Even among those who are indifferent to alcohol, it sometimes becomes necessary to use alcohol-containing products.
For example, in the dough flavored tincture of strawberries on vodka is not added to make baking “fun” or tonic.
A few drops of alcohol with a strawberry or other smell will improve the taste of the cream, eliminate the unpleasant smell in the kitchen.
In any tincture there are several ways to use in the economy.
Of course, you can buy a finished product, but there are reasons that stimulate interest in preparing strawberry tincture at home: curiosity and the desire to do something with your own hands, especially if the strawberry grows in abundance at the dacha; the second reason is mistrust caused by a fairly common phenomenon — industrial production using synthetic additives.
Two serious arguments are a reason to find out what the tincture is in more detail.
Strawberry tincture at home - basic technological principles
To begin, let us emphasize that the tincture, unlike the infusion, is made with vodka or other alcoholic beverages with a high alcohol content. The extractant can also serve as vegetable oil, but with its help, as a rule, extracts from dried raw materials with very low moisture content are obtained.
With the help of extractants make extracts from spicy herbs, spices, medicinal plants and various fruits of trees, shrubs and berries. Depending on the strength of the alcohol or water-alcohol solution, these or other substances are extracted from the raw materials.
To get a quality tincture from strawberries, with a maximum of useful substances contained in it, you will have to delve into some general biochemical aspects of this process.
For example, it is useful to know that essential oils from any raw material can be obtained only with the help of alcohol, with a high alcohol content, and water will help extract vitamins, enzymes, proteins, sugars, organic compounds, tannins from the same raw materials. But all of these components are transferred from the source of raw materials at a certain temperature regime. Increasing the water temperature changes the structure of the extracted substances. In addition, water infusion is a highly unstable compound, in terms of shelf life is significantly inferior to its position alcoholic tinctures. Now, to understand what is better - water or alcohol, or a combination of two extractants, we’ll dwell a bit on the biochemical composition of strawberries:
- Water - up to 90%. Its content varies depending on the variety, growing conditions, soil and climate. The remaining 10% are solids. Actually, this part contains minerals and all other useful substances, and extracts are obtained from this dry residue. As you can see, adding water to strawberries to get the tincture does not make sense. Take this factor to note.
- Glucose, fructose and sucrose are included in the same 10% of dry matter and make up most of them - from 6 to 8%. Yes, strawberries, or garden strawberries are a low-calorie product, therefore, if there is a desire to cook a sweet tincture for the dessert table, then adding sugar will not be superfluous.
- Essential oil. One of the properties of the berry that so attracts us is the strawberry flavor. But even in the most ripe fruits, this enchanting smell is present in completely meager amounts. At the same time, the essential oil tends to quickly evaporate into space, leaving only a pleasant memory about itself, which we would like to preserve and even strengthen a little. What can be done? Increase the concentration by adding dry raw materials. This is the first. Secondly, let us recall the principle on which the most expensive and concentrated perfumes are made. Right! Alcohol enhances and helps maintain flavor. The same principle works in the manufacture of strawberry tinctures on vodka.
- Vitamins, organic acids and other nutrients in the manufacture of tincture of strawberries at home can not be taken into account for the reason that they contain a rather small amount in dry matter, except for potassium and vitamin C, but replenishing these reserves for the body You can “entrust” fresh or frozen berries, desserts from it.
Making homemade tinctures is not easy, and losses in any kind of processing of berries, fruits and vegetables are inevitable anyway.
When preparing raw materials, you need to take note that size matters here. That is, the ground berry is extracted much faster than whole berries. But the question of subsequent filtration of crushed berries should be given great attention. Depending on the further use, the right amount of sugar is added. Therefore, the tincture of strawberries on vodka on the sugar content can be sweet, semi-sweet or bitter. Homemade sweet strawberry tincture contains up to 30% sugar. Higher sugar content is typical of liqueurs.
Tinctures are also classified by alcohol content. The strength of the tincture is usually about 45%, less alcohol is contained in the liquor.
Having determined the range of sugar and alcohol content in homemade strawberry tincture on vodka, you can proceed to its preparation.
At home, in the presence of high-quality raw materials and simple devices any tincture can be prepared in several ways.
1. Strawberry tincture at home from fresh and dried berries
Ingredients:
Alcohol drinking 95% 1.5 L
Sugar 900 g
Dried strawberries, forest 300 g
Strawberry 2.5 kg
Cooking:
Ripe strawberries of the garden, without damage, washed, allowed to dry out of water, remove sepals. Then it is crushed and the pulp is transferred to the filter (fine sieve, gauze four-layer napkin). Sieve set over enamel saucepan or other non-oxidizing utensils.
After draining the juice, you can optionally wipe the pulp through a sieve so that it remains as little moisture as possible. Sugar is poured into the resulting juice and pasteurized, without boiling. Then cool the sweetened juice to 20ºC and pour half of the prepared alcohol into it. Stir. Pour alcoholized juice into hermetically sealed dishes and store in a dark place. Pulp and dried years pour the second half of alcohol, tightly close the container and also insist in a dark place for at least ten days, and better - two weeks.
Periodically, in the morning and in the evening, shake the container, mixing the thick with alcohol. Strain. Combine the alcoholized juice and the resulting tincture of pulp and dried berries. Again, remove the bottle for aging in a dark room, tightly capped. After 10-14 days, if a precipitate appears, dip a plastic or rubber tube into the bottle, gently strain the tincture into bottles and seal the bottle.
2. Bitter tincture of strawberries on vodka
Ingredients:
Vodka 40% 2.1 liters
Strawberries, dried 1.0 kg
Cooking:
Put the berries in the bottle, fill with vodka. Cover tightly and leave for three weeks. Store the tincture should be at room temperature without access of light. Shake regularly to speed up the extraction process. The finished extract is poured into bottles, after passing it through the filter.
3. Strawberry tincture at home for pastry
Ingredients:
0.5 l alcohol (95%)
Dry berry (strawberry, forest) 1.5 kg
Cooking:
Dried berries (500 g), grind in a blender, put in a jar, wrapped in foil, pour with alcohol so that the raw material is completely covered with liquid. Close lid tightly. Pour water into a large saucepan and heat the jar in a water bath to 60C. Do not remove the jar until the water is completely cooled. Shake the jar daily. After a month, you can squeeze the raw material through gauze.
Repeat the work done twice, each time adding a new batch of dried strawberries. It should not be crushed all at the same time: in the whole form, the berry will better preserve its flavor, which then goes into the extract.
4. Strawberry tincture on vodka with vanilla
Ingredients:
Strawberry Syrup 450 ml
Vodka 1.0 l
Vanilla 10g
Cooking:
Pour the vodka into a 1.5-liter jar, add to it a ready-made strawberry juice syrup, vanilla sticks and, with the lid closed, shake well. Leave the jar closed in the kitchen cupboard. After a week, ready-made sweet tincture can be poured into a shtof or a carafe and served to the dessert table.
5. Strawberry tincture at home with banana liqueur “Sweet couple”
Ingredients:
Bananas 300 g
Strawberry, ripe 0.5 kg
Alcohol (70%) 1.0 l
Eggs (yolks) 3 pcs.
Cream (20%) 250 ml
Sugar 700 g
Vanilla 5g
Cooking:
Prepare strawberries, chop and mix with half the sugar. Warm in an enamel pot to dissolve the sugar. Cool and let stand. Transfer to a fine mesh strainer to strain the syrup. Combine it with alcohol (0.3 l), pour into a bottle, shake and put the tincture for storage. Now cook the banana liqueur. Pound 350 g sugar with yolks. Bring the cream to a boil and pour the pounded yolks into them, quickly stirring the mass to form a thick mass, but without lumps. When cool, transfer to a blender and add slices of peeled banana, vanillin. Smash and strain the liqueur. Pour 0.7 liters of alcohol into it, mix. Pour into a jar and close tightly so that the fortress does not evaporate. Pasteurize in a water bath, at a temperature of 60ºC, twice, for 15-20 minutes. Pour into prepared bottles when cool. Store banana liqueur to be in the refrigerator.
Serve in tall glasses. Pour in 1/3 liqueur. Pour an equal amount of strawberry tincture over the blade of the knife.
Strawberry tincture at home - tips and tricks
- Carefully select the berries for making tinctures. They may be over-ripe or even crumpled, but without any signs of plant disease or mold.
- Raw materials should be thoroughly washed. On the hope that alcohol will kill all germs and bacteria. Firstly, it is possible to get a drink with an unpleasant taste from berries damaged by diseases, and secondly, remember that sometimes alcohol enhances the action of bacteria unfavorable to the human body.
