My favorite beverage to sip while reading late at night is amaretto - an Italian almond-flavored liqueur. This week I discovered that it is possible to make one's own amaretto at home, and the process is so simple that any idiot can do it.
Ingredients
1 cup water1 cup white sugar½ cup brown sugar1 ounce almond extract1 ounce vanilla extract2 cups vodka
Instructions
In a saucepan, combine the water, white sugar, and brown sugar and warm over medium heat. Let the mixture reach a boil and wait until the sugar has fully dissolved.Once dissolved, remove the pan from the heat and let it cool for about ten minutes.Pour in the almond extract, vanilla extract, and vodka and stir well.Pour the mixture into a sealed bottle and let steep for at a least a few days before using.
It's not clear to me why the ingredients need to steep for several days, since there are no leaves, bits of fruit, or body parts soaking in the mixture. I couldn't wait, and sampled my concoction on day two. To my palate it tasted the same as commercial Amaretto Disaronno, for a fraction of the price.
Related: Amaretto doesn't freeze easily.
I am definitely going to try this. Sounds easier than the limoncello I was going to do! Thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWould you like our recipe for home made Kahlua?
ReplyDeleteNot a coffee man myself, but you can post for others if you like.
DeleteA fair while ago you posted about sipping Amaretto Disaronno, so I went out and bought a bottle ($NZ55) after that was finished I bought another bottle.
ReplyDeleteNow, obviously I share with friends, because it would not be good for you all to think I drink so much, and it was over a couple of months.
But now you present this gift to me, a recipe any idiot can follow.
I even feel over qualified.
I had totally forgotten about that old post. Thanx for the reminder - I've inserted an addendum.
DeleteI once worked in an Italian restaurant for a few weeks, and at the end of the night they collected all the wine left in the decanters and bottles on the tables, which went into their "house" Amaretto.
ReplyDeleteNot out of the half-empty glasses, thankfully!
A lot of people don't know that many amaretto brands, including Disaronno, which I think is probably the top seller, don't use almonds for flavoring, but apricot pits.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, the only reason I haven't had Amaretto in the last ten years is because of the price!
ReplyDeleteI think the only reason you need to steep it is to keep the mixologist from sampling too much of the stuff he just made.
ReplyDeleteThe cooling step is very important. Pure ethanol boils (evaporates) at 173 degrees, so be sure your mixture is cool enough so that the vodka doesn't go poof.
ReplyDeletethe steeping allows chemical reactions in the liquid mixture to take place.
ReplyDeleteI-)