A more and more popular part of the culture surrounding pálinka is the home-made so-called “bedded” pálinka – reports sokszinuvidek.24.hu. It is quite easy to prepare, and the result will please all connoisseurs. And, as variations are endless, there is a lot of room to be creative.
Classical bedding
The secret ingredient – in fact, the base of it all – is a high quality, home-made batch of pálinka. As such, it has no added sugar before the decocting process, only fruits.
This can be any fruit, as the final taste will come from the bedded liquid.
However, as the saying goes, there is no accounting for taste, so every household may have different ways of preparing home-made pálinka. It depends on taste and available ingredients what kind of bedded pálinka gets made.
The standard recipe instructs a handful of raisins, dried plums, dried sour cherries, dried currants, dried apricots, a stick of vanilla and 3 to 4 tablespoons of honey (depending on tastes) to make one litre of pálinka. However, it is a valid question whether anything can substitute the somewhat pricey dried fruits for the bedding.
Luckily, the number of variation-options are only limited by having to pay attention to the harmony of the ingredients’ tastes.
A list of ideas for the bedding of 1 litre of pálinka
- 2 pieces of ripe chilli paprika, a handful of washed, cut-up orange peel and the same amount of lemon peel (without its inner, white part).
- A handful of blackthorn and a handful of rose-hip (preferably dried or picked after the first freeze), a handful of orange peel, a handful of lemon peel, a handful of raisins and 5 handfuls of dried elderflower.
- A handful of lemon peel, a handful of orange peel, 1 stick of vanilla and 1 stick of cinnamon.
Preparation
The preparation is rather easy in each case. Take a jar of sufficient size that can be sealed off properly. Put all the ingredients of the bedding in it, then pour the pálinka on top. Stir it a few times, then seal it. Store it in a cool, dark place for at least 3 or 4 months. Make sure to give it a stir or a shake every week.
It is important to note that the taste gest better the longer you store it.
When it is ready for consumption, pour it into a high-necked bottle. If the opening is wide enough, you can pour in the bedding as well, if not, it is better to strain it. There is no need to worry, though, it will not lose any of its taste if it is strained, either. It will be a guaranteed success, be prepared it will be gone in a second.
Adding honey
If anybody would like to make it with honey, make sure to consider this advice.
For the above-listed ingredients, with one litre of pálinka, add 4-5 tablespoons of honey (depending on how sweet you like it, you can add more).
Slightly heat the honey until it is warmish so that it does not lose any of its taste. Put this into the jar first, then add the bedding ingredients and the pálinka on top. The rest of the preparation is the same from here.
Enjoy! 🙂
For more drink ideas, check out this article about cocktail options with pálinka.
Featured image: www.agroinform.com
Source: sokszinuvidek.24.hu
