Cafe Liz

Brandied loquats

All it takes is one ingredient to turn loquats (or any other stone fruit) into a sweet, alcoholic concoction: sugar. This fabulously simple preparation comes from my sister-in-law Ora, who got the basic concept from the Encyclopedia of Country Living. Ora presented us with little containers of brandied loquats for Purim. We couldn’t stop eating them, and we couldn’t believe they were that easy to make.

Now that loquats are finally coming into season, I gave it a try myself. Fortunately, I found some at the Carmel market, because I’d been eying the various loquat trees around town. The season is just beginning, so loquats are still a bit expensive — the least I found was 8 shekels a kilo — but the price will probably come down within the next few weeks, to 3 shekels or so. This is key, because this is a preparation that’s easy to make in bulk, and becomes ready only after a few months — but then lasts for at least a year. Continue reading Brandied loquats …

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