Dastardly cloves.

[luther-blissett]

I started a liqueur which requires cooking some fruit and spices in alcohol, one of the spices was clove. I just cut off literally like 1mm from the underside of a clove thinking it wouldn't add so much flavour since I would take it out after the cooking, it wasn't going to sit in the alcohol for weeks, but I should have known and the clove taste is now too strong. (I should have really made a spice 'essence' separately and carefully blended it to the main liqueur)

Anyone have any tips at masking it? Im thinking maybe to just make the recipe double but with the new recipe without spices to weaken the cloves taste. I can throw it away but would prefer to rescue it if there is a way.

thanks.

[Prairiepiss]

I too find clove over powering. Many others don't? My experience says the only way to weaken the clove flavor is diluting it. That would mean making mote without and combining it. That's just my two nickles.

But I'm not sure if I like the idea of cooking anything in alcohol? Good way to loose/waste alcohol content and release alcohol vapors into the room? Could you clarify what is ment by cooking in alcohol?

[luther-blissett]

I like it but when it is a light flavour like the other spices, how it is now it is too dominant and overpowering. Ok, thanks I think that is the best plan.

The recipe I tried is this russian/ukrainian one where you seal a covered pot with dough. It does lose alcohol naturally to the dough but it worked. To cook in an open pot would have been too wasteful yeah and I wouldn't want to risk that. You chuck some mostly dried fruit into vodka, and then cook it in an oven or on a stove, they say for many hours in the covered pot, as an alternative to maceration I guess and maybe to get that baked fruit flavour.

[Dnderhead]

sounds like a disaster waiting to happon.

[Prairiepiss]

Sounds kinda like a pressure bomb to me?

[luther-blissett]

The amounts you're cooking at one point, a little bit in your average biggish pot I don't think it can build up that much pressure (I ultimately don't know though). Well it seems to be a traditional recipe anyhow so sounds like a lot of people have made it over time. I did see a tiny amount of alcohol escape at the end, but it was cooking outside, so vapor could not build up.