[David Dickinson]

Did you ever make the liquor from Tilia cordata ? Was it good? Have you got a recipe you could share with us?

I am about to make some Indianello (made with prickly pears from my garden) https://livesicilia.it/2015/07/29/ricetta-del-giorno-liquore-al-fico-dindia_652044/. I couldn't find a recipe in English except using Vodka rather than the pure alcohol we buy here to make such things as limoncello. There will be no limoncello from fresh lemons this year, alas. The freezing cold of March reduced my lemon trees to bare branches which I cut right back. No flowers so far. I do have some lemon peel in alcohol from what I could salvage from the mush my lemons were reduced to but I doubt it will be the best limoncello I have ever made. I should have a nice crop of Myrtle berries for some Mirto though. Again an Italian site and, as always when you have a nationality passionate about food, lots of discussion as to the "best" way to do things! https://www.ricettedisardegna.it/liquoredimirto/

My lemon trees did grow back but the first picture shows the first days after the snow and ice had melted, the second was taken a couple of weeks later and the last (with a great sigh of relief on my part) new life. Phew!

[Hilary]

No, I never did make any kind of drink from fruit or berries.
I used to, more than twenty years ago, make some kind of concoction from the kernels inside the apricot stones. It was more of a fuss than I can be bothered with now. It involved breaking the apricot stones, soaking the kernels in brandy in the sun on the flat roof and then drinking it myself!
Any small bottles of homemade liqueur anyone brings to the house as a gift always seem very watery and not worth the bother.
My Italian neighbour who lives here off and on for about half the year make limoncello with the pure alcohol she finds in Italy.

[Hilary]

Hi David
Since your post yesterday I have been thinking of liqueurs which  i had made in the past.
I found the recipe i had for Sour Cherry liqueur and then looked in the Greek recipe book, dated 1975,  I had bought when I realized I had to learn how to cook.
Here is the recipe from the book. I see they recommend using twice the amount of cognac I had been told by my neighbour

SOUR CHERRY LIQUEUR
1 kilo sour cherries
2 kilos cognac
1 kilo sugar
ΚΑΝΕΛΛΟΓΑΡΥΦΑΛΛΟ, this seems to be cinnamon and cloves in a mix, If you wish

Choose ripe and good sour cherries, wash them and cut off half of the stalk.
Stab the cherries in various places with a large needle.
Put in a large jar which has a wide neck.
Mix the cognac with the sugar and add to the sour cherries.
If you wish add some cinnamon and cloves.
Close the jar and leave in the sun for 12 to 15 days.
The drink will be ready in six weeks. 

[Hilary]

Since I have the cookery book in front of me I looked for more recipes for liqueur. I found this one which uses peach stones. i have never made it and am not likely to make it as I have far too many hobbies on the go as it is.

PEACH LIQUEUR
1 kilo peach stones
1 kilo cognac or rum
1 kilo sugar
1 kilo water
Open the peach stones and put in a wide necked jar.
Add the cognac or rum.
Close the jar well and leave it in a cool place for two months.
Boil the sugar and water for five minutes.
Leave the syrup to cool then add to the jar.
Leave the liqueur for one or two weeks then filter it.
Store in bottles in a cool place

[Hilary]

The last recipe for liqueur in my old recipe book.
It looks to be easy enough and as we are well supplied with oranges in the winter I might even make it.

 ORANGE LIQUEUR
9 cups of cognac
1 ½ cups orange juice
The rind of 6 oranges, the orange part only
2 ½ cups sugar
Mix the orange juice, the orange part of the rind, the cognac and the sugar and add to a wide necked jar.
Close the jar well and leave in a cool place for a month.
Filter and store in small bottles

[David Dickinson]

Thanks for the recipes Hilary. I have made Brandied Cherries using a similar recipe but it also involved boiling the cherries for 5min. I was sceptical but it worked. The boiling water, now full of cherry juice, is made into a syrup which, when cool, is mixed with the cherries and brandy.
This year due to the lack of lemons I will be making mandarincello. No mandarins in my garden but it is easy to find mandarins with peel which has not been waxed on sale in the local markets.