Poli Museo della Grappa Srlu

Bladder cherry: a sweet fruit liqueur

• Plant: Bladder Cherry, Chinese Lantern (Physalis Alkekengi)
• Plant part: fruit
• Plant feauters: aromatic, diuretic, purifying, febrifugal, laxative, refreshing, anti-gouty, anti-calculi

• Description:

  During the harvest the wine was once prepared by adding some berries of the bladder cherry to the grapes in the must.
  The bladder cherry is a genuine "arab plant" (confirmed by the name), which was imported by Arabic physicians in the first centuries AD and was highly esteemed as a medicine in the treatment of gout, stones and edema.

  Since the bladder cherry is quite easy to care for and is not particularly demanding, it has been enormously popular as an ornamental plant in Central Europe for several years. It was as well a constant purchase object during the eighteenth century in the markets of Paris, where it was also noted by Linnaeus, who called it "genus" Physalis.
  Physalis, synonymous with the bladder, alluded exactly to the bulbous shape of the petal, which surrounds the fruit.

  In addition, the juicy red berries were used for a long time in the confectionery and offered in chocolate.
  The sweet taste of the fruit with its pleasant acidity, was actually very suitable for this particular use. We are convinced that it is equally suitable for flavoring Grappa.

   

The recipe

• Ingredients:

  - two handful dried fruits of the bladder cherry
  - 1 liter of Grappa
  - 2 tbsp of sugar

• Preparation:

  In order to make a Grappa of bladder cherry, the fruits must be easily wilted, that means they must be collected when the petals have already been opened and have lost their color and then dried in the sun.
  Then mix two handfuls of the "wilted fruit" with two tablespoons of sugar in one liter of Grappa and place everything in the sun for 3 months.
  Filter the mixture and let it age for a month: the Grappa will have an intense red color, a lemon-like scent and a pleasantly sour taste.