Only a limited number of people know how to make Calvados at home. But today we decided to share this information with everyone. It is worth noting that Calvados is a fairly strong alcoholic drink (about 40%), whose homeland is Normandy. To create it, completely different varieties of apples are used, and sometimes a small amount of ripe pears. In our country, “Calvados” is called brandy or fruit vodka, and is obtained by prolonged fermentation of apple wort.
How to make Calvados at home: a step-by-step recipe
Components for the drink:
- sweet red apples - 1.4 kg;
- green sour apples - 600 g;
- any vodka - 1 liter;
- ordinary purified water - a full glass;
- granulated sugar - faceted glass;
- vanillin - ½ cup.
Fruit processing
Before making "Calvados" at home, it is good to process sweet and sour apples. It is worth noting that such a product must be purchased in hard form from gardeners. After all, store fruits very quickly become soft, deteriorate and have a waxy surface. Thus, all apples should be washed, freed from seeds and hard elements, and then chopped into small cubes.
Formation process
To understand how to make Calvados at home, you need to remember that such a drink requires prolonged fermentation. To do this, take a three-liter jar, wash it well and sterilize with a double boiler or gas stove. Next, in a glass dish, it is necessary to lay out previously chopped apples in layers (only to the shoulders), pouring vanilla sugar between them. After this, the fruit should be poured with ordinary vodka. In this composition, the filled jar must be covered with dense gauze and put in a warm and darkened place for exactly 14 days. In the process of fermentation, the mass should be shaken several times a day.
Heat treatment
How to make "Calvados" on their own, using simple and affordable products? For this, fruit infusion is required to pour through a multi-layer cheesecloth into a large saucepan, and then put to boil on very low heat. While the liquid boils in a separate bowl, it is necessary to boil the syrup from ordinary water and granulated sugar. Next, the sweet liquid should be carefully poured into the fruit brew and continue to boil it for a quarter of an hour.
The final stage in the preparation
After the specified time, the pan with the drink needs to be cooled in air, and then poured into dry bottles and corked tightly. In this state, “Calvados” is recommended to be stored in a dark place where the air temperature does not exceed 17 degrees.
How to present a drink
Now you know how to make “Calvados” from apples at home. It is worth noting that it can not only be used as a fortified drink, but also make alcoholic cocktails based on it that will decorate and diversify any celebration.