Now the Calvados alcoholic drink is known and popular all over the world. He has a lot of admirers. Nowadays, reviews of calvados are mostly positive, and often even enthusiastic, but this was not always the case. At the beginning of the last century, this alcohol was known only in its homeland.
Yes, now many have heard about this drink, but not everyone knows what it is, where to buy Calvados. According to the production technology, this alcohol can be classified as brandy, only apples, not grapes, are used in its basis. And reviews of Calvados say the same thing. If you ask anyone who has tried this drink, the answer will always be the same - this is apple brandy. But still this statement is not entirely true.
What is calvados?
This drink is made from apple, and in some cases pear cider, by distillation. The result is a strong alcoholic beverage. How many degrees in calvados? Forty to sixty five.
The ancestors of this drink are the ancient Vikings from the territory of Lower Normandy. That is, calvados was born in the fifteenth century.
At first, the drink was so called only in colloquial speech. And exclusively in one area of Normandy.
How did the popularity come?
Most likely, no one would have found out about this alcohol if it had not been included in the register of the Rules of Authenticity of Origin. This happened in the mid-twentieth century. Beverage production began to be controlled at the state level. It was this fact that attracted the attention of consumers. Positive reviews about Calvados began to diverge first around the country, and then far beyond its borders.
Under French law, apple vodka can only be made in certain areas. Moreover, the fruits themselves must grow in this area. If you start apples from another region, then the drink can no longer be called calvados.
In general, about one hundred and fifty varieties of apples and pears can be used to make this alcohol, but at the moment there are only forty-eight.
How is calvados aged and what is its cost?
This is one of the most important processes in the manufacture of a drink. It depends on him how the alcohol will be labeled (as cognac or brandy). After the cider is passed through the distillation apparatus, the output is clear alcohol. Excerpts in barrels add color to the drink.
Calvados from other countries
If the drink is not released on the territory of France, then it cannot be legally considered a calvados. But this does not mean that apple brandies of other countries should not be tried. For example, reviews of Calvados from the Czech Republic and Bulgaria are still not bad. And their price is much nicer than that of French drinks, from five hundred to five thousand rubles. Even an average-income consumer can lay out such a sum for high-quality alcohol.
After all that has been read, many will wonder, is it possible to make calvados at home from apples? Yes, of course you can. For starters, the recipe is not quite the right calvados. It is rather apple tincture. However, the aroma resembles the original drink.
Pseudocalvados
This drink does not have to spend a lot of time and money.
What is included:
- a couple of kilograms of apples;
- liter of vodka;
- two hundred grams of sugar;
- two thirds of a glass of water;
- ten grams of vanilla sugar.
Cooking Technology:
- The fruits are washed, peeled and cut into small cubes.
- Shredded apples are sent to a container and covered with vanilla.
- Then you need to fill in all this with vodka and put it in the pantry for two weeks. Do not put in the cellar, as the temperature should be room temperature.
- Then the fruits are removed, the liquid is filtered, the pulp is squeezed.
- Mix sugar with water and boil the liquid. After the foam begins to appear, it needs to be removed. After this, the syrup will be ready, it must be cooled to room temperature and mixed with tincture.
- It remains only to pour into more suitable containers. Such an apple calvados is stored at home for three years. Its fortress usually does not exceed thirty-five degrees.
The recipe for homemade calvados
It is such a drink that is as close to the original as possible. No additional ingredients are used here, except apples (it is better to take high-quality). The variety is not so important, but the fruits should be juicy and sweet.
- Cooking cider. It is necessary to squeeze the juice and defend it for a day. The room should be dark and have room temperature. Then you need to remove the foam from the liquid and remove the sediment. Next, a water lock is installed, which can be used as a rubber glove, previously a small hole is punctured in one of the fingers. After the fermentation process is over, the finished cider is poured into a distillation cube.
- Distillation process. You can use any moonshine. The first distillation takes place without dividing into fractions. All alcohol is selected until the fortress in the stream drops below thirty degrees. The resulting moonshine must be diluted with water to eighteen to twenty degrees. Re-distillation is already taking place with the selection of the “head”, “body” and “tail”. That is, the first fifteen percent is discarded, and then the selection ends when the fortress falls below forty degrees. It turns alcohol to eighty degrees.
- If it is not possible to withstand in oak barrels, then you can put oak pegs in glass jars. In this case, you can not use sawdust or bark - so you can completely spoil the entire drink. The thickness of the pegs should be slightly less than one centimeter, and the length should be from ten to fifteen centimeters. First, they need to be poured with boiling water for about ten minutes, and then another twenty minutes to let soak in cold water. Then the tree needs to dry. Alcohol is diluted to forty-five degrees, the pegs are folded in glass jars and poured with distillate. Be sure to roll up metal covers. Withstand the drink from six months to a year.
- Filtration. This is best done not just through cheesecloth, but through cotton wool.