Fruit For Grown-Ups

20 May 2010, by gj

Homemade brandy is simple to make and a wonderful gift to give (not to mention enjoying yourself.) My personal favorite is Pear-Raspberry, but my friends like Blueberry the best. Experiment!
You will need a plastic food-grade container. You can buy them at a local hobby shop, or if you are making a large batch like I do, you can usually get them from an area restaurant or the deli department of your neighborhood food store. As long as it is meant for food, that’s all that matters. (And that it never held hot peppers). If it is used, be sure it is quite clean.
Ingredients:
About 2 lbs. or 4 cups of your favorite fruit/fruits.
1 ½ cups of sugar
If you are not using berries, add ½ cup of honey (If you are using peaches for example)
1/5 vodka

Always be sure you use clean unbruised fruit. Remove any stems or pits. Cut up the fruit and mix with the sugar/honey. If you have large fruit pieces, mashing can help. I use a net bag (new clean pantyhose works well, too) to help with the straining done later.
Mix it well and cover the opening of the container tightly with plastic wrap. Let it go for a day. Add the vodka and mix.
I should say here that the better the vodka the better the product, to some extent. The longer it sits does more to improve the flavor. So if you are in a hurry, get good vodka.
If you can, let this sit 4-6 months. (I have a hard time getting past 3 months). Strain and bottle.
Be sure to select bottles that are meant for food. Although it’s fun to pick up fancy bottles at yard sales, you never really know what has been in them.
PS Don’t throw out what you strain! Although it looks nasty, it sure tastes good over ice cream or pancakes (be careful, though; it also packs a wallop!)
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