Macerating

Macerating is a culinary technique, the analogue of marinating but intended for fruit and berries. Its essence is to hold cut fruit in sugar, syrup, juice, wine, or liqueur in order to soften their texture, intensify the flavour, and draw out an aromatic juice.

The simplest way is to cover the berries with sugar: by osmosis the sugar draws moisture out of the fruit, and after some time a fragrant natural syrup forms, while the berries themselves become more tender and juicy. Macerating in alcohol or a flavoured liquid additionally saturates the fruit with new flavours. This technique is widely used in confectionery: macerated berries are served with desserts, ice cream, and pastries, used as a filling, and the fragrant syrup is used to soak sponge cakes. Simple macerating can turn ordinary fruit into a refined dessert component.