Slivovitz raki recipe. How to make slivyanka with and without vodka

There are many delicious and flavorful alcoholic drinks that can be prepared at home. Slivovitz is one of those drinks. This is a fairly strong alcohol, from 40 to 50 degrees, and even those who have just begun to master the art of moonshine can cope with its preparation.

Slivovitz is a kind of brandy, or just moonshine made from plums. In Western countries it is known as rakia, it is most popular in the Balkans. The Serbian version of the preparation of the drink is very popular all over the world, and Czech brandy is also famous. Each recipe for making an alcoholic drink on plums has its own nuances. Some argue that rakia and slivovitz are essentially the same drink, just under a different name. Others argue that, despite the similarity, these are still two different moonshine products.

Secrets of Homemade Slivovitz

The first step is to answer the question about the presence of sugar in the traditional recipe. Many who decide to cook plum brandy at home for the first time ask just such a question. classic cooking drink denies the addition of sugar. But if we take into account many of the nuances that relate to the climatic and geographical conditions of the location of our country, then the presence of sugar in the drink is still allowed. Plums that grow in our gardens often do not have enough sweetness.

Each nation amends the recipes that are borrowed from other countries. In the presence of plums with a low sugar content, it is necessary to adjust the technology for preparing plum brandy. In principle, only plums and water are needed to make rakia, but if the fruits are sour in taste, then sweets will have to be added. However, it is better not to overdo it, otherwise, instead of a pleasant drink, you will get ordinary mash.

So, in optimal proportions you will need:

• 10-11 kilograms of ripe plum fruits;
• 9 liters of purified water;
• The amount of sugar is determined by eye, and depends on the sweetness of the fruit.

In addition, you will need two containers for fermentation. Making plum brandy is not that difficult. The first step is the preparation of plums, then the wort is set, fermentation occurs, after which the drink is double distilled and infused.

Properly preparing fruits

Homemade plums are best for making slivovitz, but if they are not available, then any available variety will do. It can be a Hungarian plum, altana, egg or mirabelle. Fruit picking for slivovitz takes place as late as possible, before the first frost. That's when they're at their sweetest. The fruits should be allowed to ripen as much as possible, but do not miss the moment when they begin to rot and deteriorate.

The surface of the fruit has natural yeast, so they are not washed when preparing alcoholic beverages.

To get rid of dirt and dust, you just need to wipe them with a dry cloth. Plums need to be removed from the pits, divided into two halves and mashed directly into the fermentation tank to a puree state. This is easy to do with a regular kitchen grinder or a drill with a grinder attachment. It is also recommended to add a fifth of the seeds to the wort, which must also be crushed beforehand. Fruit pits will give plum brandy a bitter, tart taste.

Setting up the fermentation wort

In principle, this process does not bring anything new. As a container for fermentation, you can use a wooden vat or a barrel where plum gruel is placed. You can also use plastic barrels if the material is suitable for food. If the wort seems not sweet, then you can add sugar to taste, or follow the hydrometer readings. It is necessary to gradually add sugar and mix, periodically measuring the sugar content. Ideally, when the indicator is 18 percent.

In order to start the fermentation process, the wort barrel must be covered with a thin cloth or gauze, and put in a warm place for a day. If the process goes correctly, then foam will begin to form on the surface. If after a day there are no signs of fermentation, then you should add more sugar, and wait another ten hours.

After the fermentation process has begun, the wort can be poured into a more convenient, even glass, container. To reduce the acidity of the wort, water must be added at this stage. The wort will foam up a lot, so you don't want the container to be filled to the top. The wort must be mixed well, and a water seal should be installed on the neck of the bottle. Braga should be placed in a dark place where it will be protected from any temperature extremes and sunlight. Ideally, the temperature in the room should be 15 degrees, but 20-22 is allowed. At a temperature of 15 degrees, the mash will be ready in one and a half to two months. At a temperature of 22 degrees, this process will be reduced to two or four weeks.

In the process of fermentation, carbon dioxide is released in large quantities, with the help of which spontaneous mixing of the mash occurs. It is absolutely impossible to beat the wort on your own. The gas will lift up the pieces of plums, thereby forming a film. Well, if it is possible to carefully remove it, without waiting until it sinks to the bottom of the bottle. There are quite a lot of harmful and unnecessary impurities in this film. It is worth starting distillation immediately after carbon dioxide has ceased to be released.

Distillation and infusion of slivovitz

It is worth distilling the drink at least twice. To do this, the mash is poured into a distillation cube and chased until alcohol is no longer felt in the distiller. Braga turns out to be thick, so to avoid burning, you need to heat it over low heat, but it is better to use a steam generator. On the first distillation, you should not remove the first and last product. It contains many aromatic oils.

At the second distillation, the first and last alcohols should be cut off by diluting the crude alcohol from the first distillation to 25 degrees. Pervak ​​is often used for medicinal purposes, and the "tail" is used in further distillation. If you fully comply with the proportions, then you should get about 150 grams of pervak, the main product and a half liters, and 200 grams of the tail. After the second distillation, slivovitz is very strong, up to 60 degrees.

Of course, lovers of strong drinks can use it like that, but still it is worth diluting it to 45 degrees.

Traditionally, brandy is infused in oak barrels, if there is such an opportunity, then it should not be neglected. Of course, at least 10 liters of slivovitz are insisted in barrels. Serbs spend at least one hundred kilograms of plums to get this amount of drink. Tasting the drink right after the pasture is a bad idea.

The drink should rest and brew for one or two months. Only then will its taste be pleasant, and the aroma refined.

If there is no oak barrel, or the volume of plum brandy does not allow it to be infused there, then glass bottles are also great, but only with the right lid. In the Czech Republic, plum brandy is aged until its strength drops from 53 degrees to 50. In Moravia, the bottles are buried and taken out only on occasion.

The history of the drink and how to drink it correctly

Slivovitz is prepared by absolutely all the inhabitants of the Balkans. They produce it not only for themselves, but also treat tourists with a drink, and even use it as a means of combating many ailments. The inhabitants of the Balkans are well versed in the intricacies of the distillation of slivovitz, and its fundamental difference from moonshine. They withstand the drink for at least one year, and sometimes five years.

A real drink called slivovitz has a characteristic golden color. It acquires this shade due to prolonged infusion in oak barrels. Therefore, if plum brandy turned out to be transparent at home, there is no doubt about the quality of the drink. By the way, store-bought slivovitz may not have a color. This alcohol is very easy to drink, even though it is very strong. It does not burn, and even a hangover from it is quite light.

The Serbs have a patent for it, but this is not entirely fair. The Czechs prepared such a drink five hundred years ago, and in Moravia during the war they ate only plums, and alcohol was also prepared from its fruits. But, starting from 2007, only Serbia can produce a drink called Slivovitz, so you should be very careful in stores, be sure to pay attention to the manufacturer and year of manufacture.

Of course, in order not to fall for a fake, it is better to prepare this drink yourself. In our country, there are no problems with plums, and besides, in a year rich in such fruits, you can not rack your brains.

Where to use them

In addition to observing the correct process of preparation and infusion, plum brandy must be drunk correctly. This is a very strong drink, and the culture of drinking here is more important than ever. Most often plum brandy acts as an aperitif, and only in its pure form. Adding plum brandy to cocktails is not worth it, it will only spoil the taste with metallic notes. The ideal snack for this drink is lightly toasted bread from cornmeal. As a rule, the first stack is not supposed to be eaten, but with plum brandy this is not necessary.

Strong alcohol causes an increased appetite, which is why plum brandy is ideal for an aperitif. Often it replaces vodka on the festive table. Fruit notes go well with most meat dishes, so you can eat it with what we are used to seeing on the table. The temperature of plum brandy during use may be different. Some prefer chilled plum brandy, while others prefer warming it up. Room temperature is also suitable. It is worth trying different options, because each temperature state reveals individual notes of the drink.

Of course, not only slivovitz is cooked in the Balkans. There you can find a large number of alcoholic drinks on various fruits and berries, as well as real fruit mixes. Various varieties of brandy are popular in the Czech Republic, for example, blackcurrant, slightly rotted wild pear, cherry, blackberry and strawberry. Coniferous brandy, made with brewer's yeast and apples, is also popular there. All these drinks can be found on the shelves of Czech stores, as well as cooked at home.

The Balkans are accustomed to treating wounds and cuts with slivovitz, using brandy as an antiseptic. In combination with various herbs, slivovitz-based tinctures help them fight cardiovascular diseases, rheumatism, sciatica and colds. It is also used in home cosmetology to cleanse the skin of various rashes. It also helps with disorders of the nervous system.

The drink, which won the hearts of Serbs and Czechs a long time ago, is gradually gaining popularity all over the world. This is not surprising, because it is based on natural ingredients, these are just plums that turn into a pleasant alcoholic drink.

Slivovitz can be of different strength - from 45 to 75% vol., but it is always cooked fermented plum juice. Plum vodka was once on the table of every Jewish family in Eastern Europe. On Passover, it was forbidden to drink alcohol from grain, and plum brandy was considered kosher. Settling around the world, emigrants popularized this drink and now you can see moonshine on plums in almost any country.

In fact, slivovitz - fruit brandy. The fermented juice of sweet plums goes through two or three distillations and is sent for aging in oak barrels for a period of one to five years. High-quality alcohol is golden and smells like plums, but not all samples can boast of this.

Slivovitz gets its color and oiliness in oak barrels, if the drink is colorless, it tastes closer to grape brandy. It is problematic to buy real plum brandy in our stores, but you can cook it yourself.

In 100 ml plum brandy 302 kcal. Fruit alcohol is rich in vitamins B2 and PP and trace elements, including iron, potassium, phosphorus and calcium. It is believed that a glass before dinner helps the absorption of fatty foods and facilitates digestion.

What do you need for home cooking?

Procurement of raw materials:

• If there are a lot of plums in your area, the crop can be put to good use. Well, if the plums are sweet, then you can do without adding sugar and yeast, and the taste of fruit brandy will be noble. Unfortunately, northern plums are different from Balkan plums, but their sugar content must be taken into account when compiling a recipe.
• Plums become sweeter after frost, try to collect overripe and frostbitten fruits.
• Do not use rotten or spoiled fruit.
• It is good if the collection of plums will take place in dry weather. In this case, live yeast will remain on the skin.
• The original technology involves fermentation in wooden containers, but they are perfectly replaced by plastic or glassware.
• Wash all equipment and hands thoroughly, otherwise germs will interfere with fermentation, and plums will simply turn sour or moldy.

Recipe for cooking at home

Ingredients:

• 11-12 kg plums.
• Sugar - depending on the sweetness of the plums.
• Water - 8 liters.

Wort setting

Do not wash plums. Remove the pits, leave a few pieces to give the alcohol an almond flavor. Grind the fruits in any way possible and proceed to setting the wort:

1. Try plum puree. If it is sour, add some sugar and stir. Pour in 100 g until the wort becomes sweetish. The optimum sugar content is 8%.
2. Place the mass in a fermentation container, tie gauze around the throat and put in a warm place.
3. You will learn about the beginning of fermentation in about a day - foam will appear on the surface. If this does not happen, add sugar and leave for another day. Sometimes fermentation does not start, then you have to save the raw material by turning it into with the help of yeast.
4. Pour water at a temperature of about 27-28 ° C into the fermented mass. Mix.
5. Close the container with a water seal or a rubber glove with a hole.

Fermentation

The basis of the distillate should be wine. Place the container with the wort in a dark and warm room.

The process can take from 2 to 8 weeks. The end of fermentation is indicated by the sedimentation of the “cap” to the bottom and the cessation of gurgling (falling off of the rubber glove).

Distillation

1. Separate the wine from the sediment.
2. Distill twice through a moonshine with cutting off heads and tails. It is possible to carry out a third distillation, since it is impossible to purify alcohol with charcoal and other methods - it will lose its aroma.
3. Before re-distillation, dilute the distillate with water to 25-35% vol.
4. After 3 hours of distillation, you will get approximately 150 g of heads and 200 ml of tails. The rest is a strong distillate, which needs up to 45% vol.

Product yield from 11 kg plums - 1 liter.

Infusion and aging

1. Slivovitz is already ready to drink, but it still needs to be finished in an oak barrel or on oak chips.
2. For home conditions, the optimal exposure time is 1 year, although in places of mass production, alcohol is kept for up to 5 years.
3. If you don't have a barrel or pegs, just let plum brandy rest for a couple of months in the bottle.
4. Store the finished drink preferably in a dark and cool place.

How to drink?

• Slivovitz is drunk in small glasses before meals to stimulate the appetite. They start to have a snack from the second glass, crispy toasted bread will come in handy.
• When mixed with other alcoholic and soft drinks Rakia gives the cocktail an unpleasant metallic aftertaste.
• The strength of alcohol from the plums is not felt, but this is a deceptive lightness. Consider the degrees and volumes of alcohol consumed.

The taste of rakia is considered by many to be peculiar, but lovers of fruit vodka are not ready to exchange it even for elite alcohol. Try it, maybe this is your drink.

Slivovitz - common in the Balkans and other countries of Western Europe alcoholic drink from plums. This is the national rakia (brandy) in Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Herzegovina. It is made from fermented plum (fermented) juice. It is close to brandy in strength and is often referred to in English as plum brandy.

Slivovitz was first produced in the Balkans in the 16th century. Many varieties of plums grow here, some of which are used to make plum brandy. The name comes from the South Slavic "plum". The drink was liked by the local peasant population and gradually it began to be made in other European countries.

Currently, it is produced in the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Bosnia, Poland, Croatia, Serbia, Romania. In small quantities, the drink is produced in Germany, Italy, Austria, France, Switzerland.

In Croatia, for example, 70 percent of all grown plums go to slivovitz.

You can drink it right away. But a better one, with a rich fruity aroma and a characteristic yellow color, is obtained after aging in barrels made of mulberry or oak wood. As a rule, withstand 5 years.

They drink from small glasses of vodka or shots in a chilled or warm form.

How plum brandy is made

For the preparation of plum brandy, ripe fruits are selected. Rinse thoroughly and pound in a mortar until puree is obtained.

Then the whole mass is placed in containers and a little water is added. They are left to roam.

The fermented wort is distilled once or twice, depending on what strength they want to get a drink.

Some recipes add sugar and yeast to plum puree.

Slivovitz is imitated by adding fermented plum juice to vodka or cognac, flavored with bitter almond oil.

Useful properties of plum brandy

The Balkans believe that their national brandy has many health benefits. They use it as an antiseptic to disinfect minor injuries, wounds, scratches. Herbs insist.

Adam's root tincture

So, on slivovitz they make a tincture of Adam's root, which is used for radiculitis, polyarthritis, rheumatism. The crushed root is poured with plum brandy and insisted for several days.

Tincture walnut

In case of heart rhythm disturbance, walnut tincture is made. They take walnut membranes (500 grams) and pour plum brandy. After insisting for 14 days, filter. Drink 30-40 drops per day.

Tincture with calendula

In case of inflammation of the oral mucosa, pour 25 grams of flowers into 100 ml of plum brandy. Insist in a dark place for 5-7 days. Add 1 teaspoon to a glass of water.

Soothing lily of the valley

Collect lily of the valley flowers and fill the jar one third of the volume. Pour plum brandy over and leave for 2 weeks. Drink 10 drops, diluted with water, 2-3 times a day.

Lotion for oily skin

Pour 10 grams of leafy green tea with 100 grams of plum brandy. Leave for a week. Strain and wipe the face by diluting 2 tablespoons in a glass of warm water.

In the presence of blackheads, cauterize with undiluted lotion.

Contraindications and harm

Slivovitz belongs to strong alcoholic drinks. It should not be taken by children and teenagers.

It is contraindicated in pregnant and lactating women.

Drinking alcohol is incompatible with the simultaneous use of any medications.

Excessive consumption can lead to problems with the liver, kidneys, stomach.

How to make plum brandy at home

Having minimal experience in making homemade wine, it is not so difficult to make it yourself at home. The only thing that could be a problem is the presence of a distillation apparatus.

homemade plum brandy recipe

You will need:

Ripe plums - 10-11 kg (preferably blue)

Distilled or purified water - 7-9 liters

How to make plum brandy

Fruit already has its own natural yeast. Therefore, they are not additionally needed. You can throw raisins to enhance fermentation.

Someone recommends washing the fruit. Others don't. It all depends on what conditions they grew up in. You can not wash your pets, but simply wipe them with a napkin or paper towel. Store-bought items need to be washed and dried.

They must be ripe. The riper, the more natural sugar they contain.

Remove pits from prepared fruits. Next are two options:

Crush in a container in which they will roam;

Grind in a blender or scroll in a meat grinder.

For aroma from the seeds, you need to remove the kernel and throw it into the wort. 15-20 percent of the total number of plums will be enough.

Taste the resulting puree. If it is not very sweet, add sugar and mix well.

Close the container with a napkin. Put in a warm place for a day. During this time, the puree should begin to ferment, i.e. the first bubbles of gas appear on its surface.

The best temperature to start fermentation is not lower than 22-25 degrees. If the room is cooler, cover the container.

If after a day the first signs of fermentation do not appear, add a little sugar and raisins. Leave in a warm place for 12-15 hours.

This concludes the first stage of making homemade slivovitz.

The second stage is the fermentation of the wort. The puree is poured into another large container. Preferably with a narrow neck.

Dilute with water. The wort should not be too thin. Add water gradually. If necessary, add sugar, stirring it thoroughly. Install a water seal.

The total volume of the wort must be at least one third below the rim of the container, as it will rise during the fermentation process.

The container is left in a dark, warm place where the temperature will not fall below 20-22 degrees.

In the first days after the start of fermentation, plum skins will rise to the surface. It must be carefully removed.

It is not necessary to stir the wort, as the gas bubbles that are released do an excellent job of this.

Fermentation lasts approximately 2 to 4 weeks. At lower temperatures from 6 to 8.

As soon as fermentation is over, the wort must be distilled. To do this, it is poured into a special distillation apparatus. Set on low heat (so as not to burn) and slowly heat up.

Professionals drive it until the fortress is 20-25 degrees. Then the resulting alcohol is diluted by 20-25 percent with water and again distilled a second time, divided into several fractions.

The first is used to make tinctures (it is the strongest). The middle part is plum brandy. And the last one, with a lower strength, is added to the new wort.

According to this recipe, you can get about one and a half liters of plum brandy. You can drink it right away. But in the Balkans, they first insist on it.

Few people will wait 5 years to try their homemade drink. One to three months is enough. Pour it into bottles, close and clean the cabinet.

Slivovitz is about 55-60 degrees. During the infusion, its strength will decrease, and the aroma will improve.

For whom it is difficult to make plum brandy according to classic recipe Here's an easier recipe. Rather, it is a liqueur from plums or tincture.

You will need:

175 grams of sugar

1 liter brandy

Optional:

Cinnamon (2-3 sticks)

Orange or lemon peels

How to do

Rinse the fruits well, discarding all spoiled, wrinkled.

Remove bones. Remove overnight in the freezer. This method will allow you to extract more juice.

Take out in the morning and thaw in the room.

Transfer to a jar or bottle.

Add sugar, cinnamon, orange or lemon peels.

Pour cognac (or vodka). Close the lid and shake the container to dissolve the sugar.

Over the next few days or weeks, shake the jar once a day until all the sugar has dissolved.

Once the sugar has completely dissolved, place in a cool dark place and leave for 3-4 months.

Then strain and bottle.

Leftover plums can be used for dessert.

How to drink plum brandy

As mentioned above, they drink it from small piles. The temperature of the drink is not important. What can not be done is to mix. When mixed, a metallic taste is felt, which spoils the drink.

Slivovitz is a delicious alcoholic drink with a strength of 40-50 degrees, which anyone can prepare at home. There is a simple recipe that even a novice moonshine maker can easily master.

In many European countries, it is also known as rakia. Most of all it is made in the Balkans. Serbian brandy is widely known. However, the Czech version of the drink is no less popular. In the recipes for their preparation, of course, there are features. Some connoisseurs of alcohol believe that rakia is plum brandy. Others argue that these are very close, but still different drinks.

If this spirit seems too strong to you, then you can also prepare softer and delicious drinks. A prime example is home.

How to do at home?

First of all, we want to answer the most common question that people who try to make it at home ask: “Do I need to add sugar?”. If we turn to the traditional classic recipe, the answer will always be no. However, if we take into account the geographical and climatic features of our country, we will no longer be so categorical. The fact is that the plums that ripen in our country often do not have the necessary sweetness and sugar content.

In order for plum brandy to turn out tasty in such a situation, we must make an appropriate adjustment to the recipe and use sugar. In any case, the right understanding comes only with practice and experience.

Slivovitz is a classic recipe.

You will need the following ingredients:

• ripe plums - 6 kg;
• filtered water - 4 liters.

The correct sequence of actions when preparing a drink at home.

1. Preparation of fruits.

Remember, plums cannot be washed. This is due to the fact that on their skins there are natural yeasts that we need for the normal fermentation process.

Only ripe sweet plums are suitable for our plum brandy recipe. It is not scary if you remove them from a tree or pick them up from the ground in a slightly overripe form.

All fruits are divided in half. The bones are taken from them. Then they must be crushed to a state of homogeneous mass. For these purposes, you can use a meat grinder or blender. Place the finished plum mass in a fermentation container.

2. We prepare the wort for mash.

If you plan to add sugar to our brandy, then this should be done at this stage. There can be no exact recommendations here. It all depends on the sugar content of the plums you use.

Taste the plum mass. If you don't feel sweet, then add sugar. Taste the wort again after adding it. Repeat if necessary. Sometimes it is enough to pour 70-100 grams. However, in some cases, 200-300 grams may not be enough. Trust your taste and do everything boldly.

3. Fermentation.

Place the fermentation container for 24 hours in a warm and dark place. Its neck should be tied with gauze. If you did everything correctly, then after a day you will see foam on the surface of the wort. Otherwise, pour another 200 grams of granulated sugar into the container and wait an additional 10-12 hours.

After you see bubbles on the surface of the wort, pour the prepared water into our container. After that, mix well and install a water seal. If you are used to using a rubber glove, you can do the same in this case.

In order for fermentation to be fast and of high quality, it is necessary to create the right conditions. The container with the mash should be in a dark room with a temperature of 19-25 degrees. In this case, fermentation can last 15-20 days. Knowing when it's over is very easy. If no bubbles form, then everything is ready to start the distillation.

4. Distillation.

Pour the mash that has reached into the distillation cube of the moonshine still. When distilling, you need to select the "body" of plum brandy. Throw back the "heads" - the first 100 ml of the exit. This is done because pervak ​​contains acetone. We stop harvesting the product when the outlet strength drops below 40 degrees. Next will go "tails", which also contain harmful substances.

Then it should be re-distilled. This will help you get rid of fusel oils for sure. The result is plum brandy with a strength of 50-60 degrees. If necessary, it can be diluted with water. If you focus on a fortress of 44-45 degrees, then at the exit you will get 500-800 ml of plum brandy.

Any fruit moonshine will significantly improve its taste if, after distillation, insist it in wooden oak barrels. If you don’t have them or you just don’t want to spend time on this, then you can start tasting.

There is another example of a classic fruit brandy - grappa. In popularity, this alcohol in Italy can compete with wine. And that says a lot! quite simply prepared from any grape variety.

What varieties of plums are best to use?

Slivovitz is unpretentious in this sense. You can take whatever fruits you can get. However, choose the sweetest plums. The less sugar you use in the process of making plum brandy at home, the more enjoyable the tasting will be.

You can use the following varieties of plums: Alyonushka, Vengerka, Candy, Croman, Honey, Narach, Tulitsa and any others.

How to drink?

Slivovitz is an excellent aperitif. In other words, one glass is drunk before meals for appetite. In this case, do not bite it. So, you will really feel the taste and quickly feel a brutal appetite.

Slivovitz can be served with festive table instead of vodka. In this case, eat it the same way as you are used to with other strong alcohol. Any hot meat dish is great.

Drink plum brandy only in its pure form.