Strawberry liqueur

These are the makings of strawberry liqueur. Kind of a luxury product here in Japan where strawberries are ridiculously expensive-- the amount shown here, about 1 kg, was 1000 yen (about US $10), and that was a bargain. We'd normally expect to pay twice that, at the very least.

It was pure torture hulling the berries, since I'm not allowed to eat fruit yet, but I managed to finish the job without eating a single berry. We'll check on the liqueur in two months, and if it's ready we'll take out the fruit- the drunken berries should be great over ice cream. I hope to god I'll be allowed to actually eat that.

This follows the basic recipe for strawberry liqueur as made in Japan, where liqueur making--especially ume-shu (Japanese apricot liqueur)--is very popular. A clear 35% alcohol called "white liquor" is usually used here, but I think I'm going to use vodka from now on. I've just realized something: white liquor stinks. It doesn't seem to be a problem when making ume-shu, but that's probably just because ume-shu uses so much sugar. But with lower-sugar recipes the nastiness of the white liquor sems to come through. The first liqueur I made in Japan was limoncello (lemon liqueur) a few years back, but it didn't turn out well--I ended up dumping it because it seemed like the lemons had rotted or something. But now I'm thinking it was just the nasty white liquor, and I probably could have fixed it by adding more sugar and letting everything steep a bit longer. What a waste of lemons (another pricey fruit in Japan).

I went with the lesser amount of sugar but am now wondering if it's enough to tame the white liquor. I can always add more sugar later though, so I won't worry too much.

Strawberry liqueur

1 kilogram strawberries

4 to 5 lemons

200 to 300 grams kouri-zatou (rock sugar)

1800 ml white liquor (or vodka)

Wash the strawberries, drain well and set them to dry on paper towel-lined trays. Cut the peels from the lemons, removing as much of the white as possible. Cut lemons into 2 to 3 pieces.

Pour the liquor into a large clean and dry glass jar or bottle. When strawberries are completely dry, remove the leaves, dropping the hulled berries into the jar. Add the lemons and rock sugar.

Seal the jar and leave it in a cool, dark place for two months, or until the liqueur turns a nice red and the strawberries have lost their colour. Strain in a colander to remove the fruit and, if you like, strain again in a fine sieve or coffee filter to remove any tiny hairs or seeds from the berries. Transfer to a clean bottle. Liqueur can be drunk immediately but will improve with further aging.

Update: here is the liqueur after about two months (still stinky), and here it is after four (perfect). And two years later I tried a version with vanilla instead of lemons, which I liked much less.

Comments

[j-ster]

Oooh, now this looks fab! Kristen from mediatinker has a umeshu making demo video, but this looks much better! I will be using this in the near future i think. I also like the idea of using vodka instead of shochu.

(re glycemic index of daikon, i may have been wrong. Kristen, our diet guru, was warning us away from it... she did the research, i was just quoting her.)

[Amy]

Yes, I think vodka is the way to go. "White liquor" seems to be nothing more than cheap shochu with a different name. I guess the main reason people use it is because it's so cheap. But if you're already shelling out for strawberries, you might as well pay for some good vodka, right?
I found an Italian recipe for strawberry liqueur that uses a vanilla bean instead of lemons. I'll be doing my next batch that way- sounds really yummy.

I have to admit the strawberry liqueur looks good! But do give ume-shu a try. It's more labour intensive and it takes longer to mature than other fruit liqueurs, but it's worth it. And it has the added versatility of being good both hot and cold.
If I had the time, money and storage space, I'd be making fruit liqueurs with each fruit as it came into season. Mikan, strawberry, ume, cherry, peach, yuzu, apple...
Still not sure about the daikon, but if I ever go back on phase 1 I guess I'll avoid it just to be on the safe side.