Saturday, March 23, 2024

How To Infuse Vodka With Fruit

More Ideas For Infusing Vodka With Fruit

How to Infuse Vodka

And I felt so smug about my new fruit-infused-vodka-making abilities! Like I was a high-class bartender looking to change the world of cocktails forever! And so I decided to keep infusing. Infuse all the things! Strawberries! With boozy frozen strawberries as ice cubes in a martini! And Bing cherries! One with a big ol piece of fresh ginger in it, and one without. Ive only tried the plain cherry one so far, but the results were AMAZINGLY delicious. And soon very soon Ill be doing blueberries and then getting into more savory pursuits like lemon with rosemary and beets , along with any other summer fruits that strike my vodka-infusing fancy. Cheers!Have you ever infused vodka with fruits or other flavors before? What should I try infusing next? Jenn

What Alcohol To Use

You can use either 80-proof or 100-proof vodka to make fruit-flavored vodkas. 80-proof is easier to find in stores, and I prefer it in cocktails. 100-proof vodka will extract better fruit flavor, but I find that it can tend to taste a little hot or raw in cocktails. I like using 100-proof if Im planning to add simple syrup to make the vodka into a liqueur . You can also cut the 100-proof with a little water to taste.

You dont need to get fancy with the vodka either. The fruit becomes the dominant flavor, so I recommend skipping the fancy artisan vodkas and picking up something basic. I used Seagrams Extra-Smooth 80-Proof Vodka for this tutorial.

Vodka isnt the only liquor you can use, either! I love the idea of infusing other spirits with fruit what about a fig-infused bourbon? Or a grapefruit gin? Or a strawberry tequila for making daiquiris? This is a DIY rabbit hole: Embrace it.

Step : Buy An Inexpensive Bottle Of Vodka

There is absolutely no reason you need to buy an expensive bottle of vodka;for this project. The fruit youll be using will;provide the flavor, so theres no need to spring for an artisan bottle unless you just really want to. Skip anything with hints of vanilla, citrus, etc.any subtle flavors will be lost. 80-proof or 100-proof will work just fine.

Produce Moms Tip: Vodka can be made from various ingredients, including different types of grains. If you are on a gluten-free diet, be sure to choose a vodka that is made from something other than grains, like potatoes.

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How To Make Strawberry Infused Vodka

Pre-step

Get a freshly washed large jar, a strawberry huller and knife.

Step one

Gather the ingredients strawberries and vodka.

Step two

Wash the strawberries , dry them, and use the huller or knife to take off the leaf and the stem under it, leaving as much fruit as possible.

Step three

Slice the strawberries lengthwise and place the slices in the jar. Fill it halfway with the fruit.

Step four

Pour the vodka in the jar and over the strawberries.

Pour until the jar is half full and the strawberries are covered.

Step five

Cap the jar and gently shake the two ingredients together.

Step six

Leave the jar on the counter for 5 days, shaking it gently once each day.

Heres what it looks like after the 5 days. You can see toward the bottom how red the vodka got.

Step seven

Place a strainer over a large measuring bowl and pour the contents of the jar over the strainer.

Notice how pale the strawberries are? Toss them after they have drained.

If you have some bottles available, pour the vodka into them. You could also store it in a ball jar or other container you can pour from.

Would you just look at that color?

And wait until you taste it, you are in for a treat!

I hope you enjoyed this strawberry infused vodka recipe! Its so delicious.

And as always, may all your dishes/drinks be delish!

Choosing Your Base Spirit

Fruit Infused Vodka 04

A neutral alcohol like vodka is your safest bet when it comes to DIY infused booze because there are no flavors inherent to the spirit that will clash with your fruit. But you neednt limit yourself to vodka. Tequila, rum and gin can work nicely if you choose additives that complement the botanicals used in the distillation process. And darker spirits like brandy and bourbon work well if you pair your fruit with the toasty, caramel, and other complex notes present in barrel aged products.

In terms of quality, there is no need to buy tip-top-of-the-shelf alcohol. You will just be masking the finely curated flavor profile of that spirit, which is likely doing it a disservice. But dont buy garbage, either. Much like the wine you use in cooking, it should be affordable but something you enjoy drinking on its own.

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One: Know Your Base Alcohol

Your base is the booze that youre going to flavor. I recommend a nice mid-shelf, mid-price alcohol. Top shelf isnt necessary, but no infusion ingredients will make terrible rot-gut booze taste like anything other than a drain cleaning solvent, so find a comfortable middle ground of price and quality.

With all base liquors, the higher the proof, the more extraction power youre looking at. So an overproof gin or bourbon will pull more flavor from your infusion ingredients than an 80 proof version. If you are looking for maximal extraction of volatiles, as for a medicinal or culinary extract, 190 proof Everclear may be of use. I havent worked with the super-overproofs, but if you can speak to their use in infusions, please chime in!

How Do I Use Fruit

Think of these vodkas as adding another layer of flavor to your favorite cocktails. They can be shaken with ice for a very simple martini or combined with other liquors and bitters for more complex cocktails. Or, of course, use them to make grown-up jello shots!

Little bottles of fruit-flavored vodkas are also one of my favorite hostess gifts so much more fun and special than a bottle of wine, especially when it means giving a taste of summer in the middle of winter. You can use any bottle or jar with a tight-sealing lid , so get creative with your gift-giving!

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Vegetables Roots Herbs & Flowers

As with fruit, organic is better. Wash or scrub as appropriate. Root vegetables should be peeled and well trimmed. Anything particularly earthy can leave your base dirty tasting. Vegetables should infuse three days to a week. Taste often. Cucumber, beet, carrot and horseradish are all popular vegetable infusion ingredients.

Chop your vegetable into bite-size hunks or slices. Spicy peppers can be added whole or halved. If you want pepper flavor with less heat, remove seeds and ribs from fresh peppers before infusing.

Herbs and edible flowers should be rinsed and patted dry. The soft leafy herbs can be added in long sprigs and in fairly generous quantities. Strong flavored, woody herbs like rosemary should be used very carefully.

Some flowers have very distinctive flavors. If you arent confident about the flavor or strength of your edible flowers, go easy. A little lavender can add an enchanting backdrop to an infusion. Too much and youre drinking a soap cocktail.

I think most herbal and floral flavors do best in combination with other flavors. Think blackberry-rose tequila, strawberry-basil vodka or tangerine-bronze fennel gin. However, most fresh herbs peak at about 4 days of infusing. If you are combining herbs or flowers with another main flavor, I recommend starting your main infusion a few days before and adding the herbal component a bit later.

How To Make Fruit Vodkas

How to make fruit infused Polish vodka

Its no pretty jar of jam or row of canned tomatoes, I know, but I suspect that making your own fruit-flavored vodkas might just be the most fun way to preserve the season! This is also perfect for when youre not in the mood for a big preserving project, but want a quick way to make sure that handful of juicy berries, plump purple figs, or last peaches doesnt go to waste. Because a bottle of jewel-colored, summer fruit-infused vodka will never go to waste. Trust me on this.

I had always thought of fruit-infused vodkas as a Big Project requiring specially sourced liquor and months of waiting. In fact, it barely requires a tutorial like this one! Its as simple as choosing some ripe fruits, covering them with vodka, and waiting for a few days until the vodka tastes good to you. Once strained, this vodka can go into cocktails or pitcher drinks, or you can gift it to lucky friends in the months ahead.

I love single-fruit vodkas youre guaranteed to love the end result, and they tend to be the most versatile for crafting cocktails. But heck, you can get as fancy and crafty as you like! Combine fruits together, add spices or fresh herbs, and let out your inner mad scientist. You can also start with a single fruit, taste it, and then add another fruit or other spices. High-proof vodka will never go bad, so you can continue layering on more flavors until youre happy. If you can imagine it, you can make it.

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How To Infuse Vodka

The first step of infusing alcohol is deciding on your liquor and flavors. This depends on your preferences, and any common liquors like vodka, tequila, rum, whiskey and gin will work great. Vodka infusion is the perfect place to start because of its minimal flavor and ability to easily soak up any new flavor additions.

As for which flavors to infuse into your liquor, you can use basically anything, but fresh fruit, veggies, herbs and spices are the most popular ways to go. Just think about what your favorite cocktails are- if you love a pina colada, maybe you want to infuse coconut. For a warm autumnal liquor, use cinnamon sticks or anise. If you’re into the fruity drinks, maybe strawberry or mango-infused liquor will make your heart sing. If you’re planning on using this for gift giving, think of which cocktails your gift recipient enjoys.

Once you’ve narrowed down your choices, you need the necessary supplies: a bottle of liquor, your flavorings, and a glass jar with an airtight lid. Mason jars a great way to go, since their lids seal automatically. If you’re going with fresh fruit, make sure to wash and dry it before starting to infuse. Fruit can be added in large quantities, but if you’re doing herbs or spices, you might want to start with smaller amounts to avoid an overpowering taste.

Coffee And Bacon Flavored Vodka

Bacon infusions are popularbut often get disappointing reviews. Wireds GeekDad suggests a tasty alternative: infuse vodka with bacon and coffee. The process essentially involves letting coffee beans sit in a bottle of vodka overnight, then adding cooked bacon later. Get full instructions on how to flavor this strong and complex spirit.

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These Infused Vodka Flavors Are Perfect For A Fancy Cocktail

Making your own infused alcohol is a fun way to experiment with flavors and diversify your liquor cabinet, along with being perfect for gifting. From strawberry vanilla vodka to jalapeno tequila, if you can think of it, you can probably make it. The best part is, unlike making wine or brewing beer, you can have jars of delicious infused alcohol in a matter of hours or days! Here are five dangerously delicious flavors of infused vodka.

Easy Infused Vodka Recipes You Can Make At Home

5 Infused Vodka Recipes: Make Vodka Infused with Fruit ...

Part of the recent cocktail revolution has been artisanal-influenced spirits. Whether these are from small batch distilleries or concocted in minute batches at a specific bar, a good infusion can create balance and depth in even the most basic cocktails.

Heres some good news for aspiring home bartenders: Infusing spirits is one of the easiest things to do in a kitchen. The basic guidelines are the same as those of any food recipe: Good ingredients will yield good results. To infuse vodka, you need clean storage containers , good-quality infusing ingredients, and mid-level vodka.

Here are some easy preparations that will add sophistication to classic recipes.

drop!

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How To Get Started Infusing Vodka

Infusing vodka is a little different from infusing other spirits. Because of its neutrality, vodka is open, a clean slate, an empty canvas. When you add flavors, you don’t have to think about how they would combine with flavors already in the spirit, as you do for tequila or bourbon.

The process of infusingis exactly the same. What you need is a tightly sealable glass vessel , vodka, ingredients to infuse, and time.

The process is long but takes little work. To begin, thoroughly clean your glass container with soap and hot water. Next,add the fruit, herbs, and/or spicesyou want to infuse into your vodka, washing them beforehand. Finally, pour in vodka to cover these ingredients, seal the jar, and leave it in a dark place for one to four weeks.

How To Make Infused Liquors

DIY Infused Liquors make for a fantastic holiday gift for a host/hostess, friend, family member or really any other adult in your life. In this post, we’ll teach you how to make a few different infused liquors. We’re also sharing some of our favorite flavor infusions for vodka, tequila, rum & more.

Over the last few years, we’ve gotten really into mixology and craft cocktails. We love experimenting with different liquors, simple syrups, fruits, bitters, etc.

If you know our family IRL, we pretty much always have company. My parents have hosted countless full-blown, 60+ person parties, smaller dinner parties, holidays, and hundreds of weekend get-togethers. After hosting so many events, we’ve gotten pretty good at throwing together cocktails with whatever we have on hand.

In more recent years, we’ve gotten extra ~fancy~ and started experimenting with infusing various liquors and simple syrups. For my wedding last year, we made huge batches of homemade infused vodka and tequila for my signature cocktails. They were a huge hit – some of my friends were even taking straight-up shots of the jalapeño infused tequila!

In addition to majorly improving just about any cocktail, homemade infused liquors also make for a great DIY holiday gift. Any host/hostess, family member, friend or coworker will surely appreciate the originality and effort!

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How Much To Make

Heres the standard ratio that I like to use:

2 cups chopped fruit + 2 to 3 cups vodka, infused for 3 to 5 days

This will give you a nicely balanced, fruit-forward vodka. Using more fruit will give you a stronger flavor, just as using less will add a light flavor. At minimum, you want enough vodka to cover the fruit to prevent it from spoiling during infusion.

You can also scale this up and down. If you only have a cup of fruit to use up or if you have a whole basket just use a proportionate amount of vodka. This is more of a method than a strict recipe, so you can adjust to the amount of ingredients you have and how much you want to make at any given time.

How To Make Flavoured Vodka

How To Infuse Vodka Naturally

Learn how to infuse vodka with your favourite flavours and create your own boozy infusions at home. Try our simple recipes that make great homemade gifts

Want some inspiration for your next kitchen project? Try making your own flavoured vodka with our easy step-by-step technique;and recipes. Whether you want something fresh and fruity, savoury and herby or clean and crisp with a spicy kick, we have something to fill up your glass.

Turn your tipple into a creative vodka cocktail;or a thoughtful gift or simply stash it away for yourself in your cocktail cabinet.

Clean spirits like vodka are perfect for using as a base to create your own flavoured drink. Follow our simple steps and try experimenting with your favourite flavours.

How to infuse vodka

Choose your flavoursHerbs and plantsFruitVegetablesSpices

2. Match your flavours: Vodka is the most neutral alcohol base and works well with strong additions like chilli, vegetables and citrus flavours. Use popular vodka cocktails for inspiration e.g. create a bloody mary-worthy vodka with celery, or a chocolate or coconut vodka for a White Russian.

3. The technique: Use around a quarter of a bottle of your spirit to experiment with new flavours. Add the spirit to a Kilner jar;or a pan with a lid. Its essential the spirit is stored in a sealed container;and your kit is extremely clean to prevent the spirit from going sour.

Flavoured vodka recipes

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Alcohol Infusions To Try

It can be difficult to know where to begin with infusions, but there are plenty of ideas to get you started. For instance, you might try an apple-pear gin or a cocoa-infused rye whiskey. Both are delicious, easy, and can make some very interesting cocktails.

It’s also incredibly easy to make your own cinnamon whiskey to;replace something like Fireball. Simply combine a couple of cinnamon sticks and the whiskey of your choice and infuse it for a few days. You’ll find it to be much cleaner and more naturally flavored than those sweetened cinnamon whiskey liqueurs.

You don’t have to start with unflavored liquor, either. It’s fun to add a complementary flavor to store-bought flavored vodka or rum. For instance, you can infuse rosemary into a strawberry-flavored;rum or try;a quick jalapeño infusion in mango vodka. Liqueurs and fortified wines are also fair game; Thai chile-infused Aperol and raspberry vermouth are two great examples.

These are just the beginning of the possible infusions you can create. Let nothing stop you from experimenting and;trying out new flavor pairings;in any liquor you feel like using. You will have some duds, that’s for sure, but when you come across a winner, the discovery can do wonders for your cocktails.

Enjoy the process and, most importantly, have fun!

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