Sunday, September 28, 2008

Peach Brandy


Well this is a new adventure for me! My friend gave me a recipe to make Peach Brandy. I thought it would be a nice addition to a few of the baskets I'm making up for Christmas. My friend told me the brandy is just delicious and when compared to store bought peach brandy, the store bought one tastes synthetic. We'll see...
If you plan on making some for Christmas, now is the time to do it as it needs to ferment or whatever for a couple months.
Here's the recipe. I'd give proper credit to the original recipe maker, but I have no idea where she got the recipe from so let's just say it's Connie's Peach Brandy.

Connie's Peach Brandy
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 lbs peaches, washed, peel left on, and sliced very thin
1 fifth brandy - the plain kind
1 tsp fruit protector i.e., Fruit Fresh - found in the canning supplies, but call your grocer before you leave the house. It took me 5 phone calls to find it.

1. In small pan, combine water and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until clear.
2. Set aside, and allow to cool until warm.
3. Place peaches in a 2 quart jar, and divide evenly among two 1 quart jars.
4. Add sugar syrup, brandy, and fruit protectgor to the jars.
5. Tilt the jars from end to end to blend gently.
6. Place jars in a dark, cool area for 1 month.
7. Strain brandy through cheesecloth, and place in a one quart jar.
8. Allow brandy to sit for an additional 1 to 3 months.
9. You can strain it again, if you would like, but she does not usually find a need to.
YIELD - 1 quart of homemade goodness

For a spiced variety, add in 2 whole cinnamon sticks and 4 whole cloves with the sugar syrup, brandy, and fruit protector. Directions after that are the same.

You can substitute other fruits in place of the peaches.

2 comments:

Robin said...

Mmmmmm, I wanna be on your Christmas list! Down here we use quality moonshine instead of brandy!

BumbleBee Bagz said...

brandied peaches?! ooh, I feel a drunk coming on...lol!