Cherry Liqueur

Here in the Pacific Northwest we have an abundance of cherries, particularly Rainier and Bing cherries. When I saw Rainier cherries for $1.49 per pound, I knew it was time to try making a liqueur.

I started with two pounds of Rainier cherries, unpitted, and added 1½ cups of sugar and a fifth of grain alcohol. I let it sit outside in the sun for four weeks.

After four weeks, I strained the liquor and discarded the Rainiers. Then I added two pounds of pitted Bing cherries, 1 cup sugar, one cinnamon stick about 3″ long, and two vanilla pods. I let that mixture sit for two weeks in the sun.

Then I strained the liquor again and added two pounds pitted Bings, two cinnamon sticks, 8 whole cloves, and 750ml French brandy. After one more week, I gave it a taste.

I think it’s done, but I’m letting half of the liqueur continue to steep. It certainly isn’t the best liqueur I’ve ever tasted, but it was fun to make, and it will make an excellent flavoring for desserts. Maybe I’ll just call it cherry extract.

Pickled Beets

In the garden, the beets are beginning to look like they’re ready to eat. If I have a large crop, I’ll want to pickle some of them.

There are three steps required for good pickled beets, and all three take some time. First you need to make a good picking vinegar, then the beets need to be roasted, and finally you’ll preserve the beets in the vinegar and wait at least a month.

Pickling Vinegar

1 tablespoon whole cloves
1 tablespoon whole allspice berries
1 tablespoon pink peppercorns
1½ teaspoons white peppercorns
2 mace blades
2 cinnamon sticks
5 cups white wine vinegar

Bring to a boil, then cool slightly and pour into a glass container. Store in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks. Strain.

Now that your vinegar is ready, roast the beets. I suggest wrapping them in foil and roasting them slowly to release as much sugar as possible. As soon as the beets are cool enough to handle, peel them. Then slice, dice, quarter, or leave baby beets whole.

Put the beets into one or more sterilized jars, leaving plenty of room for the vinegar to cover them. If you wish, put some of the whole spices from the vinegar recipe into the jars as well. For spicy beets, add chiles to taste. Chipotles work nicely if you want a smoky heat.

Bring the strained vinegar to a boil and carefully pour it into the jars to cover the beets. Seal the jars and store in a cool, dry place for at least a month, or up to two months for best flavor.

If you don’t have time to make pickling vinegar, distribute the spices from the recipe evenly between the jars and add boiling vinegar. The flavors won’t have as much time to develop, but the pickle will still be okay.

Blueberry-Mint Vinaigrette

It was a very hot day for Portland, and I didn’t really want to add to the heat by warming up my kitchen. With fresh blueberries, herbs in the garden, plenty of greens on hand, and a full pantry, I didn’t need any heat.

The key component in this vinaigrette is blueberry syrup. I made some a few weeks ago by putting a 2 pints of blueberries and a cup of sugar into a food processor and pulsing a few times to purée roughly. I put the purée into a saucepan over medium-low heat, tasted and adjusted the sugar, then simmered for about 30 minutes. I poured the simmered pulp into a colander lined with two layers of cheesecloth and let it drain. The remaining pulp went into the composter, while the syrup went into a small glass container in the refrigerator, where it sat until I remembered it.

Making a vinaigrette is quite simple when you know the correct ratio of oil to vinegar, 3:1. If you didn’t know that ratio, or you did but you want more of that kind of handy information, you really must get yourself a copy of Michael Ruhlman’s Ratio. I didn’t follow the 3:1 ratio strictly, because of the lack of acidity in the ingredients I used for this vinaigrette.

Blueberry-Mint Vinaigrette

2 teaspoons fresh blueberry syrup
1 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoons riece wine vinegar (unseasoned)
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
2 leaves spearmint, minced
salt and pepper to taste

I added fresh blueberries, shredded mint, and diced red pepper to the mixed greens and herbs I had on hand. Simple, refreshing, and with the mint, cooling on a hot day.

Garlic Confit

Garlic confit is magical stuff. I keep some around to use in everything. I even warm up a clove or two and smear it on bread when I want garlic bread. And it’s so easy to make that you should never be without some. Let me show you.

Start by peeling a bunch of garlic–or buy pre-peeled garlic like I do–and trim the ends off each clove. Then put them into a saucepan and cover with oil. The original Thomas Keller recipe I used, and the blog post on it at Bouchon for Two, calls for canola oil. I now use extra virgin olive oil, because I prefer the flavor of olive oil, and the heat isn’t high enough to destroy the oil.

You’ll use low heat, and, if you have it, a diffuser. If you don’t have a diffuser, use a fry pan as a diffuser. You want to heat the oil until you see tiny bubbles rising, but not too many of them. Hold at that heat for about 45 minutes, until the garlic cloves are softened.

Spoon the garlic into a sterile container and then carefully pour in the oil to cover by at least half an inch. Don’t discard any of the oil if you have extra, just use it for cooking.

In My Pantry: Vinegar and Oil

Olive Oil

The oil you use to cook with will be the foundation flavor upon which you’ll build. Even though heat destroys some of the oil’s character, it will still play an important role in the final flavor profile of what you’re cooking. That’s why I never use anything other than extra virgin when I use olive oil.

Olive oils typically are available in four grades. Extra virgin olive oil is low in acidity–frequently less than 0.5% and never more than 0.8%–without detectable flavor or aroma flaws and mechanically produced. Virgin olive oil has acidity up to 2.0%. is without detectable flavor or aroma flaws, and is mechanically produced. Olive oil, also called ordinary olive oil, has acidity up to 3.3% and is a mixture of extra virgin olive oil and lampante olive oil. Lampante olive oil is not fit for consumption as is, and is treated with caustic chemicals to rectify the problems and remove flavor.

The flavor profile of extra virgin olive oil depends on a number of factors, including the type of olives used to produce it and when the olives were harvested. Generally olives will be harvested early, while they’re still unripe, or will be harvested late, as they start to fall off the tree.

Early harvest olives, those grown in cooler climates, and those grown in cooler years, tend towards green, astringent, bitter, pungent, leafy-herbal, and olive-fruity flavors and aromas. Tuscan oils are usually early harvest, and have what’s called pizzicante–a tendency to grab the back of the throat with a pungent or peppery finish.

Late harvest olives and those grown in hotter climes tend toward sweet, light, flowery, and nutty-fruity flavors and aromas. If you want a delicate and mild oil look to Moroccan oils or California oils made from Mission or Manzarillo olives.

For delicate and mild oil, I prefer Le Fasce from Italy and Olio Santo from California. The fruitier, more fragrant oil of Alziari (France) is an excellent choice, while Lungarotti (Italy) adds some pizzicante. If I’m making pesto I prefer the more olive and pepper flavored oils, particularly Espuny, a Spanish oil with a distinctly piney note. L’Estornell, also from Spain, is a wonderfully olive-y oil. When I want a green oil with the aroma of a newly mown lawn I will select Ravida, Banfi, or Marfuga, all from Italy.

Deborah Krasner has written an excellent guide to olive oils called The Flavors of Olive Oil. She explains a lot about how and what to taste and includes flavor profiles for about 200 different oils.

 Other Oils

There are other oils in my pantry, of course. I use tea seed oil for stir-frying because of its high smoke point. For a nut oil I prefer hazelnut (filbert) or pistachio.

Balsamic Vinegar

Balsamic vinegar is made by reducing the juice of Trebbiano grapes, then straining the resulting boiled must. The boiled must is then reduced 30-50% to produce saba, a sweetener used during the Roman Empire. The saba is barrelled and allowed to acetify and evaporate for ten years or more, all the while being exposed to fluctuating temperatures. The result is aceto balsamico tradizionale.

In my opinion, the very best balsamic you can get for less than $100 is Villa Manodori Balsamic Vinegar. It’s the one I use for everything, including dessert!

Other Vinegars

In addition to balsamic vinegar, I keep red wine and apple cider vinegars on hand. When I can find a good champagne vinegar, I like to keep it handy for lighter vinaigrettes.

If you’re fortunate enough to find a sauternes vinegar, snatch it up. I’ve had some, and it makes a superior vinaigrette, especially when used with an excellent balsamic vinegar and an oil with some good pizzicante.