-
Cook time
3 hours
-
Makes
about 1 quart
Author Notes
Most years, in early December, my mother starts making a jar of gin fruit for the holidays. Her recipe is mindlessly simple -- layer your favorite dried fruits with some spices, cover with booze -- so I thought I'd play around with a brandy variation to see which I prefer. My mother pointed out that you may need to replenish the gin or brandy after a day or two, as the fruit soaks up the alcohol. And the fruit is best consumed within a few weeks, before the fruit's sugars begin turning the booze to syrup. I'd suggest passing it alongside a cheese course, spooning it over ice cream or cake (with some of the macerating liquid!), or adding it toward the end of cooking roast pork. —Amanda Hesser
Continue After Advertisement
Ingredients
-
1 cup
dried figs
-
1 cup
plump prunes
-
1 cup
dried apricots
-
1/2 cup
dried cherries
-
1/2 cup
raisins
-
2 teaspoons
raw sugar
-
4
star anise pods
-
8
thin slices ginger
-
8
long strips clementine peel
-
About 375 ml brandy
Directions
-
In a large bowl, combine the dried fruit.
-
To a lidded 1-quart glass jar, add 1/4 of the fruit. Add 1/4 of the sugar, star anise, ginger and clementine peel. Repeat 3 more times. Pour over enough brandy to just cover the fruit. Seal the jar with a lid. Let sit for a week before eating.
Before starting Food52 with Merrill, I was a food writer and editor at the New York Times. I've written several books, including "Cooking for Mr. Latte" and "The Essential New York Times Cookbook." I played myself in "Julie & Julia" -- hope you didn't blink, or you may have missed the scene! I live in Brooklyn with my husband, Tad, and twins, Walker and Addison.
See what other Food52ers are saying.