misnomer jones

I recently created an infusion with dried pears that is worth documenting, so here it is.

I used dried pears that were unsweetened, unsulfured & sliced, from Trader Joes. The first batch I was pressed for time so I filled a recycled spaghetti jar with the slices and covered with vodka. It sat 3 days. The second time I used 8 slices and let it sit over a week.

I filtered with a funnel and coffee filter into a clean jar then added about 1 Tbsp vanilla vodka and 1 tsp cinnamon vodka (I had infused previously and had on hand, more extract quality/depth of flavor). I then added less than 1/8 tsp honey (mesquite honey from Trader Joes) and shook.

Note the quantities are estimates, I don’t usually measure. I smell and taste and add very small amounts until it seems right to me. Too much honey will make the mix feel thick and sticky and too sweet so add just a drop at a time, or barely dip a spoon handle into the honey and stir in.

This was well liked, some drank it straight and others had it over ice.

Since hearing about and trying vodka infusing, I have been experimenting a fair amount. Most of the things I have done have not been blog worthy, since there is a lot out there on single flavor infusions.

To infuse a single flavor you pretty much pick your flavor (fruits, nuts, peppers, spices.. whatever), put it in a jar, cover it with vodka and wait. Every item has it’s prime, but everyone has varied tastes so that time will depend on what you like.

There are a few things I have found worth noting:
When it comes to citrus, pith is bad and creates bitterness & the fruit (IMHO) doesn’t give the best flavor. I drop the whole fruit in. Since commercial fruit has who knows what on it, I prefer backyard citrus.

Strawberry is done almost immediately. It is fun to watch the berries turn white.

Almost everyone likes pineapple.

Dried fruit offers interesting flavor and color differences from fresh fruit. Look for fruit that is non-sulfured. Read labels and look for dried fruit that has no additives. It is harder to find, but well worth it.

Dried blueberries give color immediately and intensely but flavor takes awhile. Fresh blueberries give less color sooner but still need more time than some berries to give a good solid identifiable flavor.

For infusing with multiple flavors I have learned that trying to throw it all together and have success is hit and miss. I have moved to making several jars of single infusions and mixing infusions for complex flavors. Some flavors you will want to only mix at time of serving.

Sometimes adding even a small amount of simple syrup makes just the difference you’re looking for.

Honey is an interesting addition, but very small amounts go a long way.

I have been keeping on hand lavender and vanilla infusions for baking. Vanilla I leave the beans in. Lavender, cinnamon, ginger and other flavors I have made to keep on hand for complex infusions, I remove the item(s) once the flavor is set and store.

You don’t need fancy containers. I use old spaghetti sauce jars. They have a nice wide mouth, reliable lids, and my kids like spaghetti so I it is easy for me to accumulate them. Having a funnel is very useful. For straining I use coffee filters.

I’m often asked what vodka I used. Premium vodka is not required. Not only did my work mates do a vodka blind test where Gordons came out one of the highest rated, you’re about to put lots of other good flavors in there. The other vodka question is if I have tried using the water filter method. I have, and I did not notice a difference in the end result. If you are drinking it straight, there is a small reduction in the burn but not enough worth the extra step.

I started this post wanting to share my recent pear infusion, but realized I had learned a few things I wanted to share and got a bit off track. I’ll get to the pear shortly.