Orange Liqueur

History

This recipe, 'Licor de Naranja' (Orange Liqueur), is documented in the Spanish domestic cookbook La Mejor Cocinera, Recetas de Cocina, within its liqueurs chapter ('LICORES'), among other home cordials such as Curaçao, Chartreuse, Anisete and Anisado. The book was issued by Editorial 'Saturnino Calleja' in Madrid; the earliest firmly located edition dates to roughly 1921–1923. The source names no author: it is a house cookbook published by the Calleja firm, so it should be treated as anonymous domestic-cookery text rather than the work of a named individual. As printed, the recipe steeps the peeled rinds of four large oranges in one litre of aguardiente de Holanda ('Dutch brandy') together with a piece of vanilla for eight days; a syrup (almíbar) is then made from one pound of pilón sugar in a glass of water, and once cold it is mixed with the spirit and filtered. Beyond its appearance in this cookbook, the record does not document where, when, or by whom this particular orange-liqueur formula originated.

Ingredients

• 4 large oranges
• 1 liter Dutch brandy (aguardiente de Holanda)
• 1 piece vanilla pod
• 1 cup water
• 1 pound pilón sugar (unrefined cane sugar)

Instructions

1. Combine the peeled rinds of four large oranges with the Dutch brandy and a piece of vanilla pod. Let this mixture steep for eight days.
2. After eight days have passed, prepare a syrup (almíbar) by dissolving one pound of pilón sugar in one cup of water over heat. Allow the syrup to cool completely.
3. When the syrup is cold, mix it with the infused brandy. Strain the mixture through a fine cloth or filter to clarify. Bottle and store.