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Ratafia

This is the name given to spirituous liquor when flavoured with the kernels of various fruits, like peaches, apricots, and cherries. It should be dropped into any preparation with great care, as, though very delicious when sparingly used, it is poisonous as well as most unpleasant when moderation is not exercised. Small biscuits flavoured with sweet and bitter almonds are named ratafias. Distilled peach or apricot leaves, when cut in the spring, may be used instead of ratafia for flavouring puddings. One way of making ratafia is as follows. Take the stones from two pounds of morella cherries, and pound them well with one ounce of blanched apricot kernels and a spoonful of brandy. Put them into a large stone jar with a quart of fine brandy, and cover closely. Let the jar remain for six weeks, and shake it twice a day. Strain the liquor through a sieve with blotting-paper laid in it, and add half a pound of white sugar-candy dissolved in a quarter of a pint of cold water. Taste the ratafia, and if not sufficiently sweet add a little more sugar-candy. Put the preparation into small bottles, cork these closely, and store. If apricot kernels cannot easily be obtained, blanched bitter almonds may be used instead. Sufficient for nearly three pints.