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Seasonal recipe: Cranberry Infused Vodka
Infusing vodka with cranberries is sure to impress your holiday guests.
Mon, Oct 26 2009 at 1:00 PM
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Photo: Raelene G/Flickr
Cranberry Infused Vodka
Did you know that cranberries are one of few fruits native to North America? And that only five states grow the majority of cranberries in our country — Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Oregon, Washington and my home state of New Jersey? Just a little cranberry trivia for you.
Cranberries are also a staple for most Thanksgiving dinners and many Christmas dinners. I’m going to be bringing you several cranberry recipes over the next couple of weeks since they are in season (here in New Jersey, they are being harvested right now) and they are such a common food of the holiday season.
First up, is cranberry-infused vodka. I made this one year for our annual neighborhood Christmas party, and put it out with lots of different mixers to let people create their own drinks from it. It’s something that needs to be started at least a week before you want to serve it.
It’s really quite easy, and your guests will be impressed. It also makes a great do-it-yourself gift for the holidays. This could easily be done with all organic ingredients.
Ingredients
- 12 oz. fresh cranberries (can substitute frozen, but fresh is best)
- 1 cup of sugar (go for raw cane or organic if you can)
- 750 ml bottle of vodka (I really like Blue Ice American Organic Wheat Vodka)
Time Estimates
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Directions
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In a saucepan, simmer sugar and cranberries together until sugar dissolves and gets syrupy but cranberries are still fairly firm.
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Put cranberry mixture in clean, sterile bottle. Pour vodka over top.
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Let sit in a cool place for at least a week.
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Strain, put in a sealed container and keep in the refrigerator until you’re ready.
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Use in any recipe that calls for cranberry vodka or create your own.
Yield
Makes 1 bottle of vodka
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This sounds really good, I've been looking for more recipes for the holidays..found some others with voli but def going to try this one out
after preparing this mixture and straining it, can you add fresh cranberries into the container for decoration? Will they become mushy or will it change the flavor at all?
You certainly could use washed cranberries as garnish at the time of serving. My experience with cranberries is they are excellent for decorating without changing taste or texture. Of course, most people won't want to chew on the raw cranberries--which WOULD change the taste quite a bit. Enjoy.