Quince liqueur and liqueur: 10 recipes at home
Say what you will, but there is something paradoxical about quince. I would even say offensive. Possessing such indisputable advantages as unconditional usefulness, unique aroma and frank aesthetics, these fruits are absolutely inedible in their original form.
One of the best ways to appreciate all the delights of quince is to use it for making liqueurs and liqueurs. By the way, even an authentic tincture of these insidious fruits cannot be made, since they are so sour that you cannot do without sugar.
Tips before you start
For alcoholic purposes, any kind of quince is suitable: ordinary, nutmeg, pear or Japanese (aka henomeles). At the same time, the latter is considered the best option, given its most expressive flavor.
The fruits used should be as ripe and aromatic as possible, but at the same time free from rot, mold and other similar defects.
If you replace beet sugar with honey or fructose, reduce the amount specified in the recipe by 1/3 (for example: 300 g of honey instead of 450 g of sugar).
In most cases, any neutral strong alcohol is suitable as an alcoholic base: vodka, alcohol or well-purified moonshine. But if you want to create something really worthwhile, use a good quality homemade fruit and berry brandy: chacha, grappa, raki, calvados, plum, etc.
Making quince alcohol requires a lot of patience. The period of its clarification, accompanied by repeated filtration, most often, can last up to six months.
The simplest quince liqueur
Some, given the ease of preparation, even tend to call it a tincture.
List of ingredients
Quince - 500 g
Alcohol (40-50 degrees) - 800 ml
Sugar - 400 g
Citric acid (optional) - 1.4 ч. л.
Vanillin (optional) - on the tip of a knife
The method of preparation
Cut the clean quince, devoid of seeds, peel and other vegetable excesses, into small slices or grate on a coarse grater (if you want to give the liqueur a bitter taste, you can leave the seeds and peel, and cut the fruit into rings).
Put fruit in a jar, add sugar and pour alcohol.
Send a tightly closed container to a cool, dark place for a month and a half (during the first two weeks, the vessel should be shaken once every two days, and then increase the interval to seven days).
Strain the liquid through cheesecloth, squeeze out the pulp and pass it twice through a thick filter.
Add vanilla and acid if desired.
Pour the drink into a clean jar, close it hermetically and send it to the basement for one and a half to two months.
In case of sediment, the contents of the container must be filtered.
After final clarification, pour the drink into a bottle, cork and return to the cellar for a few more months for full maturation.
Quince liqueur with ginger
In principle, ginger can be supplemented with many other spices (cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, star anise, vanilla, nutmeg or even grated bitter almonds) at the rate of 1-2 grams per liter of drink.
List of ingredients
Quince - 500 g
Alcohol (40-50 degrees) - 500 ml
Chopped ginger root - 25-30 g
The method of preparation
Peel the washed fruit, remove the seeds and cut into small slices.
Put them in a jar, add ginger and sugar, then close the container and shake well (you can add other spices at the same stage).
Keep the vessel on a sunny windowsill for 3 days, shaking it four times a day.
When abundant juice appears, add alcohol, close the jar tightly and shake its contents vigorously again.
Put the container in a dark, warm place for a month, continuing to shake it every 3 days.
After the specified period, strain the liquid, squeeze the cake into it, pour it into a clean container, close it tightly and leave it in the cellar for two months to clarify.
After the final removal of turbidity, bottle the drink and, if you have enough moral strength, keep it cool for another month or two.
Triple liqueur
The recipe is quite laborious, but the result is worth it.
List of ingredients
Quince - 1 kg
Undiluted food alcohol (95.6 degrees) - 1 liter
Sugar - 1 kg
Drinking non-carbonated water - according to the situation
Cooking method
Cut the washed, peeled, gutted fruits into slices, put them in a jar and cover with sugar.
Close the container and leave it in a dark room at room temperature, shaking it vigorously every day.
Wait for the sugar to turn into syrup (you should get from 700 ml to a liter of liquid), remove it from the pulp and put it in the refrigerator.
Prepare a solution of a liter of alcohol and 500 ml of water.
Pour it over the fruit, close tightly and leave for a week in a warm, dark place.
After the specified period, pour the alcohol into a clean container and close it tightly.
Pour water over the quince, covering the flesh with your finger.
Close the container and return it to a dark, warm room for another week.
Then, drain the water, mix it with the first drain and syrup from the refrigerator.
Send the finished drink in a tightly closed jar to the basement for clarification.
After the final removal of the sediment and the liquor acquires a clear golden color, pour the drink into dark glass bottles, seal them hermetically and return them to the basement until the first appropriate feast.
Japanese Karinshu liqueur
In the Land of the Rising Sun, this drink is considered a liqueur. But in terms of technology, this is the most unique liquor.
List of ingredients
Japanese quince - 1 kg
Sake with a strength of 35 degrees - 1.8 liters
Sugar - from 300 g to 1 kg
The method of preparation
Rinse the fruit with hot boiled water and pat dry.
Cut the fruit prepared in this way into rings along with the seeds (the thickness of the rings should be about a centimeter).
Put quince rings in a jar, sprinkling them with layers of sugar.
Add sake, seal the container and send it to the basement or other cool, dark place for six months.
After this period, strain the liquid, lightly squeeze the pulp into it and pass it through a thick filter several times.
Pour the drink into bottles, seal them hermetically and, armed with samurai coolness, send them to the cellar for another six months.
Drink as a digestif.
Quince liqueur with rum and zest
If you like the combination of quince and orange offered here, you can safely use it in other recipes.
List of ingredients
Quince - 1 kg
Neutral alcohol (40-50 degrees) - 500 ml
Light rum - 100 ml
Honey - 50 g
Sugar - 250 g
Orange - 1 piece
The method of preparation
Cut the washed peeled fruits with the core cut out into pieces, place in a jar and cover with sugar.
Put a tightly closed container in a warm, dark place for several days, shaking it every 5-6 hours.
After waiting for the sugar to dissolve completely, add honey and alcohol to the jar.
Peel the zest from the orange without touching the white pith.
Throw away half of the zest, add half to the future drink.
Squeeze the juice from the peeled orange and pour it into the same jar.
Close the container tightly, shake thoroughly and leave for a month and a half in a cool, dark place.
Then, decant the liquid, run it through a cotton gauze filter several times and bottle it (before bottling, you can leave the drink in a hermetically sealed jar for a month to clarify).
In general, it is highly desirable to keep the liqueur in the basement for 2-4 months.
Quince liqueur-ratafia
Three recipes of frankly noble origin follow.
List of ingredients
Quince - 1 kg
Undiluted alcohol (95.6 degrees) - 500 ml
Sugar - 250-400 g
Cloves - 2-3 pieces
Grated nutmeg - 1 g
The method of preparation
Gut the washed, peeled fruits thoroughly and grate them.
Put the pulp in a jar, cover with sugar, close tightly, shake and send for 2-3 days in a dark, warm place.
After making sure that the fruits have given abundant juice, add spices to the container and pour alcohol over everything.
Shake the tightly closed jar vigorously and return to its original place, repeating the shaking procedure every 5-7 days.
After a month and a half, skim the liquid from the sediment, filter thoroughly several times and bottle (as in other cases, clarification is desirable).
Keep the drink in the cellar or refrigerator for as long as possible (ideally up to six months).
Spiced quince casserole liqueur with spices
Quince, which benefits significantly from heat treatment, is an ideal base for old-fashioned casseroles.
List of ingredients
Quince - 1 kg
Vodka - 600 ml
Water - 500 ml
Sugar - 250 g
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Badian - 4 stars
Cloves - 2-3 pieces
The method of preparation
Cut the washed fruit into quarters and free from seeds.
Put the fruit prepared in this way in a wide, thick-bottomed saucepan, sprinkle with sugar and put on fire.
Fry for a few minutes until the sugar caramelizes.
Make a small fire, then add water and spices to the pan.
Keep the container on fire until the liquid turns into a thick, almost jelly-like mass.
Remove the vessel from the stove and let its contents cool and infuse.
After about an hour, strain the syrup through cheesecloth and mix it with vodka (the remaining mass can be used for confectionery purposes).
Close the future drink tightly, shake well and send it to a cool, dark place for a month to mature.
Filter and bottle the finished casserole.
Put the bottles in the cellar and forget about them for a couple of months. The drink will only benefit from this..
Count's quince casserole
This drink is prepared like the previous one. The only difference is related to vanilla. The pod, divided by the number of bottles, is added to the finished casserole immediately after bottling.
List of ingredients
Quince - 1 kg
Vodka - 600 ml
Water - 500 ml
Sugar (preferably cane) - 250-400 g
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Saffron - 1 pinch
Badjan - 4 stars
Nutmeg flower (mace) - 2-3 pieces
Vanilla - 1 pod
In conclusion, you will learn how to make quince liqueur in two original ways.
Italian quince liqueur
Grape distillate (grappa, chacha, rakia) is the best alcoholic base for the drink. In the absence of such, it is permissible to use any fruit brandy or neutral grain alcohol.
The list of ingredients
Large quince - 10 pieces
Alcohol (40-50 degrees) - 1 liter
Water - 500 ml
Sugar - 500 g
Bitter almonds - 15 pieces
Cinnamon - 2 sticks
Cloves - 10 pieces
Grated nutmeg - 1 tsp.
Method of preparation
Peel, gut and cut the washed fruit into small strips.
Put them in a jar, add sugar, spices and almonds, then pour alcohol.
Transfer the tightly closed container to a cool, dark place for 2 months.
After the specified period, boil sugar syrup.
Strain the quince infusion while the syrup is cooling, lightly squeeze the pulp into it and filter it thoroughly.
Mix the resulting liquid with syrup cooled to room temperature.
Pour the liquor into bottles, seal them and send them to the basement to mature for 3-4 months.
Quince and apple liqueur
They say that this stuff tastes good not only in its pure form, but also in tandem with sparkling wines.
List of ingredients
Large quince - 3 pcs.
Large apples (for example: Fuji) - 3 pcs.
Ordinary brandy or cognac - 750 ml
Water - 250 ml
Sugar - 500 g
Cloves - 2 pcs.
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Orange zest without white pith - 2 strips of 7.5 cm each
The method of preparation
Wash quince and apples, peel, core and cut into small slices.
Preheat the oven to a temperature of 190 degrees.
Put the prepared fruits on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake for 30-35 minutes until lightly caramelized (stir the fruit pieces slightly every 10 minutes).
At the same time, make simple sugar syrup.
Put the finished fruit in a heat-resistant container, pour hot syrup over it, and then add the zest and spices.
Transfer the cooled mixture to a suitable jar and pour brandy so that the alcohol covers the fruit mass.
Put the tightly closed container in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks, shaking it every 2 days.
After the specified period, strain the liquor through cheesecloth, pass through a thick filter and bottle.
It is best to store the drink in the refrigerator.
Update: 15.12.2017
Category: Liqueurs and Tinctures