Topic: Making Nalewka in the UK

[plot54]

Having just returned from a trip to Poland, I am quite keen of trying out a few things back here in the UK. I'll be trying to grow Parsley Root, trying grow and pickle Cucumbers(Polish style) and also would really like to try and make Nalewka, the Polish fruit liqueur. It seems fairly simple, in that there is no distilling involved, rather that the sugared fruits are soaked in spirit to extract their flavours. The key to all this is being able to get hold of Polish Pure Spirit. I would be really happy to hear from people who have tried making Nalewka before, or if anyone knows of sources of Pure Spirit in the UK.

Good recipes would also be most welcome!

plot 54


http://www.plot54.co.uk/

[Baccy Man]

I am not sure where you would find neutral spirit for sale in the UK, generally speaking people use homemade spirit.
Making nalewka is pretty straightforward there are not many variations on the methods. The quickest way is to chuck a load of fruit & sugar in a pan, cover with water, boil for a while, strain, cool, add spirit & bottle.
That tastes ok but properly prepared nalewka does taste considerably better.
Here are a couple of recipes I can post a few more if you want.

Nalewka Orzechowy - Walnut Vodka

1 litre of 95% spirit
1 kg of sugar
1 kg of green walnuts

3 litre glass jar (do not use plastic or metal).

Walnuts cannot be ripe and have hard shells. They need to be harvested when the shell can still be cut with a knife.

Chop the walnuts into little squares, use rubber/latex gloves unless you fancy dark brown fingers and finger nails for weeks afterwards. Food processors are OK too, but plastic parts may become permanently stained.

Place chopped walnuts in the jar.
Pour spirit and sugar over the walnuts. no stirring is necessary.
cover the neck of the jar tightly (or else the spirit will evaporate).
Set aside in a dark, cool spot for 3 or more months.

Separate the walnuts from the rest by straining through muslin or similar & bottle.


Nalewka Malinówka - Raspberry Vodka

1 litre Spirit 95%
1/2 litre Vodka
1 kg Raspberries
1 kg sugar

Place berries in large glass jar and add spirit. Let sit for 2-3 weeks shaking twice daily.
After that, strain using muslin (may take a whilee) and place fruit & liquid in separate containers.
Add sugar to the fruit and leave for another 2-3 weeks shaking twice daily. Leave in warm place.

Once the time is up you'll see that all of the sugar has liquified and this liquid has to be poured off through muslin. This may take considerably longer now that the liquid is a sweet syrup.

Combine sweet liquid to the alcohol that was initially removed and place in bottles. Leave the bottles in a dark place for a few days and you'll see that the sediment has settled to the bottom. Pour off the clear liquid and bottle separately.

[hellohelenhere]

I've tried steeping various berries in vodka, with excellent results - raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, etc. I had one failure, which was melon - it has too much water in it, presumably - it actually went off, in spite of being soaked in alcohol! Strawberries work beautifully, although all the colour leaches out of the strawberries, which end up looking weird and grey, so you'd want to chuck them out once they've imparted their flavour, on aesthetic grounds.
I've also made krupnik, which is vodka with honey and spices - delicious in the winter, served hot! Google for a recipe, I'm sure you'll find one.
I wouldn't worry about finding Polish pure spirit, though you might find it in a Polish deli. That's if it's legal here! I don't think 'rectified spirit' is, deadly stuff that they drink in Poland! 120 proof, whatever that means.
In France they use 'anise' spirit for the same purpose. Any clear spirit will do.