Recipe Report: Quince Ratafia

Two months ago I started a ratafia. What's a ratafia? Well, it's a simple liqueur made from fruit steeped in alcohol. Or, as reader Bx put it, BOOZE FROOT.

Want to hear how it turned out?

Here's the original post with the recipe:

• Quince Ratafia: How To Make Fruit Liqueur

I shredded a couple of quince fruit (delicious, heavenly things) and let them sit in a jar of pure vodka along with some sugar and a pinch of spices. I shook the jar every day or two to help the sugar dissolve. I couldn't help but nip off a little of the alcohol as it steeped, and I found it very strong (naturally) and also sweet with that unmistakable flavor of quince.

After two months I poured out the liquor and strained out all the shredded quince, which was discarded. (The photo above is the jar right before straining. The fruit oxidized and turned dark at the top where it was exposed to air.)

I am going to leave the liquor to sit a little longer still, but already it's delicious and heady with the sweet, golden flavor of quince. I rather expected the liquor to turn orange, like cooked quince, but it's only a pale amber. The spices don't overpower the quince flavor; in fact, I rather think that this would be too sweet without them.

Final verdict? This is a sweet, strong, potent liquor that does a very good job of bottling that quince aroma. It's not the same as fresh quince, of course, but stirred into cocktails from now until next summer, it will have to do. Does anyone have any cocktail recommendations? So far my husband and I have just sipped this neat, with a little lemon. It's extremely warming on a cold winter's night!

Have you ever made a liqueur (or, ahem, BOOZE FROOT)?

Comments (13)

I really did want to try and make this when you originally posted it. Now I'm stuck here kicking myself. :(

I made this with apricots from our tree. The apricots where frozen with a bit of sugar, and I distilled them with vodka for about a month. It's delicious, perfect after dinner drink.

I have some blackberries in the freezer and am thinking of trying this. I did make some limoncello a few years ago and it came out pretty good.

Wow, that looks fantastic! The smell of qunces makes me swoon with happiness...

I've made two different liqueurs, with mixed results. The first was a vin d'orange (seville oranges, vodka, sugar and rose) which is gorgeous and tasty but EXTREMELY bitter. Good for mixing, sort of like campari. The second was nocino (unripe walnuts, vodka, cinnamon, cloves, lemon, sugar) which was nutty and mellow and lovely, but gives me a splitting headache every time I have some. Both good in their way, but neither one knocking it out of the park.

Clearly more experimentation is in order...

on ice with soda water, please!

Looks yummy!

I made a liqueur I call "Creamsicle-cello" -- based on the Italian limoncello.

Very similar process to this one -- I steeped just the zest of 10 oranges and two vanilla beans in a 5th of 90-proof vodka for two weeks, then filtered, sweetened with 2 cups of simple sugar, and bottled. I keep it in the freezer and drink it neat. My wife doesn't drink, but the aroma of this one has her rethinking her decision!

We made a plum liquor and a pear one, too. We soaked the fruit in vodka alone, and then after straining, mixed in some simple syrup before putting it up in bottles with clamped-on lides--this way we didn't need to bother with the big glass jar for the initial month of sitting.

But you guys are all missing out on one of the best parts--canning the drunken fruit! We cook it down with some sugar and can it; it's fabulous over ice cream. Or just eaten right out of the jar. Dangerously good!

I made several jars of this last fall. I shredded quince and added a small amount of vanilla sugar. No spices. I've opened some of the jars for a nip and it's delicious and keeps getting better. I left the quince in and top off the jar with extra vodka after I've poured off a drink. I give the jars a quick shake every couple of weeks. It's not much effort and the result smells and tastes heavenly.

i had this at my friend Brian's house recently, when he cooked a Spanish-themed dinner. we sipped the quince liqueur (which Brian had made following this recipe) after dinner, like a limoncello. it was delicious and sweet!
next morning i was hella hungover.
so.... you have been warned: quince liqueur is strong!!!

Thanks for the feedback on the spices! I still have those quince in the fridge; time for a visit to the liquor store...

I want some. Now. At my desk at work, even. What a great post.

I know this isn't fruit, but I did two successful vodka infusions for a New Year's Eve party. One with coffee, and the other with honey and oats, of all things. I mixed the honey-oat vodka with half and half and a fresh grating of nutmeg. It's perhaps one of my favorite drinks now, and I've been raving about it to anyone who will listen. (You can see more about it here: http://ediblecities.wordpress.com/2009/01/01/foodbuzz-24-24-24-minnesota-chic-new-years-eve/)

I finally tried it, I cant wait to see the results. You can look at the pictures in here http://www.flickr.com/photos/cinchin/ and you can look at the recipe I've given from here, although you may not understand it because its Turkish. www.cinchin.com . I will report the taste in 2-3 months!!! Thanks.

This sounds great! I assume the quality of the vodka effects the quality of the liqueur that you make?

This reminds me of the limoncello my host sisters (aged 9 and 13) made when I was studying in Italy, by putting lemons into pure alcohol and soaking it for a month or two. Only in Italy!