Bulgarian Strawberry Rakia - Unique!

Bulgarian Strawberry rakia - Another discovery as I visited a friend’s house and sample some gorgeous rakia, unique as far as I know, but what a find! Strawberry rakia may sound rather strange bit the marriage of Bulgarian strawberries and Bulgarian rakia take a turn into rakia that is heaven as far as taste goes. It is the taste of a Bulgarian summer all year round with this strawberry rakia.

It took quite a bit of negotiating to get the recipe from this 100% Bulgarian man who is another fascinating maestro of rakia. He has his own kazan, he says this is to reduce the cost that the municipal rakia house charge. He built is some 10 years ago and he says he recouped the cost of the materials to make it within three year.

I have seen his stocks of rakia in his outbuilding, there must been at least two to three hundred 10 litre plastic bottles full of rakia made over the years. He doesn’t drink that much and he says he has around 40 litres each year left over from the 80 litres he makes. Of course it never goes off and he has been making rakia for over 40 years.

Back the strawberry rakia which he doesn’t make that often but sometimes he has strawberries surplus to requirements and uses them for this special drink. He finally gave me the recipe, but it was so vague and rustic that I just got the ingredients and tried making it with my own produce. I happened to have a surplus of strawberries this weekend.

There are four ingredients rakia, strawberries, sugar and lemon. Again the exact quantities are mainly guesswork but I took his instructions and refined them giving what I feel is a workable and effective balance. You can of course add more or less if you feel this is more to your taste. It can always be adjusted modified even after it has been made. So here goes, the first ever published Bulgarian Strawberry Rakia Recipe:

Bulgarian Strawberry Rakia Recipe

Makes 1 litre

Ingredients

• 3/4 litre rakia
• Ripe strawberries
• 200 gm sugar
• juice of ½ lemon

Method:

Crush the strawberries and put them into a 1-litre bottle so it is filled to halfway. Add the sugar and lemon juice. Then fill to the brim with rakia. Screw the top on the bottle tightly and give is a good shake until all the sugar is dissolved. Leave in cool dark cool place for at least 3 months, giving a shake once a week. The strawberry rakia can then be strained into another bottle and will be ready for drinking. Strawberries come into season from June onwards in Bulgaria, so if you leave it in store for the six months it will be ready for drinking by Christmas, which is what my Bulgarian friend does.

Nastrave!