Cindy Smith's Mother's Brandied Fruit
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Ingredients:
1 cup fresh fruit (use only strawberries, pineapples, peaches, and/or bing cherries)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup whiskey or brandy

Step 1:
Mix fruit, sugar, and brandy in large jar with tight-fitting lid or large bowl with sealable top.

Step 2:
Stir daily until sugar completely dissolves.

Step 3:
Let stand a minimum of two weeks or a month. However, the longer you let it stand, the better it tastes. Mother and I recommend letting it stand for 1 year.
Suggestion: Start after the December holidays so you can serve it during the following Christmas and New Year.

Step 4:
After letting it stand for 2 to 4 weeks, you may add only the sugar and fruit.
Recommendation: Add new fruit as it comes in season.
The mixture "brandies" itself. Be certain, however, to add equal proportions of sugar and fruit each time, such as 1 cup fruit and 1 cup sugar.

Step 5:
When ready to serve, pour brandied fruit over ice cream.
Warning: Do not dip the spoon you use for ice cream into the fruit jar/bowl because the ice cream on the spoon will spoil the brandied fruit.

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From: Nancy Allison
Cindy, this is so amazing!
I just want to ask you some clarifying questions:

1. Should you store the fruit in the fridge, or a room temperature? If you keep it going for a year, where should you keep it during the hot summer months?

2. Is it necessary to open it periodically? I mean, if I stopped adding fruit in September but wanted to serve it in December, should I open the container and stir it once every week or month or something?

It sounds delicious and wonderful, and I'm going to try it. I won't accidentally kill myself or anyone else, will I? I mean if I do it wrong?

Nancy, pathetically looking for reassurance -- and thanks for posting the recipe !

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From: CINDY
1. Should you store the fruit in the fridge, or a room temperature?
I checked with Mother on this. She does not advise putting it in the refrigerator in the beginning, especially during these cold months, but store it in a cool place. If you have a basement, that's probably a good place, since most basements stay cool during the summer. If all else fails, you can put it in the refrigerator, she says, but keep it out as much as you can, perhaps at night? Mother used to live in Florida, and she says she just stored it in the coolest place in the house.

2. Is it necessary to open it periodically?
Mother says it's a good idea to stir it occasionally, especially when adding more fruit and sugar, as the recipe directs.

I won't accidentally kill myself or anyone else, will I? I mean if I do it wrong?
This is me speaking: I think, if I remember my basic cooking physics, that alcohol tends to kill germs, so that fact probably makes the brandied fruit relatively safe.

and thanks for posting the recipe !