🥃 Vișinată

Vișinată is a Romanian sweet drink made from sour cherries, sugar and spirit or neutral vodka. It is most often made at home, so there is no official recipe. The cherries, with their stones, are covered with sugar, topped up with alcohol and infused for about two months. This gives its dark red colour and rich sour-sweet taste.

Origin. Știrile ProTV writes that the exact origin is hard to establish: fruit infusions were known in Europe since the Middle Ages, and cherry liqueurs exist in France and Italy. Today's vișinată most likely took shape in Romania, where cherries grew abundantly and drinks were often made at home. It is served to guests and linked with Christmas and Easter.

How it is made. One common recipe: 500 g of sugar per kilogram of cherries; the layers of cherries and sugar stand for about ten days in warmth, then 96% alcohol or 40 to 60% vodka is added and it infuses for about two more months. Another method: the cherries first stand in spirit for a week, and then sugar syrup is added.

What is not added. Romanian culinary publications advise against using țuică or pălincă: the strong plum aroma overpowers the cherry. The finished vișinată is strained and bottled; in a cool, dark place, these recipes say, it keeps for 2 to 4 years. Similar drinks are Ukrainian vyshnivka and Danish Cherry Heering.

Why it matters to you. Homemade vișinată is sweet, so it can seem weaker than it is: its strength depends on the recipe and is rarely known. In shops look for the lichior label and the strength. WHO reminds: there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.