Saturday, January 9, 2010

Cranberry Liqueur - Update


I finally strained and decanted the Cranberry Liqueur that I had made in November and had planned to use to toast the New Year. A little more than a week late but what a difference a week makes!
I first spotted the recipe at Inn Cuisine in November and since I am a big fan of cranberries knew I would have to try the recipe. FYI, Wisconsin is one of several Midwest states where cranberries are a major commercial crop.



I started my batch of cranberry liqueur on November 18. The strained liqueur was a beautiful, rich red.



I made a spritzer for myself adding a splash of club soda to the liqueur.


My husband tried it full-strength in a cordial glass. I much preferred the unadulterated taste of the liqueur on its own. It was delicious!

 
You can find the original recipe for the Cranberry Liqueur at here at Inn Cuisine. I have added my adapted version of recipe below.

Cranberry Liqueur

Recipe adapted from Big Mill Bread and Breakfast's Festive Cranberry Liqueur and found at Inn Cuisine
Printable Recipe

1 cup water
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups fresh cranberries, washed & bad berries sorted out, discarding any bad berries*
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
Rind of one lemon, cut into strips - being careful not to include white pith which can turn the liqueur bitter
2 cups quality orange-infused vodka

Combine water and sugar in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer sugar syrup for five minutes, making sure the sugar is completely dissolved.

Add the cranberries, grated orange zest and lemon rind strips. Remove syrup from heat and cool. Pour the mixture into a food processor and pulse until the berries are just slightly chopped. Add orange-infused vodka and stir.

Pour into a large glass jar (I found mine at Target), cover and store in a cool, dark place for three weeks, stirring every few days. I stored mine in the refrigerator.

At the end of three weeks (longer if you can stand it), strain the mixture several times using a mesh strainer or cheesecloth until you see no berry residue. The vodka-soaked cranberries can be reserved for another use.

Pour liqueur into glass jars. Cover and store both the liqueur and the reserved pulp in the refrigerator.

Yield: 2 ½ to 3 cups liqueur.

This recipe can be doubled or tripled.

*If you can't buy fresh cranberries, frozen cranberries can be substituted. Just reduce the amount of water.

To your health!

27 comments:

  1. I am pretty sure it is never too late to celebrate with some cranberry liqueur! Wow this sounds amazing. I love cranberries and I so I know I would love this. It could be dangerous to have around, however. I would have to hide the bottle from myself...

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  2. That is just beautiful......years ago my friend my tangerine liqueur in a earthen ware vase......I was so intrigued by that!!! Maybe I should give it a go some time!!

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  3. The new header is great too..Glad you are better!

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  4. What a gorgeous color and fantastic photos. I just started my yearly batch of Limonchello and Grand Mariner. I let it sit 40 days with the lemon or orange rinds in the vodka! I swear by letting it sit. I am never disappointed.
    Cheers!
    Really Rainey

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  5. Looks good and so pretty in the different glasses. Love the b/w photo with only the liquer in red!! You are getting so good at PS!!
    I was going to start limoncello to have for Christmas but totally forgot - need to get some made, but first a trip to get the vodka!
    Great job!

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  6. Good to hear you are feeling better, I just saw your strawberry salad and it looks just what we need and delicious too. We love cranberries and need to try making liqueur. I love your stemware. Kathy

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  7. Too bad you missed this to toast in 2010! It's beautiful! I just made Pomegrante Vodka, so fun to try the different flavors.

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  8. Sorry to hear you were under the weather. Your cranberry liqueur looks gorgeous. I love all things cranberry and will be giving this a try :)

    Warm Wishes!
    Gail

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  9. Such a pretty color!
    Glad you are feeling better!

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  10. I'm so happy to hear you are feeling better Susan.

    Your Cranberry Liqueur is gorgeous ~ and it's YOUR color, too! Everytime I see something beautiful and vibrant in red I think of you. :)

    Love the new look of your blog. xo

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  11. Beautiful liqueur, Susan ... The post is lovely ... Not much is prettier than your crystal and red liqueur.

    I had no idea that Wisconsin was the leading producer of cranberries in the U.S. I always think of Washington and Massachusetts.

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  12. I've never made cranberry liqueur -- but I do orange, peach and apricot. Homemade liqueur is delicious -- and such a sense of accomplishment!

    Visit Linderhof and see the byproduct of the apricot liqueur.

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  13. Susan, that looks delicious! Cranberries and orange... a favorite here for sure! Picture perfect too! I'm going to love catching up with you... missed too much while I was away!

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  14. This is gorgeous Susan! I think I could use a swig too..I've picked up a bad cough. You are such an inspiration...you make me want to do this.

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  15. Susan,

    So beautiful....I love the orange..and I am in love with your blog header.

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  16. I remember when you first wrote about this recipe. I was intrigued!
    Unfortunately I only found one bag of cranberries this year and they were used up quickly in other things.
    Next year I must try! It looks gorgeous!

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  17. I remember this. Looks so pretty! I'll save this for next year!

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  18. What a marvelous color and love hearing it tastes as good as it looks! I remember reading the first post about it. I will try this next year.
    (Love the new header, Susan)

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  19. Love the color Susan! Glad you are feeling better.

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  20. I'm so happy you are feeling better, Susan. It's no fun being under the weather at holiday time.

    I'm very fond of cranberries and know I would love this beautiful liqueur.

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  21. Gorgeous!

    How funny, even your liqueur is RED :)

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  22. What a gorgeous color! And I'm saving this recipe for next year! I've got a recipe for a Chocolate Liqueur that I've thought about making and I might just start it this week. Might be nice to toast the last snow storm of the year which is usually the 2nd week in March!

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  23. I'm going to try this--it's a liquid jewel. And cranberries are so healthy!

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  24. This is beautiful. Just lovely.

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  25. I agree with everyone - it is a thing of beauty in the glass, a liquid jewel for sure. I am definitely going to try this one sometime.

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  26. In December I too made this very wonderful Cranberry Liqueur. I added orange and lemon peel along with the juice of both. Added a cinnamon stick and watched it turn red. The drink is truly amazing. We liked it best with Champagne:)

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