‘Everything that’s old is new again’. That could be the anthem of the newstalgia movement. But it cer-tainly applies to today’s focus dish: Brandied Cherries. Sounds effite? Snobby? It can be, but we’re going to prove it doesn’t have to be!
My Dad used to make a special trip to the liquor store every fall around Canadian Thanksgiving (Middle October). And there was only one thing on his shopping list. A bottle of Brandy to make his signature Christmas treat – Brandied Fruits. Not just cherries, but blueberries, pears, plums, peaches or apricots, and the secret ingredient: a few chopped dates.
The recipe was simple…
In a suitably sized sauce pan:
Stir together 1 cup / 125 ml each of granulated sugar and brown sugar. Or use two cups / 250 ml granulated with 3 tbsp. / 45 ml molasses.
Cook on low as if making a syrup, stirring with a big spoon until the sugar is dissolved. Let cool.
When cooled to room temp, add 1 cup / 125 ml Brandy. Stir to distribute the Brandy evenly through-out the syrup.
Then transfer the syrup to a large sturdy container. Dad used an old, family-heirloom clay crock with a loose-fitting lid.
To the syrup, add 6 to 8 cups of mixed fruits of your choice. Stir gently so as not to break the fruit, but until all he fruit is in contact with the syrup. If any fruit protrudes above the surface of the syrup, add enough Brandy to ensure it’s all submerged.
Cover and let macerate for at least an hour, stirring every 10 minutes to circulate the fruit in the liquid..
After that hour, cover and set the crock, covered, in a cool dry place to rest for at least 30 days. After a month, you can start dipping into the resulting fruit compote. But the longer you leave it, the better it will become, as the flavours all meld and marry with each other.
Myriad applications
Your Brandied fruits will find a whole cookbook of uses.
The classic presentation is one or two soup spoons of fruit over two or three scoops of good quality Vanilla Ice Cream. An elegant capper to any fine meal!
But you’ll find ways (reasons or excuses) to use this decadent melange everywhere you look. One application that’s not obvious is to add the syrup (replete with its fruity aromas and flavours) to dishes that cry out for a swavoury touch. Add the aged syrup to roast drippings when making gravy or jus. Use as a glaze on that a festive ham or pork roast. Once your imagination gets started on this one, you’ll find it hard to rein in!
One cherished memory of my childhood involved the ‘Quick Fruit Cake’ mom used to make, using a date-and-nut quick bread batter and a well-drained cup of Dad’s compote. The heat involved in baking the cake drove off most (if not all) of the alcohol, so even us kids could have some.
Note that the Brandy, which is high in alcohol, will preserve the fruits all by itself. No need to go through the whole classic ‘canning’ process, involving sterilization of Mason jars and lids.
Tips and hacks…
Here’s where the newstalgia angle comes in… You can try substituting the Brandy with other types of liquor you may prefer. Possibilities include sherry, bourbon or even vodka – if you’re looking for a lighter, fruitier flavour profile. There’s a whole parallel school of thought that champions full-bodied red or white wines with at last 12 percent alcohol content as boozy bases…
All fruits should be at or near the same size so they ‘age’ at the same rate. That means peeling and dicing candidates such as peaches, plums or apricots.
Serve your Brandied Fruits in judicious portions. The stuff is full of booze, and the recommended two soup spoons of the mixture per diner will contain the alcohol equivalent of a standard 1 oz / 28-30 ml cocktail shot.
Forever Fruit
You can set up a sort of perpetual compote machine by adding back fruit, syrup and Brandy monthly to replenish your withdrawals from the ‘account’.
However, because some elements of the melange will have macerated for longer periods than others, the resulting flavour profile will be somewhat different – though no less enticing – than the one-time recipe.
My take
I always make a batch of Dad’s Brandied Fruits for the festive season. It lasts until about Easter. Then, I take a break and rotate to lighter, ‘sunnier’ beverages and treats for summer! Which is NOT to say there’s no place for a spoonful of Brandied Fruits in any fruity summer dish!
~ Maggie J.