Bird cherry, stunning with its abundant flowering at the beginning of summer, delights with valuable fruits rich in polysaccharides, pectin, microelements and phytoncides. A drink made from berries reduces inflammation and heat, eliminates indigestion. They make both light and strong wine from bird cherry at home; the simple recipe does not require a large number of ingredients, but reveals the taste of the fruit.
Cooking technology
Bird cherry is not as juicy as currants or gooseberries, but the wine made from it is no worse than from these berries.However, so that the drink does not disappoint with a too tart taste, you must follow the recipe and adhere to certain rules. To make wine, you should not pick green fruits; you should use only fully ripe, but not washed berries. Microorganisms that cause fermentation live on the surface of the bird cherry.
The container for the drink must be doused with boiling water; it is not recommended to use milk containers. When microbes enter, the fruits become moldy and turn sour. The berries are poured with sweet, but not hot syrup, kept warm, stirring several times a day until the wort ferments.
After this, the liquid is sent into a glass container, covered with a glove with a hole, and left in a room where it is 18–25 ° C.
How to make wine at home
The drink can be prepared independently from fresh and dry fruits of the bush.
From red berries
Due to the presence of astringency and astringent properties, bird cherry wine has a unique taste. To prepare a strong drink from red berries, you usually take:
- 5 liters of water;
- 70–80 g raisins;
- 5 kg of fruits;
- 9 glasses of sugar.
First you need to wash the bottle with soda and rinse it with boiling water, cover it with gauze to prevent germs from getting in. The berries should be carefully dried with a towel, without wiping off the plaque, and poured into a bowl, crushing each fruit with a spoon.
To prepare the syrup:
- Sugar is poured into an enamel basin and combined with water.
- Boil the liquid for 5 minutes, remove the foam.
- After removing from the stove, cool to 20 °C.
In a separate container, pour the chilled mixture over the bird cherry and add raisins. The neck of the dish is covered with gauze, folded in layers. Keep the workpiece in a warm place, protected from light, for at least three days.When a sour smell, hissing bubbles and foam from the container appear, the drink is poured into a bottle, a glove is put on its neck or a straw is placed inside.
When the liquid brightens and a sediment forms, which usually takes at least three weeks and the room temperature is about 22 degrees, the drink is poured into another bottle, mixed with sugar, and kept for up to six months at 10–11 ° C.
From dried berries
The aromatic fortified drink is made not only from freshly picked fruits, but also from bird cherry, which is sold dried at any time of the year.
From 10 liters of water and 4 kg of sugar you need to boil a syrup, pour a kilogram of fruit into it. When the liquid with the berries has cooled, mix with the starter and leave to ferment. When sediment appears in the wort, the drink is poured into a bottle and kept in a warm room, protected from light. Bottles are filled with infused wine and placed in the refrigerator.
Option with vodka
At preparing a drink from bird cherry On its own, its strength does not exceed 11%. To increase this indicator, vodka is poured into the fermented and strained wort. When using 5 kg of berries and the same amount of water, 500–600 ml of alcoholic beverage is required.
With apple
Fruits remove the astringency of bird cherry and give pleasant notes to the wine. It turns out especially tasty when you take 10 kilograms of sweet and sour apples per 1 kg of berries:
- The fruits are cut into pieces, fresh black or red bird cherry is ground.
- Syrup is made from 10 liters of water and 2 kg of sugar.
- The cooled liquid is filled with a mixture of fruits and berries.
To ensure that the wine ferments well, install a thin hose or put a glove with holes on the neck of the container. The cleared wort is filtered and bottled.
With alcohol
Fortified aromatic wine made from bird cherry has not only a pleasant taste, but also healing properties and protects against colds in case of hypothermia. To prepare an alcoholic drink use:
- 2.5 tbsp. Sahara;
- 0.8 kg of berries;
- 1000 ml of ethyl alcohol.
The bird cherry is gently kneaded and left warm. A few days later, when bubbles appear on the surface of the wort, the berries are mixed with sugar, kept for another week, adding alcohol, after which the liquid is filtered.
With plums
The sweet and sour fruits of fresh plums improve the taste of wine, accelerate the fermentation process, and add interesting notes to the bird cherry drink. The fruits are washed, the seeds are removed, chopped and combined with berries, which are crushed with a spoon. The container with the vitamin mixture is mixed with syrup and left in a warm place for several days. To make wine from 1 kg of bird cherry, take:
- 1 liter of water;
- 10 kilograms of fruit;
- 2 kg sugar.
The fermented wort is filtered so that there is no sediment. For further infusion, the wine is poured into a new container and kept in a cool place.
With currants
Since bacteria live on the surface of bird cherry berries and act like yeast, fermentation occurs when different fruits are added. By collecting 10 kg of currants and 1 kilogram of wild or cultivated bird cherry, you can make wine with a very pleasant aroma and unusual taste.
The fruits are kneaded and combined together. Cooled syrup made from 7.5 cups of water and 3–4 kg of sugar is poured into a container with the vitamin mass and left in a warm place for fermentation, covered with gauze. After three days, the mass is filtered and poured into a new container.
From bird cherry leaves
Not only the fruits, but also other parts of the bush or small tree have beneficial properties.Wine is made from fresh aromatic leaves, but since there is no wild yeast on them, ammonia is added to speed up fermentation.
The greens are placed in boiling water, covered and left for three days. On the 4th day, the liquid is poured into a glass container, combined with sugar, raisins, a spoonful of ammonia is added, and a tube or water seal is inserted. After four days, the wort is sweetened again and after five days the rest of the sugar is poured in.
The wine is left to steep for 1.5 months, and after filtering for another 3 months.
To prepare a drink from 400 g of leaves you will need:
- 7 liters of water;
- 100 grams of raisins;
- 4 kg sugar.
Wine made from the green mass of bird cherry improves the digestion of food and speeds up recovery from colds. To increase appetite, drink it in small doses.
Storage rules
To ensure that wine made independently from berries does not age quickly, lose strength and pleasant taste, when choosing where to put the bottles, you need to take into account the basic requirements:
- The drink must be stored in a place out of reach of sunlight.
- Before serving, wine made from red or black bird cherry is advised to be kept at 12–15 degrees Celsius. Temperature fluctuations are allowed within 2.5 °C.
- Humidity in the basement, cellar, or on a closed balcony should be at least 60, maximum 80%.
- Bottles of alcoholic beverages sealed with cork are recommended to be laid horizontally.
In plastic containers, wine loses its aroma and taste.
