National Brandied Fruit Day

By Diane Forrest,

Now you may be wondering, what is Brandied Fruit?  Well I was wondering, so I did some looking around.  There is not much information about brandied fruit, except for some recipes.  There isn't much to say about it, it is just brandy, fruit and sugar.  Sounds simple huh?  Well what it the purpose of brandied fruit?

Well from what I can gather is what people did with some of their fruit that was left over from summer months was to put it in jars or "crockery"  pour sugar and brandy on it, leave it in a dark place and let it just sit for a while, a month or two.

In the winter months it would be used as a topping for ice cream, on cakes, even used for garnishes for cocktails. I also learned that it is used to make fruit cake in the United Kingdom, the cake would be made, brandy ( a word that means burnt wine) would be poured over, and the dessert would be set aflame before serving.

Today is a good day to make up your own jar of brandied fruit.  It will be ready just in time for Christmas, and you can you can delight, or terrify, your friends and family when you set their cake on fire.    Below is a recipe that is really simple for making brandied fruit, the main thing is to keep the fruit covered with the brandy, so don't finish off the bottle before covering the fruit.

I also saw a recipe for brandied cherries, which I am sharing below.  This looks like it would make a lovely Christmas gift for that person who has everything.  Just put in a jar, cover the top with a pretty piece of fabric tied with a satin ribbon and you have a beautiful gift.

So today, on Brandied Fruit day, why not try your hand and making this delicious treat for yourself and others.

Brandied Cherries

2 lb. fresh Bing cherries

2 c. brandy

1 c. water

1 c. sugar

Wash cherries and cut off half the stems; place in jar and cover with brandy. Cover jar, but do not seal. Let stand overnight.

Boil sugar and water together 10 minutes; skim surface and cool.

Drain brandy from cherries and add to syrup; stir well and pour back into jar over cherries and seal tight.

Let stand 1 month before using.

Makes 2 quarts.

Brandied Fruit

Ingredients

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup mandarin oranges

1 cup pitted prunes

3/4 cup white sugar

water to cover

1 (15 ounce) can sliced peaches, chopped

1 (15 ounce) can pineapple chunks

3/4 cup brandy

Directions

In a large saucepan combine raisins, mandarin oranges, prunes, sugar and water to cover. Simmer over medium heat until syrupy, about 10 minutes.

Stir in peaches, pineapple and brandy.

Store in refrigerator.

Will keep for months.