Grams and the Cherry Bombs
One Christmas, when I was about 15, Grams made brandied cherries. The fact that she didn't quite understand the fermentation process, made it an adventure for one and all.
See, brandied cherries have to be "put up" when cherries are in season, around June or July. So she did, putting them in a jar, filling it halfway with brandy and the rest of the way with water, plus some sugar, then put them in a cool dark place to set. A couple of weeks later, she went back to check on them, and tasted the liquid mixture. She found it to be a little bit strong.
So she added some sugar to sweeten it up.
A few weeks later, she checked again. Again, too strong. Added more sugar to sweeten it.
Now, if you need the fermentation process explained to you... well, then you ain't from the South!! LOL no, seriously, the basic premise is that when you add sugar to alcohol, some natural chemical reaction causes the sugar to become more/stronger alcohol. So basically what happened was, for roughly six months, my grandmother would add sugar every two weeks, thinking she would make the cherries sweeter when in fact she was making the brandy stronger. Come Christmas, when she broke them out for dinner with the family.... oh my HEAVEN!!! only one person could eat more than one, and my little no-drinking teenage self was practically on the floor...
Ya know, I was just thinking... I've told that story a billion times over the years, but... Grams is a pretty smart cookie. I wonder if she knew what she was doing all along?
See, brandied cherries have to be "put up" when cherries are in season, around June or July. So she did, putting them in a jar, filling it halfway with brandy and the rest of the way with water, plus some sugar, then put them in a cool dark place to set. A couple of weeks later, she went back to check on them, and tasted the liquid mixture. She found it to be a little bit strong.
So she added some sugar to sweeten it up.
A few weeks later, she checked again. Again, too strong. Added more sugar to sweeten it.
Now, if you need the fermentation process explained to you... well, then you ain't from the South!! LOL no, seriously, the basic premise is that when you add sugar to alcohol, some natural chemical reaction causes the sugar to become more/stronger alcohol. So basically what happened was, for roughly six months, my grandmother would add sugar every two weeks, thinking she would make the cherries sweeter when in fact she was making the brandy stronger. Come Christmas, when she broke them out for dinner with the family.... oh my HEAVEN!!! only one person could eat more than one, and my little no-drinking teenage self was practically on the floor...
Ya know, I was just thinking... I've told that story a billion times over the years, but... Grams is a pretty smart cookie. I wonder if she knew what she was doing all along?
posted by SaraSmile | 9:30 PM
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