Mary’s fantastic Drunken Grapes in Anisette
by meike peters
After I visited Mary Licari in her old watch tower in Malta for one of my meet in your kitchen features, I came home with lots of inspiration and a long list of recipes which I couldn’t wait to try in my kitchen! On that hot afternoon in August, she treated me to so many delicacies and one of them was red grapes in anisette which she made in 1985! She topped her homemade banana ice cream (which was also to die for!) with these amazing grapes that have been in the bottle for almost 30 years! I almost felt too shy to eat them, that’s such a treasure, fruit soaked in three decades of aroma!
It was my second visit to her house, just a day before I left the island to go back to Berlin. As always when meeting Mary, you have to be prepared for food, lots of good food! We wanted to stop at her house to say a quick good bye but as soon as we got into the house, Mary got out the plates and treated us to an amazing three course meal, finished with these fantastic drunken fruits. They were sweet and strong, a bit wrinkled, enhanced with the strong flavour of anise. The texture was a bit like jelly, but not as soft, they still had some crunch. It was a special culinary experience that I will never forget!
I’ve been back home for more than a month and I still can’t get Mary’s amazing grapes out of my head. There’s no reason to wait any longer! The Italian grapes taste amazing at the moment and there’s a bottle of Ouzo waiting to be emptied. I won’t wait for 30 years to eat them (I’m too impatient!) but maybe I will keep some of them for a year or two.
Mary taught me to keep a little stalk on the grapes, that prevents the fruit from soaking up too much of the liquid!
Drunken Grapes in Anisette
For 1 large jar of grapes you need
Ouzo (or any other anisette) 600ml / 1.5 pints
red grapes 200g / 7 ounces
Cut the single grapes off the bunch. Don’t pull them off, keep a short piece of stalk of about 1/2 cm / 1/4 ” on each of them.
Put the grapes in a clean jar and fill with anisette until the fruits are covered. Let it sit for at least a month, or for years, like Mary. Serve with ice cream or cheese.
do u have to sterilise d jars before filling them up?
Hi Doris, I didn’t sterilize the jar, but I got it right out of the dishwasher and filled it with the spirit up to the top. The grapes have been in there for almost 8 months and it looks and tastes fine. If you prefer, just sterilize the jar in boiling water for 5 minutes, then you’ll be safe! All the best, Meike
ummmm…WOW! one of the most spectacular treats i’ve ever seen, seriously!!! oh. on pound cake. baked on top of a creamy goat cheese tart. with homemade ricotta. ok. now i’m hungry.
You should see the grapes that Mary kept in anisette since 1985, they were divine! I don’t know if I can wait for so long but I want to give them a few more months. But I take a look at the jar almost every day, they are such beauties!
Have a nice day, Meike xx
1985! that’s some crazy willpower!!! i have some lemoncello going in my pantry right now and am having a hard time giving it a month 🙂
🙂 Mary prepares something new fpr her pantry almost every day, I don’t know anyone else who cooks, bakes and creates in the kitchen as much as she does! I would love to make limoncello, that will be one of my spring projects 🙂 Let me know how yours worked out!
Hi Meike, as we say in Maltese –
Prosit – a big well done! They look super and divine….. I’m so happy you tried these out. They’re a real treat. I bought some lovely organic grapes today which are going to be soaked in the Anise… and in the meantime will make do with the ones I made in 1985!!!
Thank you Mary, I’m glad you like the post! They look so beautiful and remind me of your amazing food! I would love to have a couple of your 1985 grapes! Have a wonderful weekend! Kisses, Meike
do you wash the grapes before preserving? some old relative of my mum used to jpreserve white grapes in anisette and black grapes in vermouth. is that so?
Hi Doris, I rinsed the grapes and dried them well with kitchen paper. I learned about this recipe from Mary and she preserves dark grapes in anisette and it was amazing. I will try it with green grapes next time to compare 🙂
All the best, Meike