Cheers to Shortcuts
Tucked in the back of one shelf in my kitchen is an item that is easy to make, a great way to preserve extra produce (especially fruit), and a fantastic way to add depth to myriad baked goods and other recipes. Not to mention, an easy way to impress your neighbors with dishes that seem really fancy.... pinkies out, everyone! Yet, for as much as I love this item, I often forget I have it, and it's even more rare that I remember to make it during harvest time.
Today, I made one of my favorite brownie recipes, and as much as I love a good old fashioned fudge brownie, sometimes I want something a little extra. So I dug around and stumbled upon the rum soaked cherries that I had preserved a couple years ago. Score!
Alcohol is a preservation method that has stood the test of time... literally. It doesn't require special equipment or a whole day in the kitchen. You don't have to worry about ph levels or dealing with a water bath. You also don't have to fuss over airlocks and risk possible spoilage like in standard lacto-fermentation.
You can go all out with a German Rumtopf, or keep it simple like I did – fresh cherries, stems removed, in a quart mason jar with enough rum or bourbon to cover. You can even get crazy with spices and herbs, or other flavors like a bit of vanilla extract, or add some sugar to yield a sweet liqueur. I would recommend covering with a plastic mason lid because the alcohol will tarnish the metal lids, but just put the jar in a cool, dark place and forget about it for a while. The longer it sits, the better, but you can start tasting after about a month.
Not only did these boozy beauties add a pop of flavor to my brownies, but the cherry-flavored rum will end up in a fun experiment some day in the future when I stumble upon them again. But for now, back to the dark recesses of my cupboard the jar goes.
