Pear Cordial, Pear Vodka and Krupnik
Speaking of infusions, without further ado: Pear Cordial, Pear Vodka and Krupnik
Each fall, a tree in my parent's yard drops an unholy amount of ugly, too-firm pears onto their lawn. The squirrels attempt to bring them to their nests, but find them to heavy and drop them, chewed up and mushy all over the lawn. This year, I found a use for these less than perfect pears and I sincerely encourage you to buy, forage or pilfer whatever pears you might have and make this cordial. I brought some to the park on the night of the lunar eclipse and my friends passed it around, deeply inhaling. It smells exactly like fall.
When making this cordial you can also make a simple Pear Vodka, and Krupnik, a traditional honey-spiced liqueur popular in Poland and Lithuania.
Making infusions, cordials and liqueurs are more like a method than an exact recipe, and the more comfortable you get, the more you can experiment.
To make Pear Cordial, Pear Vodka and Krupnik:
Chop up pears and place in a clean vessel and submerge in Vodka. There really is no right or wrong pear to vodka ratio because different pears might have different depth of flavor. A good place to begin would be 3 pounds of pears per quart of vodka. I recommend a green skinned pear so the infusion does not get too murky. Some recipes use grain alcohol or 100 proof vodka, but 80 proof Smirnoff is what I keep in my bar any way, so I use that. Keep this covered in the fridge for 2 weeks or until it tastes like pear vodka, the liquid may look brown. Strain the pears and reserve whatever amount you would like to keep as Pear Vodka and decant it into a clean bottle for storage, and keep in the refrigerator. You are done with your Pear Vodka!
On the day you are making the Pear cordial, you will also be making your Krupnik. Again, exact ratios are difficult, because you might prefer a sweeter or stronger spirit, so make this on a day you don't mind having a few sips of booze!
First, make a honey syrup. In a non reactive pan place 8 oz of honey, 8 oz of water, 3 cardamom pods, a cinnamon stick, 5 cloves and a vanilla pod. Heat this on low for about an hour. The point is to get as much flavor into the honey as possible so you can do this a few days ahead of time and keep the spices and honey together in the fridge until you are ready to make the infusions. Strain the syrup before use. You can use a coffee filter, but I think a little sediment and fleck of vanilla are welcome in the finished product.
Take your cold syrup and begin adding it to the pear vodka that you wanted to turn into pear cordial. I used about 3/4 cup of honey syrup in a quart of pear vodka. You are done with your Pear Cordial!
To make Krupnik, add cold honey syrup to vodka. That's it! Some recipes for Krupnik involve citrus peel and the addition of vodka to hot honey (off the flame, please!!) but I much prefer the hold honey syrup method because I can taste the sweetness of the finished product as I add the honey to the vodka and stop once it is a flavor I like. I'm sure I don't need to provide uses for extra spiced honey syrup...
A note on fruit: if you ever find yourself peeling pears or apples for a pie or tart, throw those peels directly into grain alcohol or high proof vodka and let them steep. They will impart delicious flavor and color and when you have time you can make a cordial.
A note on honey: I always keep a jar of local honey with a vanilla bean, cardamom pods, cloves and cinnamon sticks at the ready. When I need to make the syrup I just heat that 50/50 with water and then cool. I can not recommend this to you enough. I am begging you to do it. Imagine adding that to your tea on a rainy day? Imagine drizzling that on toast?
Uses: Pear Cordial is fantastic on it's own but is especially delicious in a cocktail with sparkling wine. Pear Vodka is excellent in ginger beer or as a martini. Krupnik is wonderful to pass around a fire, as-is and is also delicious in cider or other fall beverages.