We've been drinking a lot of elderflower cordial recently, and stocks are getting low, so I've been looking round for other cordials to make.

Using the gooseberries from the garden seemed to make sense, they're just starting to ripen and taste wonderfully fresh.

This recipe also includes lemon verbena, which should add a few citrus notes to the finished drink. Lemon verbena is one of those herbs that grows like crazy in the garden but which I very rarely actually use for anything, so it's nice to feel it's making itself useful.

This recipe is adapted from one on The Independent website.

Click here for the Gooseberry And Lemon Verbena Cordial recipe  in more detail.

Recipe Costs

£0.52 400g gooseberries (PYO cost, mine were free)
£0.36 280g caster sugar
£0.00 1 litre water
£0.00 6 sprigs lemon verbena

£0.36 Total (£0.88 if buying the gooseberries)
£0.36 per litre of cordial (£0.88 if buying the gooseberries - an equivalent cordial at ocado costs £5.78 a litre)

One time saving aspect of this recipe is that the gooseberries don't need to be topped and tailed, just a quick rinse to remove any dirt and insects, then they're placed in a pan with the sugar...

...water (I find a glass measuring jug the easiest way to measure out quantities of liquid)...

...and the lemon verbena.

Interestingly, lemon verbena originated in South America and can grow to 3 metres high, our plants seem to like it here but have never grown more than a metre high, although they do tend to spread sideways rather quickly.

The strong lemon scent is said to keep for longer after picking than other lemon scented herbs, other than for culinary use the herb can be used as a reviving addition to a hot bath.

The herb is crushed under a rolling pin before adding to the pan, as this release the essential oils.

The mixture is simmered for about 10 minutes, or until the gooseberries start to get tender.

It's allowed to cool, then strained through muslin, making sure every last drop of flavour is squeezed out of the fruit pulp.

After bottling in steralised bottles, this cordial will keep well in the fridge for several months, it can also be frozen in plastic bottles.

Dilute to taste with still or sparkling water, or sparkling white wine.

Recipe Timings

10 minutes Preparation
20 minutes cooking
1 hour cooling
10 minutes bottling

Taste Test

A subtle tasting, not overly sweet cordial, but very refreshing. The lemon verbena adds a very slight citrus taste.

The gooseberries are swelling nicely and early varieties are already in the shops. The fresh fruit is not to everyone's taste, but is delicious when used in jam or chutney. Why not try some of these recipies:

 

Gooseberry and Lemon Verbena Cordial
A thirst quenching way of using up a glut of gooseberries.

Gooseberry Chutney
A basic gooseberry chutney.

Green Gooseberry Jam
Quite simply the best thing to do with gooseberries.
An excellent jam for breakfast, tangy yet sweet, a lovely orange colour, can be flavoured with the addition of elderflowers.

Gooseberry and Elderflower Cordial
A combination of early summer flavours in a cordial. Uses elderflower cordial.

 

 

The highly talented Amy Moss at eatdrinkchic.com has created 8 wonderful down loadable label sets.

She's provided labels for Strawberry, Rhubarb, Apricot, Blueberry and Cherry Jams and also for Marmalade.

Click here for her home made jam packaging labels blog post.

The elderflowers are bursting out of the hedgerows at this time of year. The best time to pick them is on a dry, warm day when the blooms are newly open and white. Try to find a bush that is away from a main road (to avoid exhaust fumes), and remember to keep to public footpaths. Their fragrance gives a wonderful summery flavour to the following recipes.

 

Elderflower and Rhubarb Jam
A combination of the best two early summer flavours.

Elderflower Cordial
A special drink ready in time for the summer, great served with fizzy wine.

Elderflower Cordial With Citric Acid
A tart, refreshing version of the classic elderflower cordial recipe.

Green Gooseberry Jam
Quite simply the best thing to do with gooseberries.
An excellent jam for breakfast, tangy yet sweet, a lovely orange colour, can be flavoured with the addition of elderflowers.

 

 

Gooseberry and Elderflower Cordial
A combination of early summer flavours in a cordial. Uses elderflower cordial.

 

 

The elderflowers are really starting to look good in the hedgerows and this is a perfect way to use their subtle flavour with that other early summer favorite rhubarb. You don't need may umbrels of flowers to get a hint of the taste, and you can use any extra to make elderflower cordial.

This recipe is adapted from the one in Edible Wild Plants & Herbs by Pamela Michael.

See here for the elderflower and rhubarb jam recipe in more detail.

Recipe Costs

£0.00 6 large elderflower heads (you can get dried ones on ebay, but I haven't tried them)
£0.00 1.5 kg rhubarb (£9.33 if bought)
£1.40 1.5 kg sugar
£0.35 1 lemon

£1.75 Total (£11.08 if buying the rhubarb)
£0.87 per kg of jam (£5.54 if buying the rhubarb - Elderflower and rhubarb jam costs £9.26 a kg at gallowaylodge.co.uk)

My elderflowers were on the small side, so I used about 15, they are tied up in a muslin bag and put in the bottom of a large bowl.

The rhubarb is chopped up and placed on top of the elderflowers.

The sugar is sprinkled onto the rhubarb and the bowl shook to make sure it settles down. This recipe relies on the sugar drawing out the juice from the rhubarb by osmosis, the only other liquid added is the juice of a lemon. As a result the jam should have an intense flavour. I used a glass bowl so I could see just how much juice was coming out, I've used a similar process before when making marrow and ginger jam and am always surprised how well it works.

Afetr 12 hours the rhubarb is starting to give up it's juice, it's given a quick stir and then covered back up again.

After another 12 hours the rhubarb is swimming in it's own juice, it's heated up slowly to dissolve all the remaining sugar, then returned to the bowl for another 12 hours.

Before the final cooking process the juice of a lemon is added, using my satisfyingly functional glass lemon squeezer.

The jam is cooked for about 45 minutes until it reaches setting point, then potted in steralised jars. I always find a jam funnel useful at this stage.

Recipe Timings

20 minutes Preparation
36 hours standing
45 minutes cooking
10 minutes bottling

Taste Test

It's surprising how so few elderflowers give such a distinctive taste to this jam. It's not overly sweet, which brings out the flavour of the rhubarb nicely.

This recipe was tempting to try as another way of preserving rhubarb.
There's nothing wrong with relilable rhubarb chutney, but you do have to wait several months before it's good to eat, the advantage with this recipe is that the sweet fruity relish can be enjoyed straight away.

As a variation you could add finely chopped chilli, or try the lime and ginger version on sweet mary's blog.

This recipe is taken from Preserves: River Cottage Handbook No.2 by Pam Corbin

See here for the rhubarb relish recipe in more detail.

Recipe Costs

£0.47 500g granulated sugar
£0.14 100 ml cider vinegar
£6.22 1kg rhubarb (equivalent cost, mine was free)
£0.35 125g raisins
£0.50 50g fresh root ginger
£0.34 2 cinnamon sticks
£0.02 6 cloves

£8.04 Total (£1.82 without buying the rhubarb)
£5.74 per kg of relish (£1.30 without buying the rhubarb)

The ginger is chopped into chunks and bruised with a rolling pin, then put with the other spices in a muslin bag.

The spice bag is put in a saucepan along with 100ml of water and 100ml of cider vinegar, I find it easiest to use a glass measuring jug.

500g of sugar is also put into the pan, this seems like quite a lot but does make the relish lovely and sweet.
The mixture is heated gently until the sugar has dissolved, then set aside for 20 minutes.

About a kilogram of rhubarb is washed and then chopped into 2 - 3 cm long pieces.

125g of raisins are used to give some variety to the relish, these could easily be left out if wished.

The spiced syrup, rhubarb and raisins are combined and cooked gently for about 45 minutes. At first the pan will seem very dry, but the rhubarb releases a lot of liquid as it cooks. I left the muslin bag in during the cooking to try and extract more of the flavour.

This is meant to be a runny preserve, suited to being poured from a wide necked bottle, so shouldn't be reduced too much when cooking.

Recipe Timings

10 minutes Preparation
20 minutes standing
45 minutes cooking
10 minutes bottling

Taste Test

Great in a strong cheese sandwich and should go well with cold cooked meats. This is most definitely a sweet relish, but has a pleasing acidity from the rhubarb.

Now is the time of year when rhubarb is readily available. Why not get the preserving pan out, celebrate this most English of vegetables, and try some of the following recipes:

 

Elderflower and Rhubarb Jam
A combination of the best two early summer flavours.

Rhubarb and Ginger Schnapps
A delicious summer drink, spiced up with a hint of ginger.

Rhubarb Schnapps
A special drink ready in time for the summer, great served with fizzy wine.

Rhubarb and Ginger Jam
A subtle tasting jam with crystallised ginger.

Rhubarb Chutney
Recipe for a rich dark chutney with apricots.

 

Rhubarb Relish
Make with maincrop rhubarb, good with curries, oily fish and cheese.

 

Last spring's rhubarb schnapps was one of the great preserving successes of the year, so I have been keen to make some more from the moment the rhubarb in the garden started sprouting

As well as making a jar of the original version this year I have also tried a jar with added ginger. Ginger always works well with rhubarb, rhubarb and ginger jam also being a favorite, so this schnapps should be good with a extra bit of spice.

See here for the rhubarb and ginger schnapps recipe.

Recipe Costs

£6.22 1kg rhubarb (equivalent cost, mine was free)
£0.28 300g granulated sugar
£11.19 1l vodka
£0.50 50 g fresh ginger

£18.19 Total (£11.97 without buying the rhubarb)
£18.19 per litre of schnapps (£11.97 without buying the rhubarb - peach schnapps costs £14.27 at ocado)

I picked the rhubarb on one of the glorious sunny mornings we've been having recently, just the weather for getting inspired to make a drink that's best drunk when outdoors.

One kilogram of rhubarb stalks (a mixture of thick and thin) is chopped up and packed in to a steralised preserving jar.

Sliced fresh ginger is added amongst the layers (best to add it as you're packing the rhubarb in the jar).

300g of granulated sugar, this amount can be varied if you prefer a sweeter or sharper schnapps. You can taste the schnapps after six weeks or so and add more sugar if you wish.

I find a jam funnel helps to avoid spilling sugar everywhere, although obviously it's not a problem if you're working outside.

The jar is topped up with cheap vodka, sealed, and given a good shake, once a day for a few weeks until the sugar is dissolved and then every week until you feel like straining it. The jar should be kept in a cool dark place and the rhubarb should be strained out before drinking. Wait at least six weeks before sampling, but you can leave it for up to six months if you wish.

The liquid will turn a lovely pink colour and is great drunk neat, with sparkling wine or with fizzy water.

Recipe Timings

15 minutes Preparation
6 weeks Standing

Taste Test

This will have to wait a few weeks.

As the pickle and preserve website has been going for over a year now I thought it would be interesting to see what the most popular recipes have been amongst visitors.

So here goes the top five in ascending order:

At number 5, and very apt for this time of year is Rhubarb Chutney.

At number 4, well worth making yourself,  Pickled Onions.

At number 3, lovely on toast, Rhubarb and Ginger Jam.

At number 2, a modern classic, Red Onion Marmalade.

And the surprise entry at number 1, the perfect accompaniment to the nations favorite dish, Lime Pickle.

With 7500 views between them that's an awful lot of jars of preserve.....

image source kilmerhouse.com

image source wikimedia commons

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