature for at least six weeks, then filtered and bottled.
Cranberry liqueur for Christmas
Although it’s still +20 degrees outside this week, the end of the year is not far away. At Christmas, you will want to enjoy yourself as well as gift your friends and relatives with home-made delicacies. One such could be a small bottle of this cranberry liqueur.
Ingredients: 1 kg of cranberries 1 liter of vodka 1 vanilla pod piece of ginger (about 40 g) 500 g of caramel sugar (in pieces)
Preparation:
1. Peel the ginger and cut it into slices.
2. Cut the vanilla pods into pieces, cut the side and scrape out the mass of dark seeds with a knife or spoon – it gives the real vanilla aroma, but in this recipe you can also safely add the pod pieces themselves.
3. Pick the cranberries, press lightly with a pestle – cranberries have a thick skin, so it will not burst by itself. Crush half a berry in a large, cleanly washed jar. Then add slices of ginger, pieces of sugar, parts of the vanilla pod and dark seed mass, then cranberries again.
4. Pour vodka over everything. Close the jar tightly (so that no steam escapes) and put it in a dark place for at least 3-4 weeks. Stir for a while so that the flavors come together better.
5. Then filter (you can use filters for coffee machines), taste (if necessary, you can add more sugar syrup), bottle and store in a cool, dark place.
Source: www.diena.lv
