Gooseberries and making liqueur

I had the opportunity to pick gooseberries at a friend's house last weekend. I have not had gooseberries since I was young. If you do not know, gooseberry bushes have long, skinny, thorns. Ouch! So I picked and I picked and I picked, for around 2 hours. It felt liked I had picked all the berries and I would move on just to come back and find more. This tiny little 3 foot bush was packed! I ended up with 12 pounds, and that was after my friend had gotten her share. And there were still berries left. 

It took me from 9 pm until roughly 8 pm to pick all the stems an dead flowers off each and every berry. I took a few small breaks, and watch an entire season of Medium, on Hulu. I then proceeded to make jam, which turned out to be syrup so you will not get that recipe until I perfect it. I then went to bed. I still had roughly 4 pounds left. So I decided to make gooseberry liqueur and save a pound for snacks with other berries off our own land for work. I will get to the recipe I used to make my liqueur in a moment. First I want to talk about gooseberries a bit. Gooseberries are very nutritious. They are high in fiber and antioxidants. They are said to help control blood sugar levels and protect your brain. They may even be good for your heart because they are so high in healthy fiber. So if you are willing to get scraped up and poked a bunch then I suggest you get yourself a bush. No need for any more than that. They produce so much fruit.

So, I am making a liqueur. This takes 2 months from start to finish. That is the longest I have had to wait for an alcoholic drink to be ready. But it is worth it. 

 Here's what you need:

2 clean quart jars, lids, and rims

300g of gooseberries washed and strained

335g of granulated sugar

250g of water

and 500g of middle of the road vodka

Boil the water and sugar until sugar is dissolved, stirring often. Allow sugar water to cool thoroughly. Meanwhile, fill jars with 150g of gooseberries and 250g of vodka. Evenly disperse sugar water into the jars. Seal and set away for 2 months. After you have patiently waited 2 months, strain and drink. I Just dump the berries into the compost afterward.  I hope you enjoy. 

Keep brewing, keep cooking, and most definitely keep healing.

Cheers,

MysTorri

Do your best, even when you don't want to.