16 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:I wasn't able to find it with a quick search. I do recommend the book
, if you happen to see it.
Here's the basics of the plum liqueur recipe:
1 lb small dark plums (I used Dapple Dandy pluots, also marketed as Dinosaur Eggs)
1 bottle Chilean Sauvignon Blanc ( I used an inexpensive dry Chilean rosé)
3/4 cup sugar (I used ~ 1/2 cup because those pluots are so sweet)
1/4 teaspoon allspice berries, crushed
a few black peppercorns, crushed
2 cups gin (for the pluots I used, I was very tempted to use tequila and substitute a de arbol chile for the allspice and peppercorns, but I stuck with the gin and it worked very well)
Optional: the cracked plum pits or 20 blanched apricot kernels. (I set the plum pits aside, got lazy and threw them away)
The recipe calls for halving the plums (I cut them up a bit more, as you can see in the photo) and simmering them in the wine for 5 min, along with the sugar, allspice and peppercorns.
Add the gin (and cracked pits, if using), cover and set aside for a week.
Double strain (the recipe says to use a colander and fine mesh sieve, I used a colander and nut-milk bag) and bottle.
The recipe says the liqueur will throw sediment so I just put it in larger bottles for now and will strain it again before bottling up small gift bottles.
There's a note that suggests replacing the gin with Irish whiskey and the white wine with something like Cabernet Franc. I plan to check out today's farmers market to see if there are any late-season plums left or maybe just try the black plums from the grocery store.
Thank you. I'm heading to the farmer's market tomorrow - then a stop at the liquor store for gin. (Maybe I better get some tonic too, just in case of leftovers. 
)
Concerning the question of yellow tomatoes in chutney - I almost always use a mix of red and yellow tomatoes for my chutney - and it always ends up dark red. I once made a batch using almost entirely yellow tomatoes - and it still came out red. My yellow tomatoes are actually a deep gold (BHN 871) so maybe that is significant. I've always found it rather mysterious. I don't think green tomatoes would work unless you use a recipe designed especially for them. There are multiple recipes on the internet. The Ball Blue Book also has recipes for green tomato relish and green tomato mincemeat. I haven't made any of these but they sound interesting.
