Easy Infusions

About a year ago, I went on a do-it-yourself binge. I tried making pickles (turned out ok) and pickled carrots (turned out pretty good). I tried making mustard (unmitigated disaster). I tried infusing liquor with different fruits. And until last week, I wasn't actually sure how it turned out.

I kept meaning to try my infusions (which had been sitting in my fridge since September 2010), but I just never got around to it. So, one weekend this summer, I finally decided I would break them out and try my concoctions. I brought up the jars of infused liquor to Connecticut. And then, of course, I never opened the jars, left them in the fridge in Connecticut and completely forgot about them.

Until a few weeks ago, when Jacob's father was up in Connecticut, and mentioned to Jacob that he had some of our preserved fruit for breakfast.

Yep. Jacob's father ate some of my watermelon-infused vodka for breakfast. Woops!

The good news is, he said it was delicious (though he did complain that it tasted a bit of liquor...). And when I tried them, I have to say, I agreed. The vodka infused with watermelon and lemon was a bit overwhelmingly lemony, but delicious, and didn't really taste of liquor at all. And the vodka infused with pears was equally delicious, with a very distinct pear flavor. Even better, the fruit straight out of the jars was delicious.

To make your own infusions, slice fruit, place in a mason jar, and cover completely with liquor (I recommend vodka, as it has very little flavor of its own, so it can take on the flavor of whatever you choose to infuse it with). Make sure the fruit is covered completely. Seal jar, and keep in the fridge for as long as you want (at least six weeks, but up to a year or longer — just keep it in the fridge, so the fruit doesn't spoil).

If you are feeling creative, you can infuse liquor with lots of other stuff, from spices and flowers to chilis and even hard candies. But, if you stick with fruit, I used lemons, limes, watermelon, pears and apples, and they all turned out great.