SCOTLAND - FOOD - Whisky and Cranachan

Making whisky

 The ingredients needed for the manufacture of whisky

Water is one of the most important ingredients in the manufacture of whiskey. The quality and purity of water largely influence the quality of whiskies. Water in Scotland is renowned for its high purity. The pronounced difference in taste between the whiskey from various distilleries is partly due to the quality of the water used. The water in the Highlands often charge peat, which gives it a brownish color. Derived peat substances are transported by water, and often contribute to the originality of the taste of various Scotch whiskies.
But water is certainly not the only factor determining the taste of a malt whisky. The manufacturing process is of course a very important role in the taste of whisky. Water is used in the distillation process at various stages. First it is used in brewing, where it is mixed with crushed malt to obtain the wort. Then the water is used to cool the alcohol in the still and then it is used to reduce drinking during bottling.

Yeast (culture or a mixture of the latter with the brewery's yeast) will start the fermentation.
The role of yeast is essential. The choice of yeast is a closely guarded secret in distilleries.

The Cranachan

The Cranachan is a traditional Scottish dessert made from whipped cream whisky, heather honey, fresh raspberries ETDE oatmeal toasted and soaked beforehand in whisky.For the granola:

70g of butter
2 tablespoons of honey
100g of rolled oats (the grain radius)
50g of whole hazelnuts or already crushed
50g of brown sugar
45g of flour

For the cream and raspberries:

350ml of whipped cream
150g of Greek yoghurt
The grains of a scraped vanilla bean or a teaspoon of natural vanilla flavor
4-5 tablespoons of sweet rosé or 2 tablespoons of rum or whiskey
300g fresh or frozen raspberries
Icing sugar
A few tablespoons of honey

Preheat oven to 160 ° C (gas mark 5-6)

In a small saucepan, melt the butter with honey
Meanwhile, start by crushing the nuts if they are whole. No need for that robot, just a freezer bag, then put them in a cloth and tapping with a hammer or something pretty hard until the size suits you.

In a bowl, mix the nuts with oatmeal, brown sugar and flour and add to the saucepan off the heat. Mix well with a wooden spoon until you have a homogeneous mixture.
Spread the granola on a baking sheet covered with baking paper and bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally until well doré.Puis let cool out of the oven.
Assemble the cream into whipped cream with an electric mixer. When it is firm enough, add the Greek yoghurt, icing sugar, vanilla and alcohol chosen.

Crush a handful of mashed raspberries, pass through a sieve to remove the seeds, pour the resulting sauce and scatter a few raspberries at the bottom of each glass.
Add a layer of cream on top and decorate as you wish with granola or nuts.

Yanis and Paule