A Beautiful Crabapple Liqueur from the Alberta Prairies
A Kiss-Me-Like-You-Mean-It Martini for Valentine’s Day!
The first trip I ever took to Europe found me in France and in the Normandy region. Think Calvados. As Calvados is the regimental drink of The Royal Canadian Hussars and Le Régiment de Maisonneuve as an irresistible discovery by the units as they passed through Normandy following the D-Day invasion I had to bring some home. (Apparently, it is known as Le Trou normand and enjoyed between courses at a regimental dinner.) One of my colleagues then informed me that the farmers and peasants from that area of the French countryside have been distilling their own home brewed versions for hundreds of years which made perfect sense. She then added that they also have a very special liqueur that they make with the small sour apples from the region known as Pommette. I have found some reference to this through my research but it is vague and not easily sourced, so if anyone can shed some light on this from that area, I would love to learn more.
The modern version of this countryside distillation, she informed me, was to take a white pure liquor (I chose vodka) and dissolve an amount of sugar into it with the ratio of 1 litre of liquor to 250ml of sugar. Place the washed bright red crab apples in a dark crock type of container, cover completely with the liquor and sit, rotating weekly, for 3 months. If done in crab apple harvest season, it is ready for serving over the Christmas holidays.
I have an heirloom butter churn crock from my maternal great grandmother that I use to make this in every year. I don’t even rotate it. I did take a full set of apple photos in the fall starting up this production, but my motherboard died after getting home from Italy, and those photos, sadly, were lost. However, I have a little photo essay for you to enjoy as we opened up the crock and reaped the rewards of this year’s crab apple harvest!
Best served icy cold, straight up with a twist of orange. Believe me, after one of these, you will really see why I have called it the Kiss-Me-Like-You-Mean-It martini!
Valerie! Valerie! Valerie! Martini’s are SOoooo 80’s! Use another glass!
Looks delicious! Happy valentines day Valerie!! Love the look of those pretty crab apples..
Oh Valerie, this is simply gorgeous and the reason I fell in love with your blog and your writing style. You are a girl after my own heart. Happy Valentine’s Day from Dowunder!
Fabulous recipe for Valentine’s Day!
Look at that colour Valerie. I was thinking of making a Saskatoon Berry liquor this year but they were gone before you know it!
val!
so so beautiful. i can almost taste it – another luscious post…thanks
The colour is absolutely gorgeous. I will have to try this with my over proof vodka in the cold room.
Can you do anything with the cherries/apples after they’re strained?
Hi, Destiny,
Interestingly, in medieval times, the ladies ate them, as it wasn’t lady like to drink… and got smashed that way. 🙂 But the apples are far too strong to do anything with, in my opinion. Keeping a few cherries to use as garnish is a nice idea – but they are also unbelievable strong. I hate, to – but I toss them.
🙂
V
Perhaps I missed it, but in your ratio of 1 litre of alcohol to 250ml of sugar, what volume of cherries do you use? Thanks.
HI Ian
I use that ratio of liquor to sugar and just cover the cherries… it depends upon the size of the bowl – width and breadth – so that ratio of sugar and liquor to just 1/2 inch above the cherries…. however many you have. Sorry I am not more specific, but every year I have a different amount of cherries, so pit until I cannot stand it any more, and all the rest go into vat type jars and I mix up the brew and pour it over the un pitted gorgeous little baubles… You can do it with water first, if you want to guestimate the amount of liquor for the amount of cherries…
🙂
Valerie
I like this idea to use up the rest of my crabapples. Do you remove the blossom end before putting with the liquor & sugar?
I remove the stems. That’s it, Theresa.
🙂
Valerie