How to make calvados at home

Any of the existing drinks can be tried at home, but no one guarantees the originality of the taste. Calvados at home is easy to create, you need only apples and special devices for distillation. Calvados is a regional drink, which means that it can be produced strictly on a certain territory, in this case it is the lower Normandy, France.

History

Mention of this drink is found in documents dating from 1553. They say that a nobleman came up with how to get a completely new drink by distilling from cider. The name comes from the place where it was actively produced, namely from the Calvados Department in Normandy. The largest producer at the moment is AOC Calvados, and this is not a separate enterprise, but the whole territory where this popular beverage is prepared. There are specially grown over 30 varieties of apples, which are divided according to their taste qualities into sour, sweet and bitter. Therefore, if you want to recreate the recipe for Calvados at home, stock up all varieties in a ratio of 2: 1: 7. You can use pears, most importantly - that all the fruits are ripe, without cracks and rottenness.

Calvados at home

First of all, you need to squeeze out the apples from the apples, but do not throw away the remaining pulp, but fill it with water, squeeze it again, and only then it will go to waste. Prepare a mixture of these liquids, take about 80% of the juice of the first spin and only 20% of the second. Make sure there is enough sugar, otherwise fermentation processes can go, it should be at least 10%. To make calvados at home, the leaven is prepared separately. Yeast for her should be wild, that is, obtained from the surface of berries and fruits. Unwrapped fruits cut and mixed with sugar, wait until the foam appears and mix everything with the prepared wort. The fermentation process should take place within a month, and even more, without access to oxygen, at a temperature of 20-22 degrees. After the end of the separation of carbon dioxide from the cider, it is distilled and a distillate with a strength of 26-30 degrees is obtained. Repeated distillation gives raw alcohol, in which the content of ethyl alcohol reaches 70%. Calvados at home is almost ready. It remains only to insist. Ideally, this is done in oak barrels, but glassware will do, add only chips to it - to get a characteristic aroma. After a week or two, the distillate will begin to acquire a dark amber color and change the taste. Insist it should be about a month.

Nesting on the bark

This method is the fastest, although it does not correspond to the French traditions. The preparation of calvados at home using bark requires special attention. The product will be an astringent if the bark is not pre-fried in the oven until a pronounced odor. Distillate is very saturated with flavors and flavors, but in color it is much darker than the original. For the best taste, you can combine Calvados of different preparations. Drink this drink best with ice and a slice of apple.