Ingredients
Fruit
- 1 kgsour cherries, plums or viburnum berries
- 400 gsugar
Spirit
- 700 mlhorilka or vodka, 40%
Optional
- 1cinnamon stick
- 4cloves
- a few cherry leaves
Directions
- Sort the fruit carefully and throw out anything bruised or split. One spoiled cherry turns a whole jar musty and there is no rescuing it.
- Leave the stones in for cherries and plums. They give the almond note that is the point of a cherry nalyvka — but do not crush them, and do not leave a stoned fruit steeping longer than three months.
- Prick each fruit two or three times with a needle, or press them lightly, so the juice can get out.
- Layer the fruit and sugar in a wide-mouthed jar, filling it about three-quarters full, and leave it two days in a warm place until the sugar draws out syrup.
- Pour the horilka over to cover the fruit by 2 cm, add the spices if using, and seal.
- Keep in a dark cupboard for six weeks, shaking the jar every few days for the first fortnight and then leaving it alone.
- Dark storage matters. Light strips the colour from a cherry or viburnum nalyvka within weeks and leaves it brown.
- Strain through muslin without pressing the fruit — pressing pushes through fine pulp that clouds the bottle and never settles.
- Taste and add more sugar dissolved in a little of the liquid if you want it sweeter.
- Bottle and rest at least another month before drinking. It improves for years. Serve small and cold, with the fruit eaten separately over ice cream.
Technique
- Sound fruit only, pricked, in the dark.
- Strain without pressing.
- Six weeks steeping, then a month resting. Rushed nalyvka tastes raw.
Substitutions
- Blackcurrant, raspberry, quince or rowan, all of which are made.
- Brandy or rum in place of horilka for a rounder result.
- Less sugar for a nastoyanka, which is the drier relative.
Variations
- Kalynivka, made with viburnum, bitter and traditionally drunk for the throat.
- The Polish nalewka and Lithuanian trauktinė are the same drink.
History
Ukrainian households steep cherries, plums or viburnum in horilka with sugar, opening the jars for holidays and guests.
Frequently asked questions
What is Nalyvka?
Nalyvka is a wine & spirit from Ukraine: sweet fruit liqueur made by steeping berries in spirit and sugar. Ukrainian households steep cherries, plums or viburnum in horilka with sugar, opening the jars for holidays and guests.
How long does Nalyvka take to make?
Nalyvka takes 30 min plus 6 weeks steeping of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes makes about 1.5 litres. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Nalyvka?
Yes, within limits. Blackcurrant, raspberry, quince or rowan, all of which are made. Brandy or rum in place of horilka for a rounder result. Less sugar for a nastoyanka, which is the drier relative.
What is the most important thing to get right in Nalyvka?
Leave the stones in for cherries and plums. They give the almond note that is the point of a cherry nalyvka — but do not crush them, and do not leave a stoned fruit steeping longer than three months.
