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2007.03.27

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Janet

Can you store it in the refrigerator?

Beautiful pictures, btw :-)

carlyn

Amy;
Thank you for the recipe!!! I'm going to try this when strawberry season rolls around in CT> This sounds delicious!!!

Jason Truesdell

Hiromi and I went strawberry picking last year and we used a small amount of the strawberries for a little more than 1 liter of strawberry liqueur... even with only a modest amount of sugar it turned out very sweet, though I did use an insanely high-proof vodka (150 proof) that may have extracted more of the sugars from the fruit... It's too sweet, and too alcoholic, to drink straight, but works great in cocktails with lemon juice and soda and something less sweet (like more vodka or some gin).

Amy

Janet,
I've never tried. I suppose if it was the only suitable place then the fridge would be fine. And when it's done and the fruit is drained, the fridge is probably the best place to keep it. I think liqueurs will continue to develop when stored outside of the fridge, which can be good for umeshu (have you ever tried a dark brown decades-old umeshu?). But I'm not sure what would happen to strawberry liqueur after extended room temperature storage. Maybe I'll do an experiment with this stuff- thanks for the idea!

Carlyn,
If CT is similar to southern Ontario, I guess that's June and July? I'll be making a visit home then, which means I get to enjoy two strawberry seasons this year!

Jason,
Well, I think umeshu (and only a well-made one) is the only fruit liqueur I really like to drink straight, so very sweet is kind of what I'm going for.
What kind of vodka did you use? I find the white liquor and lower-end vodkas to be a bit harsh, so I'm looking for a good, but not too terribly expensive, base for my next liqueur.


Jason Truesdell

I usually just use Gordon's or Gilbey's vodka when I make an infused gin... fancier ones seem to get lost in infusion, since the sugar and fruit usually become the dominant flavors (I did use Absolut once and it was a waste of expensive vodka).

However, I rarely start drinking fruit-infused liqueurs until at least 4 months in. They are usually harsh at 2-3 months... my lychee infusions usually start tasking drinkable after 2 months, but mellow out considerably after 3 or 4, and continue to evolve after that. Umeshu isn't usually nice until at least 5 or 6 months, and longer if the sugar quantity is low. Karin-shu is usually at its best after 6 months, too.

Matcha-infused gin with some sugar usually tastes good after about a week, though.

The high-proof vodka I used with the strawberries sped up the infusion quite a lot... It was surprisingly sweet and deeply red very quickly... within a week or two I forget the brand name, but I anticipated the result would be sweet, so I wasn't going for sippability; just mixability.

A friend tells my his mother-in-law use Remy Martin Cognac as a base for umeshu and it was the best one he has ever tried :P I suspect if you try some non-neutral spirits you could get more complexity in those 3 months, and you'll have something that's smoother to begin with.

Jason Truesdell

ack... I meant to say "when I make an infused vodka"... I also make some infused gins, but rarely fruit ones :)

j-ster

Hmmm, I totally covet one of those jars. I wonder whether my boy or bro could bring one over...? Im sure I could look around here for a substitute, but I miss those particular jars.

Angelina

I want the jar too! I made a strawberry liqueur once and it didn't turn out well. Much to sweet so that it actually kind of obscured the berry flavor.

I wish I could get my hands on some 100 proof vodka or some white lightening. You've got me wanting to try making some again this year.

I really enjoyed this post!

Amy

Jason, that's interesting. I'd never considered that the proof of the alcohol could be a factor in the speed of infusion. Oooh, and I'd love to use Remy Martin as a liqueur base!

J-ster, they probably could, but the jars are so big and heavy it wouldn't be easy. I wonder if one could be shipped?

Thanks Angelina! I hope your liqueur turns out nicely this year.

paula

hello
i have a few questions before ventuering into making these liqueurs...
first, can i use any kind of fruit? like peaches, apples or pears? what about banannas?
next, granulated cane sugar is ok to use?
finally...the when you say 3 1/2 baskets of strawberries, do you mean the little pint sized green baskets?

i can't wait til this weekend to try my hand at these. we live in an 100 year old house with a root cellar...perfect!
iam thinking of making several different flavors and giving little bottles of it (if it is yummy) as xmas gifts!
paula

andrea

hi,
i made the strawberry liquer 3 weeks ago and used white sugar. the sugar has sunk to the bottom and has not dissolved (i guess rock sugar is the best to use). any ideas on what i should do (stir it around, add rock sugar)?
thanks!
-a

btw: i found your blog by accident months ago and love it! it's so useful. i really want to visit japan!

Amy

Paula, Wow-- a 100-year-old root cellar? How lucky!
I think pretty much any fruit can be used, but the recipe might vary a bit for each one. Your best bet is to do an online search. Granulated sugar is fine, and the packs of strawberries sold here in Japan have about 300 grams worth of strawberries.

Thanks Andrea! Don't worry about the sugar, it takes time to dissolve. Some recipes call for sugar syrup, but I there's nothing wrong with using regular sugar and waiting for it to dissolve on its own.

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