Cognac production is a complex and long process, where brandy alcohol from several grape varieties undergoes multiple distillations. But even at home, you can make brandy drink, which turns out no worse than real brandy. Moreover, homemade brandy recipes are simple and do not require special skills and expensive products. Thanks to its excellent taste, pleasant tart flavor and rich color, homemade prune cognac is considered one of the most popular recipes.
Homemade cognac from prunes - general principles of cooking
Prune has an interesting tart taste and a pleasant aroma. This hybrid of thorns and cherry plums is widely used in cooking, it is used for the preparation of various beverages and dishes. It is particularly popular with winemakers, often on the basis of prunes are preparing brandy, tinctures, brandy.
For the preparation of brandy choose high-quality fresh prunes with no signs of damage. Dried fruits should be shiny, soft and fleshy. Pay special attention to the color: you should not get a product of a rich black color - it is processed with glycerin to increase the shelf life, and light brown - they were first dipped in boiling water, which not only killed all the good qualities of prunes, but also because of what they lost its original flavor and aroma. Pre-dried fruits are washed and dried.
Another important component of cognac is an alcoholic drink: the best is considered expensive vodka, made with alcohol “alpha”, or high-quality purified home-brewed double distillation, where the degree does not exceed 50.
Additional ingredients can be honey, hot peppers, oak bark, spices and other products. It all depends entirely on what flavors and aromas you prefer more in alcohol.
Homemade cognac from prunes, prepared according to the recipes given in this article, is not only not inferior to store products, but also surpasses it in taste.
Recipe 1. Homemade cognac from prunes on oak bark
Ingredients:
• three liters of vodka;
• 6-8 buds of carnation;
• 2 tbsp. l crushed oak bark;
• 2 tbsp. l lemon juice;
• 10 prunes;
• 1 tbsp. l sugar sand;
• two pinches of nutmeg.
Cooking Method:
1. Put the oak bark in a bowl, pour boiling water for 10 minutes. After the allotted time, drain the water, and place the bark itself in a large bottle of suitable size.
2. Add the cloves, add nutmeg and sugar.
3. Rinse the prunes thoroughly and place them over the remaining ingredients.
4. Pour in vodka, lemon juice and thoroughly stir the entire contents of the bottle.
5. Cover the container with a lid, leave for 2 weeks at room temperature.
6. After 14 days, strain the brandy 2 times through several layers of cheesecloth.
7. Pour homemade prune cognac into clean, dry bottles, cork stoppers.
8. You can taste the drink in 2-3 days of repeated infusion. But the longer the brandy will stand, the richer and more interesting will be its aroma and taste.
Recipe 2. Homemade cognac from prunes with spices
Ingredients:
• a bottle of vodka or purified moonshine;
• 6 pieces of prunes;
• 3 pieces of peppercorns;
• pinch of vanilla;
• 1 tsp. Sahara;
• 2 tbsp. l dry tea brew;
• 1 bud of carnation.
Cooking Method:
1. Put all the spices in a mortar, chop.
2. Rinse prunes and, laying on a towel, dry.
3. Put crushed spices, two teaspoons of sugar, sugar and prunes in a quart jar.
4. Fill all the ingredients with moonshine.
5. Close the jar and clean for a week in a dark place at room temperature.
6. Infusion required daily shake.
7. After 7 days, strain the beverage and pour it into a suitable glass container.
8. Give cognac prunes to ripen for 2-3 days, then you can start tasting the drink.
Recipe 3. Homemade cognac from prunes with honey
Ingredients: • liter of moonshine;
• 3 tbsp. l honey;
• pinch of vanilla;
• 120 g of prunes.
Cooking Method:
1. Place the washed and dried dried fruit in a glass bowl.
2. Add honey and vanilla.
3. Pour in the moonshine, mix. Instead of moonshine, you can also use vodka or purified alcohol.
4. Remove the container with the infusion for 3 weeks in a dark place. Be sure to thoroughly shake the container with the contents every 2-3 days.
5. After aging, filter the prune brandy and pour it into prepared bottles.
Recipe 4. Homemade cognac from prunes, wild rose and dried apples
Ingredients:
• liter of vodka;
• 2 tbsp. l Sahara;
• 400 g of a mixture of wild rose, prunes and dried apples;
• 2 tbsp. l oak bark;
• 1 tbsp. l lemon juice;
• ground ginger at the tip of the knife.
Cooking Method:
1. Pour vodka into glass containers of the desired size.
2. Pour boiling water over the bark for 5 minutes, then drain the water and place the soaked bark in a gauze bag and tie it up.
3. Put in the vodka sugar, prepared a mixture of dried fruit, a bag of oak bark, ginger and lemon juice.
4. Thoroughly mix the infusion and clean for 10 days in a dark place.
5. After a week and a half, remove the bark, strain the drink in the bottle.
6. It is possible to use brandy on the third day.
Recipe 5. Homemade cognac from prunes on spices
Ingredients:
• 100 grams of prunes;
• 3 liters of vodka;
• tablespoon of black tea leaves;
• five leaves of laurel;
• 5-6 heaps of black pepper;
• 3 tbsp. l Sahara;
• 1 tbsp. l dried lemon balm;
• 3-4 cm chili peppers;
• a pinch or two vanilla.
Cooking Method:
1. Put peppercorns, chilli pod, lemon balm, sugar, bay leaves, vanillin and tea leaves in a large glass container.
2. Pour all spices with vodka.
3. Remove the cognac for 2 weeks in a dark place.
4. After the allotted time brandy strain. Squeeze all the spices in the jar and strain again.
5. Bottle the bottle and cork.
Recipe 6. Ladies Chocolate Cognac from Prunes
Ingredients:
• 1.5 liters of vodka;
• 1.5 glasses of water;
• 2 glasses of milk;
• 3 glasses of granulated sugar;
• 8 pcs. prunes;
• bag of vanilla sugar;
• a bar of dark chocolate.
Cooking Method:
1. Break the chocolate bar into small pieces.
2. Put the chocolate in a saucepan, heat, stirring all the time, over low heat.
3. Once the chocolate has melted, add vanilla sugar and pour in vodka.
4. Mix the chocolate mixture thoroughly, cool and pour into a jar.
5. Put the mass in the refrigerator for 5 days. Drink daily need to shake and mix.
6. Cook sweet syrup from sugar and water, put in it washed and dried prunes, cut into cubes. Soak the mixture for 12 hours at room temperature.
7. After a few hours, heat the syrup, strain and cool again.
8. Strain the chocolate drink 2-3 times through cheesecloth, mix with sweet syrup.
9. Store cognac for a week in the fridge.
Express-recipe 7. Homemade cognac from prunes for the evening
Ingredients:
• 3 liters of vodka;
• 1 tsp. black leaf brewing;
• 1 tsp. oak bark;
• 1 tsp. sugar sand;
• 1 tsp. instant coffee;
• 0.5 tsp. soda;
• 5-6 vanilla crystals;
• 2 bay leaves;
• 3 black peppercorns;
• 2 prunes;
• 5 raisins;
• 2 clove buds;
• 3 coriander seeds;
• pinch of nutmeg.
Cooking Method:
1. Pour all used spices and dried fruit into a large stainless steel pot. You should not reduce or increase the number of ingredients, the ratio of all components in this recipe is such that the taste and smell of the finished product is ideal.
2. Pour in vodka, set the pan on medium heat.
3. Be sure to cover the container with the contents of the lid so as not to lose the “degrees”. It is best to use a glass cover so as not to miss the boiling point.
4. As soon as cognac comes to the boiling point, the first small bubbles begin to appear, immediately remove the pan from the heat. 5. When the drink is completely cooled, it will only filter and pour into pre-prepared bottles.
Homemade Prune Cognac: Tips and Tricks
• In addition to the ingredients listed above, in any recipe you can put a small amount of lemon or orange zest in the starting product. These components will give a special aroma to homemade cognac.
• Pine nuts, combined with prunes, are also able to give homemade brandy interesting, unusual taste qualities.
• Do not refuse to brew and coffee in the composition of the original product, they give the drink that same cognac color.
• To fully disclose the taste of brandy, it is better to taste it when it is warmed to a temperature slightly below room temperature. Sweet prune cognacs taste better when slightly cool.
Homemade cognac from prunes, as well as any other alcoholic beverage has a number of contraindications:
• the drink is contraindicated for children, nursing and pregnant women;
• people with liver and kidney disease;
• people with chronic illnesses;
• people suffering from alcohol dependence;
• at individual intolerance of the components.
Thanks to the simple recipes for making cognac, you can treat your loved ones and friends with a really tasty homemade alcoholic drink, but do not forget that excessive drinking is the cause of many diseases.
