Experiment (641 views)

Congratulations on your successful experiment!

Did you perhaps purchase top rated Schladerer Edelkirsch, a liqueur? It is based on Kirschwasser (translated: cherry water), cherry flavored schnapps - 40%.

I've never tried my hand at flambéing, but apples with kirsch sounds delicious.

Thanks, swedishcook. I'm so glad I didn't spend all that money for nothing.



Yes, please see the link I posted above. Apparently they must have different varieties within that brand, though. I meant to order the one you're describing, but this one's only 28% alcohol (please ignore the product description below the item, which is incorrect).



I'm just curious—do you normally buy this type of kirsch, and if so, what do you make with it? Until a few months ago, I was too afraid to try any kind of flambéing, but with a little practice, I'm at least not terrified anymore. Yes, the apples with kirsch turned out surprisingly good.

Of course, flambéing can be dangerous, so you need to follow a lot of basic safety tips. But as long as you're careful, I think it's worth a try. One tip is to use a shallow pan with flared sides, like a frying pan or sauté pan. I have been unsuccessful using a saucepan. And never pour directly from the alcohol bottle. You always want to measure the alcohol into another container first, and then pour the alcohol into the pan with the heat already turned off—or just do it off the burner entirely. And you never want the exhaust fan on either, which apparently can draw in the flames.

Here's an article that offers some helpful information:

cookingmadly.com/technique-flambe/

Anyway, so far my attempts at flambéing have proved mostly fun—hope it stays that way. 

Oh, no problem. It's not like I visit this board that regularly myself.



That sounds interesting. Fondue is one thing I don't recall ever making.

I recently found another article on flambéing that's the most informative yet:

theintrepidgourmet.wordpress.com/2017/12/21/how-to-flambe

I have some updates to the experiment too. In an empty pan, I tried to ignite some crème de cassis (which is only about 15% alcohol) and some pink moscato, a dessert wine that's supposed to be less than 10% alcohol. I actually did get the crème de cassis to ignite, but only for a few seconds.  What's more, I even got the wine to ignite—for about half a second. So, the lower the percentage of alcohol, the shorter it burns (if at all). Of course, they say you shouldn't try this with an empty pan like I did, but I was just curious to see if these two alcohols would actually ignite (all the info on the Web says that they will not), and it's interesting to see that they did, even if not for long.  

A couple of days ago, I tried Paula Deen's cherries jubilee:

www.pauladeen.com/recipe/paulas-cherries-jubilee/

Here's the first ingredient: 1 (16 oz) can pitted (fresh or frozen) cherries.  A bit strange, huh?

Anyway, I made her recipe using frozen cherries, but unfortunately I just couldn't get it to ignite. Eventually I figured out why—the frozen cherries had too much liquid, which diluted the alcohol.  I suspect Paula Deen didn't test her recipe very well.

Well, yesterday I experimented to come up with a simplified version of cherries jubilee for just one serving, and guess what—it ignited! Not only that, it was delicious. If anyone wants to try this, here are the directions:

Easy Cherries Jubilee for One

1. Thaw 2 oz. (about 1/3 cup heaping) of frozen cherries, saving the juice.

2. Measure about 1 Tbsp. of kirsch (80 proof) into a small container (I used about 1 1/2 Tbsp., since my kirsch is only 56 proof).

3. In an 8-inch frying pan, melt 1 Tbsp. butter.

4. Add cherries and juice, and cook over medium heat until a lot of the liquid has evaporated and mixture is fairly thick (about 5 1/2 minutes on my stove).

5. Turn off burner, and wait about 40 seconds. (Make sure your exhaust fan is not on.)

6. Light a long fireplace match.

7. Pour kirsch into pan, and wait a few seconds for vapors to rise.

8. Place lit match at side of pan, and ignite vapors carefully (waving match as necessary).

9. Once flame appears, shake pan gently to get the contents to burn evenly. The flame should last around 15 seconds.  (Have a large metal lid nearby to smother flame in case it gets out of hand.) 

That's it—simple and easy! And even though I left out the sugar, the cherries jubilee still tasted plenty sweet to me. So, if you want to try flambéing, this is about the easiest possible way to start.