The raspberries were growing wild in the park at the end of the block, and on a sweltering weekend in July, we reached into the briers and filled our baskets until they overflowed.
We made jam. We put them into our oatmeal. We froze some for later.
And we made raspberry liqueur.
Using a recipe from Food for Friends by Sally Pasley Vargas as a guide, we added the berries to quart sized canning jars filled with vodka. Then, with the exception of the occasional stir, forgot about them for two months.
On Wednesday, I strained the contents through cheesecloth, added a sugar solution per the recipe, and poured the ruby red liquid into some elegant wine bottles we’d set aside.
If we behave ourselves, this should last until the dead of winter. I’m sure there will be a cold and snowing day in the middle of February when this taste of summer will seem like the perfect tonic.
Recipe
You’ll need initially:
- 6 cups raspberries
- 12 cups good quality vodka
And when you’re ready to bottle:
- 3 cups sugar
- 1½ cups water
The original recipe recommended a 4-quart jar. We didn’t have one, so we used two large honey jars that originally contained 5 pounds of honey (80 ounces each), and split the raspberries and vodka between them. Then we set them aside for about two months, stirring them once every week or two.
After two months, we strained the contents through a triple layer of cheesecloth into a large bowl, giving the cheesecloth a good squeezing to get out every drop.
Next, we returned the liquid to the jars and let it set for two hours. The recipe recommended additional strainings through coffee filters to get rid of any left over sediment. But since there was no sediment, that step wasn’t necessary.
While waiting the two hours, we boiled the sugar and water for two minutes, and then let it cool to room temperature.
We added the sugar mixture gradually to the liqueur, tasting it as we went, until it reached the desired sweetness.
The last step was pouring it carefully into clean bottles. And there you have it!
The book says that it should be good for up to a year before it loses color and flavor, but I doubt that it will be on hand that long for that to be an issue.
Oh, how wonderful to have wild raspberries to pick. I am going to try cultivating some next year. Meanwhile, I rely on the farmer’s market. I am bookmarking this recipe for a time when I have a surplus. I use a similar process to make blackberry liqueur. I made a huge quantity last year — about the same time you made this — and still have some left, with full flavor and color. Hope you fully enjoyed yours!