Strawberry Tops Vodka Recipe: A Bonus Gift

There’s nothing quite like the taste of a delicious, homemade alcoholic drink. And this Strawberry Tops Vodka recipe is one of the best around! So if you’re looking for a new and exciting tasty homemade project, why not give this vodka recipe a try? You won’t be disappointed!

A natural, tasty and waste-limiting choice

Strawberry top vodka not only tastes great, but it’s also really easy and inexpensive to make, and you won’t waste any part of your strawberries too.

You make this when you are using strawberries for another recipe, like jam, or in a dessert where you would hull the strawberries ahead of using them in the recipe. The ‘hulled’ tops are the strawberry tops referred to here – and these usually just get thrown away or, if they are lucky, added to the compost heap.

But now you can even get further goodness out of the strawberry tops, and create a bonus treat to extend your enjoyment of the distinctive strawberry flavour.

Best of all, you can enjoy it in a variety of ways – straight up, on the rocks, or mixed into your favourite cocktails.

Hulling strawberries

The ‘hulling’ of strawberries is the process of removing the green leaves and stems from the fruit. This makes strawberries more attractive to use and eat in recipes and is easier to eat in this form.

The most common way hulling is done is by using a knife. For situations in which you may be doing large batches of strawberries, or need to do this often, there is also a special huller tool available. If like me, you like gadgets, you might get one anyway, even if you only hull smaller amounts of strawberries.

You may also hull strawberries simply by using a straw. Just jab at the bottom tip of your fruit with the straw, pushing it through until the stem comes loose and pops loose.

Even with different ways to hull strawberries, the most important thing is to remove all of the leaves and stems from the fruit.

You can decide for yourself if you want to hull closely just making sure to take the leaves and stems or if you are happy with cutting a bit of the strawberry flesh from the top too.

This may of course also depend on the main recipe that you are using the strawberries for – to decorate a cake or in another dessert, you may want to retain as much of the complete berry as possible for enjoyment and appearance, but if for making strawberry jam, you may be fine with leaving more of the flesh attached. This will naturally affect how much colour and even flavour leaches out into the vodka.

Strawberry Tops Vodka is Simple to Make

A basic recipe only involves 2 ingredients, the strawberry tops and vodka, that’s all!

Once you have washed and hulled the strawberries, set the strawberry tops aside while you get on with your main recipe. If you have the time, you can just go ahead with this recipe, but if time is tight, then just freeze the strawberry tops until you can use them.

You can either just use the strawberry tops whole or chop them up, by hand or food processor. the latter exposes more of the pulp to the alcohol – chopping too fine may result in leftover sediment in the final product unless passed through a fine sieve/muslin.

Using a clean, sterilised jar, you add the strawberry tops and pour in the vodka to comfortably cover the strawberry tops. Make sure that the jar seals well, and let it stand in a cool dark place for 2 weeks. Every couple of days, either stir or shake the jar lightly.

Once the 2 weeks are up, strain the vodka mix through a fine sieve, muslin cloth or coffee filter paper into another clean sterilised jar or bottle.

Now you can discard the well-used strawberry tops, and plan how you are going to enjoy this concoction.

Flavour-enhancing options

1. Add a whole berry or two sliced into quarters to turn up the volume of the flavour and colour.
2. Add a bit of sugar and stir – this always seems to make the strawberry flavour stand out.
3. Add a dash of lemon for brightness.
4. Add some chopped herbs – in a small amount so as not to risk the herbs overtaking the strawberry flavour. Examples include basil or mint which work well with strawberries.
5. A bit more of an expensive option, but if you do have some complimentary flavoured vodka like vanilla vodka or apple vodka, you may want to use this instead of plain vodka.

Ways to enjoy your strawberry tops vodka creation

• Drink it straight over ice.

• Add a tablespoon (or two) to your next batch of strawberry jam to boost the strawberry flavour.
• Add some to your adults-only fruit salad or fruit punch.
• And of course, use it in your favourite cocktails for that true hint of summer.

So if you’re looking for an easy and inexpensive way to try to create some delicious flavoured vodka, look no further than your leftover strawberry tops. This simple method will not only save you money but also ensures that none of that summery strawberries goes to waste.

And you get to enjoy it in your favourite tipple too – surely it’s a no-brainer to make this!

For more information see RESOURCES and RECIPES.