Tuica fiarta

Ingredients

The spirit

• 700 mlțuică
• Romanian plum brandy
• or pălincă, the stronger version
• or any plum brandy
• or slivovitz

The caramel

• 4 tablespoonssugar
• 2 tablespoonswater
• for the caramelised sugar

The sweetening and spice

• 4 tablespoonshoney
• or to taste
• 1 teaspoonwhole black peppercorns
• lightly crushed
• 2 stickscinnamon
• 4whole cloves
• a strip of lemon peel
• optional

Sometimes added

• a little grated nutmeg
• 2star anise
• a few slices of apple
• a splash of water
• to soften the strength

To serve

• small heatproof glasses
• or small mugs
• cârnați and pork from the slaughter
• or simply on its own

Directions

1. Use an electric hob if you have one. Never let the pan boil vigorously. Keep a lid nearby to smother any flames. Never lean over the pan while heating. Keep your face well away from it. Put the sugar and water in a heavy pan. Heat it gently until the sugar dissolves. Do not stir once it starts to boil.
2. Swirl the pan gently instead of stirring. Let it boil until it turns amber. There is a safety point about caramel. Keep children well away from the kitchen. If it splashes, cool under running water.
3. Cool it for a full twenty minutes. Now take the caramel off the heat. Let it cool for a full minute. Adding cold liquid to hot caramel spits violently.
4. Add it slowly and stand well back. Add the honey, peppercorns and spices. Add the cinnamon, cloves and lemon peel. Do not let it come to a rolling boil.
5. Heat it until it steams gently. Stir until the caramel has fully dissolved. Stir until the honey has dissolved too. That takes about ten minutes on low heat.
6. Add more honey if it is too sharp. Add a splash of water if it is too strong. Use a fine sieve to catch the spices. Warm the glasses first with hot water. Cold glass can crack with hot liquid.
7. Use heatproof glasses or sturdy mugs. Serve it hot in small measures. Hot alcohol is also absorbed more quickly. Make it fresh, since it does not keep well. Make only what you will drink now. The spirit itself keeps indefinitely.

Technique

• Heating strong spirit produces flammable vapour that can ignite from a gas flame, and alcohol flames are nearly invisible in daylight. Use an electric hob if you have one, keep the heat very low, never let it boil vigorously, keep a lid within reach, and keep your face away from the pan.
• Home distillation carries a real risk of methanol, which is poisonous in small amounts and causes blindness and death. Proper distillers discard the first fraction, the heads, where methanol concentrates; inexperienced ones sometimes do not. Poisonings from home-distilled spirits are documented in many countries. Drink țuică from a commercial source or a trusted village maker, not from an unknown one. That is a caution about unknown sources, not a criticism of village distilling.
• Let the caramel cool for a full minute before the spirit goes in. Cold liquid hitting hot caramel spits violently and throws molten sugar, which is far hotter than boiling water and sticks to skin. The caramel will seize when the spirit hits it — that is normal and it dissolves again as it warms.
• The name means boiled țuică, and traditional versions do boil it briefly, which burns off some alcohol and makes it milder and sweeter. Heating it gently keeps it at full strength. Both are made and the atlas ranks neither.
• The black pepper is not a mistake. It gives a warming bite alongside the alcohol and it is genuinely characteristic of this drink.
• The honey disguises the strength completely, and hot alcohol is absorbed more quickly. Small glasses are the correct measure.
• Alcohol dilates blood vessels near the skin, so it makes you feel warm while you actually lose heat faster. Working outdoors in December, that is a real risk rather than a technicality.
• Ignat, Saint Ignatius’ Day on 20 December, is the traditional day of the pig slaughter, when a household’s pig was killed and preserved for winter with the whole village helping. The practice has declined with rural depopulation and changed regulation.

Substitutions

• Pălincă, the stronger double-distilled Transylvanian spirit, replaces țuică and gives a fiercer drink.
• Slivovitz or any plum brandy replaces țuică reasonably closely.
• Sugar replaces honey, though honey is traditional and gives a rounder sweetness.
• Star anise, nutmeg or apple slices are all common additions in different households.
• A splash of water softens the strength and is genuinely common.
• Vin fiert, hot spiced wine, is the much gentler alternative served at the same gatherings.

Variations

• Vin fiert is the Romanian mulled wine, made with the same spices and far lower in alcohol.
• Some households add slices of apple to the pan, which softens and sweetens the drink.
• A version with no caramel, relying on honey alone, is paler and sweeter.
• Pălincă fiartă is the Transylvanian version made with the stronger spirit.
• Related hot spirit drinks are made across the Balkans and central Europe in winter.
• Some makers infuse the spirit with pepper and spices cold, over weeks, rather than heating it.

History

Served at Romanian winter feasts and the pig slaughter on Saint Ignatius’ Day in December.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tuica fiarta?

Tuica fiarta is a cocktail from Romania: plum brandy boiled with honey, pepper and caramelised sugar, drunk hot. Served at Romanian winter feasts and the pig slaughter on Saint Ignatius’ Day in December.

How long does Tuica fiarta take to make?

Tuica fiarta takes 10 minutes of preparation and 15 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Tuica fiarta?

Yes, within limits. Pălincă, the stronger double-distilled Transylvanian spirit, replaces țuică and gives a fiercer drink. Slivovitz or any plum brandy replaces țuică reasonably closely. Sugar replaces honey, though honey is traditional and gives a rounder sweetness. Star anise, nutmeg or apple slices are all common additions in different households. A splash of water softens the strength and is genuinely common. Vin fiert, hot spiced wine, is the much gentler alternative served at the same gatherings.

What is the most important thing to get right in Tuica fiarta?

Use an electric hob if you have one. Never let the pan boil vigorously. Keep a lid nearby to smother any flames. Never lean over the pan while heating. Keep your face well away from it. Put the sugar and water in a heavy pan. Heat it gently until the sugar dissolves. Do not stir once it starts to boil.