CookEat Recipe
Seasonal Fruit in Brandy
Successive small additions of berries and stone fruit macerated in sugar and strong brandy, then left to mature together.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 100 g fresh strawberries, hulled; 100 g fresh redcurrants, stripped from their stems; 100 g fresh raspberries; 100 g fresh cherries, stems and stones removed; 100 g fresh plums, stones removed and flesh sliced; 100 g fresh apricots, stones removed and flesh sliced; 100 g fresh peaches, stones removed and flesh sliced; 350 g sugar, divided between the additions at half the weight of each prepared fruit; Food-grade drinking eau-de-vie or brandy labelled at least 54% alcohol by volume, enough to keep every fruit addition covered by about 1 cm; do not use ordinary lower-strength brandy or non-drinking alcohol.
Step 2
Use a sound, thoroughly cleaned food-safe glass jar with a close-fitting lid, large enough to leave room for the later fruit and spirit. Use only ripe, undamaged fruit. Wash it under running water and drain and dry it well. The quantities given are a small example of the source’s successive 50–100 g additions; do not buy or hold all the fruit for months before adding it.
Step 3
Begin with the strawberries, redcurrants and raspberries when they are in season. Put the prepared 300 g fruit into the jar with 150 g sugar. Pour in drinking eau-de-vie or brandy of at least 54% ABV until the fruit is covered by about 1 cm. Gently swirl to wet the sugar without crushing the berries. Close and refrigerate at 4°C or colder. The specified stronger spirit and refrigerated storage are modern controls; the finished mixture has a lower, unmeasured strength and is not represented as a shelf-stable preserve.
Step 4
As each later fruit becomes available, wash, dry and prepare it just before adding. Remove every stone; leave the pitted cherries otherwise whole and slice the plums, apricots and peaches. For each 100 g prepared fruit, add 50 g sugar and enough of the same high-strength spirit to restore the 1 cm covering. Return the closed jar promptly to the refrigerator after each addition. Use clean equipment and keep the fruit submerged with a clean food-safe glass weight if necessary. Do not top up with water or juice.
Step 5
For the optional additions mentioned by Artusi, use 50–100 g prepared gooseberries, large table grapes or a firm ripe pear. Remove grape seeds if present, core and slice the pear, and prick intact gooseberry or grape skins with a clean skewer. Add sugar at half the prepared fruit weight and the same spirit to cover, using exactly the same refrigerated method. These optional fruits increase the yield and are not included in the main seven-fruit quantities.
Step 6
After the final fruit addition, leave the closed jar in the refrigerator for two months before serving small portions of fruit with a little of its liquid. The two-month guide interprets the source’s unspecified few months; the full calendar duration also includes the seasonal additions. Both fruit and liquid retain alcohol. Keep refrigerated and use clean utensils when serving. Discard the whole batch if mould, unexpected fermentation or other spoilage appears; adding more alcohol is not a rescue method.
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