At last I tracked down some mush-muli (medlar) rakia last week, long-awaited as it's my favourite fruit..........but I have to say it was a bit disappointing and sharp - was that just a bad example or has anyone tasted some lovely stuff?

Am a little confused whether you ate the fruit or drank the rakia. but if it was the rakia then yes i've drunk a few nice ones. Unfortunately I can't recomend which because we bought several different bottles then had a tasting. By the end they all taste quite good. I would recommend giving it a go. cheers

Well, just as it is the case with brandy, you can easily make rakia out of just about every fruit, preferably with higher sugar content, which is true for the fruits of the medlar tree (moushmoli). I remember a friend of mine once praised it, claiming to be really good, but I've personally never tried it. It's not popular at all, even though medlar trees are easy to find everywhere in Bulgaria. I guess when it comes to popularity, it's on par with quince (dyuleva/ova), fig, pomegranate, etc. rakias. Usually made by enthusiasts or people who don't want to throw away excess produce and utilize it in the form of marc for making rakia.

A technology for making medlar rakia, as described here: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Мушмолите трябва да са смачкани, опитай с мелачка за грозде, Водата в бидона да е една трета над мушмолите /разбъркай добре/ последните 20л. вода налеи гореща зада докараш температурата на пращината /джибрата / 30-35 градуса, след това прибави две пакетчета жива мая разтворена в вода или 5 пакетчета мая на д-р Йоткер разбъркаъ добре и на другият ден ферментацията би трябвало да е започнала. Преди да сложиш маята е добре да измериш захарноста ако е под 17% добави захар, за да вдигнеш захарноста с един процент на 100кг. материал е необходим 1кг. захар, не прави захарноста повече от 20%. Докато протича бурната ферментаци 5-7 дни бъркай джибрата сутрин и вечер. Като вариш прецеди материала зада отделиш костилките.

Translation

The medlar fruits have to be crushed well;
try with a grapes grinder. The water in the vessel, used to store the fruit during fermentation, should sit one-third above the level of fruit /give it a good stir/. Pour hot water for the last 20 litres, brining the overall temperature in the vessel at around 30-35 degrees C.
Then add two packs of fresh yeast (dissolved in water) or 5 packs of dry yeast (Dr. Oetker brand). Give it another good stir and hopefully on the next day the fermentation should have begun. Before introducing the yeast, it's a good idea to check the sugar level (with a refractometer) ). If it's under 17%, add sugar to bring it between 18% and 20%, but never above 20. For every 100kg of marc, 1kg of sucrose (table sugar) is needed to bring the sugar level up by 1%. For the first 5 to 7 days, during the initial rapid fermentation, stir the marc once in the morning and then again in the evening. Before boiling, strain the marc to remove the pits.

Lisa a I am sure our members will sweeten this.

Oddy

Archaeological Find Proves Rakiya Is Bulgarian Invention

The oldest so far inscription, related to the traditional Bulgarian brandy, rakiya, has been found during archaeological excavations on the Trapezitsa Hill in the Old Bulgarian capital Veliko Tarnovo in central Bulgaria.

According to the Director of the National History Museum, NIM, and former Minister for Bulgarians Abroad, Bozhidar Dimitrov, the find is sensational and a definite proof rakiya is a Bulgarian invention.

A photograph of the inscription is being sent right away to the Ministry of Agriculture and Foods to assist its efforts to register rakiya as a Bulgarian national brand with the European Commission.

On October 3, archaeologist, Prof. Konstantin Totev, found a fragment of a medieval vessel on which an unknown Bulgarian from the 14th century has written in Old-Bulgarian: "
I drank rakiniya during the feast."
The person and the feast in question remain unknown, but what matters is that rakiniya in Old-Bulgarian means rakiya.

Dimitrov says the find is very significant since until now it was believed that rakiya has been first made in the 16th century. This inscription proves Bulgarians have drunk rakiya 200 years earlier, during celebrations in the capital Veliko Tarnovo, thus one can firmly say now that rakiya is a Bulgarian invention.

"
As soon as I return to Sofia, the pictures and an expert opinion of NIM will be sent to Agriculture Minister, Miroslav Naydenov, and I will also talk to him so that we can nail our rakiya, otherwise Albanians will take it from us. This is sensational. I was astounded,"
the historian is quoted saying.

Totev explains that the vessel is a small bowl and the technique used for the inscription was typical for medieval Veliko Tarnovo while the word rakiniya in it appears for the first time among finds dated from medieval Bulgaria.

I tried some a few nights ago for the first time, it made me wince at first and then I felt it warm my chest and into the stomach. It was some privately distilled plum Rakia, absolutely disgusting, had to drink some rum to take the taste away.

You will soon get used to it I'm afraid its all part of the Bulgarian life here and your neighbors will almost certainly be bringing you a tipple or towo

You do get used to it...My husband, a bitter drinker back in the UK, now (pretty much) only drinks rakia....He hated it at first!! We also have some friends from Ireland who come over for holidays, they too have got used to having a social glass or two.