Audrey is the girl behind Maine Forager’s Field Guide (check out the blog here) and she was sweet enough to help with a blog post while I’m away. It’s actually a rhubarb liqueur recipe that I find super intriguing! By the time I come back from Tokyo, rhubarb should be in season, so I’m excited to give it a try! Meanwhile, scroll down and see what the fuss is about:
We live on a small little bit of land in the suburban sprawl of the little city of Portland, Maine, USA. Our winters are long, so when the snow starts thawing and the crocuses are peeking their little heads out of the muddy ground we all rush to our seed stashes and begin our fantasies of all the fresh, local fruits and veggies we can make before the leaves start turning brown again.
We moved here two years ago, and my favorite favorite bit of this place is this one massive hulk of a rhubarb plant my husband’s grandmother tended years before we even got here. This beast has been living in the backyard for longer than most of our neighbors and produces the thickest, reddest chutes you’ve ever seen. Nothing is about as cheery (and easy to care for) as a big triumphant rhubarb in the middle of May.
The landscape is bleak right now, grass slowly turning from white to green and I would be remiss to show you anything so sad this time of year except for my trusty, muddy bison leather LL Bean boots I use for garden shoes. But the transition will be quick, and when it is I will be at the ready with an arsenal of mason jars and local vodka (Cold River Vodka) to whip up a large batch of rhubarb liqueur.
It is so simple. I just love a recipe that gives you the bones and lets you do what you want with it. Lemon zest? Sure, why not, throw some in. Black pepper? Yes, try one of the jars with that! The only tricky part is the waiting, but truth be told if you pop open a jar at any point during the steeping period you will still have a delicious drink. So here are the bones, as far as I’ve worked them out, and you can do what you want with the rest.
- Fresh rhubarb, cut in 1" pieces
- 500ml vodka of your choice
- 2 cups (or 475g) powdered sugar
- Combine all ingredients in a large mason jar or bottle. Make sure the vodka/sugar mixture covers all the rhubarb while still leaving a little space for air at the top.
- Close tightly and set on the counter in an area that doesn't get too hot or too cold.
- Give the jar a good shake and a flip once a day, every day, for four weeks. At the end you have a beautiful sipping liqueur served straight or on ice, or a fantastic option to mix with prosecco!
- Some other things you may add, and be delighted with: strawberries, lemon zest, orange zest, ginger, tea leaves, blueberry, cranberry.
