Use Simple Infusions to Extend the Variety in Your Pantry; Vodka-Peach, Apricot Brandy
Pur fruit in clean jars. Cover in alcohol. Taste a small amount each day. Strain fruit when done. Eat fruit (at night when the car is put away and you`re ok with a tipple of trouble). Close jar and seal in dark, cool place.
Infusions are that simple.
Grand Marnier Infused with Blueberries – and Jam
When I do large amounts of preserving, it`s nice to do a few simple infusions. They`re super easy, don`t take a lot of time and can yield amazing results. They also provide an ingredient that can then be used for other preserving, such as the sam in this post.
Wild Leek Infused Vinegar Recipe
This is similar to our chive-infused vinegar the other day. I considered not posting it since it’s basically the same technique but I thought I would since wild leeks (ramps) are soon going to disappear for the year and it’s nice to have options.
How to Make Chive-Infused Vinegar
Preserving doesn’t have to be a lot of work – it can, and often should be, very little work.
Our ancestors didn’t have 8-day work weeks, more time in the day or less to worry about – many had to focus on surviving. Time was as much a currency then as it is now although we’ve forgotten many of the techniques that they used to prepare awesome tasting food in moments and we claim we don’t have the time. We have 3 options – create longer days, eat sub-standard food (taste and health) or bring back some easy ‘tricks’ from the past. That’s an easy choice from my perspective.
Vodka Infused with Beef Jerky. Fail.
It’s not unusual for me to cook, eat or shop for food in my dreams. The flavor is lacking – but so are the calories.
I recently had a detailed dream about infusing vodka with beef jerky. It looked something like this:
The Legend of Rumptof Continues (Rum, Fruit and Sugar Infusion)
Our Rumtopf is coming along! It`s also well overdue that we have a post with something pretty and not just blah blah blah. 
Rumtoppf is easy to make – get some fruit, wash and clean. Peel fruit that are peel-able (like peaches, not like berries) and place in a bowl with sugar. The sugar should weigh 50% of the fruit. Leave for an hour or overnight (this is called `plumping`and gets the juices flowing in the fruit). Cover with rum and repeat. Store in a dark place and serve 3 months after last fruit have done for the dip.
Blueberries, raspberries and blackberries getting plump:
Infusing Vodka with Strawberries – Preserving Summer
We love requests and questions. Coming up with new topics every day (we have now passed 600 days of daily updates without missing a singe one) can really stretch the brain and sometimes takes longer than actually writing the article. A question is a gift – saves some time and makes that days post a little more fun knowing we may be helping someone. Read more
Infusing Vodka with Hot Peppers (Preserving Summer)
It is a great myth that preserving takes a long time or takes a great deal of skill. Infusing is super easy and the results can be astounding.
To infuse Vodka with hot peppers, do the following:
- Place a hot pepper (whole) in a mason jar.
- Fill Mason jar with Vodka.
- Store in a cool, dark place for 3 days.
- Remove the pepper. Straining is best as their could be some new solids within the jar.
- Say SHAZAM! Read more
Raspberries (not zurberts)
I love raspberry jam. I just thought that there was an awful lot of sources for you to find ideas and recipes for it – so I thought I’d share some different options – vinegar and jelly.
Making raspberry-infused vinegar isn’t much different than making tea (except that it`s different). It’s kind of like pickling raspberries and throwing out the berries to drink the brine.
It also uses a lot of raspberries – so consider lowering the quantity (the following makes about 5 cups of vinegar which is a heck of a lot). Read more