With its sour and sweet flavor, plum wine is a beverage enjoyed by both men and women alike. Join TasteVN in the kitchen as we share with you 2 simple and delicious ways to infuse plum wine!
1. Plum Wine
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Preparation
30 minutes
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Cooking
45 minutes
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Difficulty
Medium
Ingredients for Plum Wine Serves 4
Wine 3 liters Plums 1 kg Sugar 400 gr Salt a little
Tools needed
How to choose wine for infusing plum wine
- Depending on your taste, alcohol tolerance, and preferences, choose the appropriate alcohol concentration. The best concentration for infusing wine is around 37 – 42 degrees C.
- You should buy wine from reputable establishments with clear origins to ensure the best quality wine.
How to Make Plum Wine
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Prepare the Ingredients
After buying the plums, wash them thoroughly with water several times. Then soak the plums in diluted salt water for about 20 minutes and rinse them with clean water, letting them drain.
Use a fork or a toothpick (a sharp and hard object) to poke the plums as many times as possible. This method is applicable if you want to soak the wine with whole plums.
Note
- The more you poke, the quicker the wine will absorb the flavor.
- You need to be careful to poke evenly spaced holes; avoid poking continuously at one spot as it may cause the plums to bruise, leading to spoilage and bad flavor when soaking in wine.
If you want the wine to absorb the flavor more quickly, you can use a knife to cut the plums in half or quarters. Soak them in diluted salt water for about 1 hour, then remove and let them drain thoroughly.
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Plum wine infusion
Place the smashed or cut plums into a jar for wine infusion, alternating layers of plums with a layer of sugar at a ratio of 1kg of plums to 400gr of sugar.
Then seal the lid tightly and let it infuse for about 4 days in a cool place, and you will have a jar of plum syrup.
Finally, pour 3 liters of alcohol into the jar of plum syrup. If you infuse the alcohol with the syrup, you only need to infuse for about 3 months before it can be used. If you discard all the syrup and just infuse the alcohol with the plums, the infusion time is about 6 months before it can be used.
Notes when infusing alcohol
- Choose a clay, porcelain, or glass jar for infusing alcohol, and ensure the jar’s opening is not too large to minimize alcohol evaporation.
- Before infusing, you need to clean and disinfect the alcohol jar. You can rinse it with boiling water and then let it dry thoroughly.
- During the infusion process, the alcohol must be sealed tightly; do not open, move, or use stirring utensils until the infusion time is complete.
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Final product
The alcohol has a strong aroma, with a slightly sweet and spicy taste that is very delicious. You can use it with meals, which will be very good for your health if consumed properly. Do not overindulge!
2. Plum Wine (Recipe shared by a user)
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Preparation
15 minutes
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Cooking
20 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Plum Wine (Recipe shared by a user) Serves 4
Northern plums 1 kg (Hanoi plums) Sugar 400 gr Salt a little
Tools needed
Ingredients Image
How to make Plum Wine (Recipe shared by a user)
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Prepare the northern plums
Soak the plums in diluted salt water for about 15 minutes, then rinse several times until clean and drain.
Use a knife to make a cross incision on each plum; this will help the plums absorb the sugar faster.
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Plum Wine Infusion
Prepare a clean and completely dry glass jar. First, layer 1 layer of pre-processed plums, followed by 1 layer of sugar. Continue this way, alternating between 1 layer of plums and 1 layer of sugar until the jar is full.
Then, close the jar tightly and let it ferment naturally. After about 3 months of infusion, scoop a small spoon of plum wine to taste; if it’s to your liking, remove the plum residue, strain the wine into a bottle and store it in the refrigerator for later use.
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Final Product
Pour the plum wine into a glass and enjoy immediately. The plum wine has a sweet and light flavor, making it very easy to drink; not only is it great for sipping, but plum wine also helps cool the body and is very beneficial for health when consumed in moderation. Let’s get cooking and try it out!
How to choose fresh Northern plums (Hanoi plums)
- The plums used for soaking in alcohol must ensure they are still fresh, just ripe enough for the final product to be delicious. If you choose unripe plums for soaking, they will be sour and astringent, lacking the distinct plum flavor. Overripe plums will easily become mushy, and the alcohol will spoil quickly.
- You should buy plums in the right season, around mid-May to the end of June; this is the time when it is easiest to select fresh and delicious plums at the best prices.
- Choose plums that are large, round, smooth-skinned, with a red or purple-red color and a thin white powdery coating on the skin, indicating they are freshly picked.
- Avoid selecting plums that are green or half-red and half-green; these are unripe and will taste sour. Gently press the plum with your fingers; if it is still hard, it is not ripe and will be very sour and astringent. If the plum has a slight softness, it will be sweet and tasty.
- You should also avoid plums that are too soft and show signs of mushiness. Do not choose plums that are bruised, misshapen, have dark spots, or are leaking juice.
How to store plum wine
- The best temperature to store wine is between 8 – 12 degrees Celsius, helping the wine maintain its delicious flavor.
- The most suitable humidity for storing wine is between 70% – 80%, not below 50%, and avoid direct sunlight exposure for the wine.
- Minimize shaking, moving, or opening the wine jar. Additionally, keep the wine in a clean place, free from mice or dirt around.
Why should you use clay jars or glass jars to soak wine?
- The process of soaking/fermenting wine is essentially a self-decomposition process that softens the wine molecules and removes impurities such as Aldehyde, Methanol,…
- Clay and porcelain jars are produced without glazing and have a certain porosity. Thanks to this structural characteristic, impurities in the wine can be absorbed outside.
- Moreover, clay and porcelain jars help the wine to ferment faster and taste better compared to using plastic jars or bottles.
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Above are 2 ways to soak plum wine that TasteVN wants to share with you. Hopefully, with this recipe, you will easily succeed in making plum wine to invite guests during holidays, or to enjoy with friends on weekends!
