I've spent the last few weeks working on a new website at www.pickleandpreserve.co.uk
From now on I will be blogging there, why not come on over and have a look?
Friday, 19 June 2009
Time for a change....
I've spent the last few weeks working on a new website at www.pickleandpreserve.co.uk
From now on I will be blogging there, why not come on over and have a look?
Thursday, 18 June 2009
Ten Facts About Elderflowers
image source wikimedia commons
1. The latin name for Elder is Sambucus Nigra and botanically it belongs to the honeysuckle ( caprifoliaceae ) family.
2. It is sometimes known as the Judas Tree, as it is said to be the tree Judas Iscariot Hung himself on.
3. Elder trees are found in Europe, West Asia and North America.
4. It is often associated in folklore with witches, English folklore suggests the elder tree is a favourite form for a witch to take.
5. In Russia a Elder tree planted outside the front door is thought to ward off evil spirits.
6. For the best flavour Elderflowers should be collected when creamy coloured, before they turn white.
7. The hard, close grained wood has been used for making combs, skewers, mathematical instruments and toys.
8. Historically, the flowers and leaves have been used to relieve pain, swelling and inflammation.
9. Fishing floats can be made from the varnished dried pith of the twigs.
10. The leaves are a natural insect repellent, which is why you see Elder shrubs planted around compost heaps and outhouses.
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
Elderflower Cordial Recipe
This recipe is adapted from the one in Pamela Michael's Edible Wild Plants & Herbs
.Ingredients
Prepared Elderflowers
Sugar
Method
See here for pictures of the method.
Prepare the flowers by giving them a shake to remove insects, then snipping the flowers from the stems.
Put in a large saucepan with enough water to cover.
Bring to the boil then simmer for 15 minutes.
Strain and measure the liquid then add 400g sugar for every 750ml of liquid.
Heat slowly stirring to dissolve the sugar, then boil for 5 minutes.
When cool bottle and cork, or use screw on caps.
Dilute with sparkling water as a drink, or use to cook with gooseberries, rhubarb, plums or redcurrants, or use in fruit salad.
Keeps well in the fridge for several months.
Can be frozen in plastic bottles.
Elderflower Cordial
It was supposed to be the first cricket match of the year on Sunday, but it was raining in the morning so the pitch was too wet. However, the sun came out in the afternoon and we went off (with stepladder) to pick elderflowers, intending to make cordial later that day.
We've been trying to cut down on the amount of fruit juice we consume since I read this article in the paper some time ago. Making a cordial which is basically sugar water may seem a silly way to go about this, but hopefully once diluted it won't be as bad.
There are three good trees in the hedges round the cricket field, and they are nicely away from any roads, which makes for safer and cleaner picking. It's the same place I tend to pick blackberries from, I see it as an added bonus to being a member.
The flowers themselves smell lovely, it was one of those times I really appreciate living in the countryside, helping the boy pick flowers and then chasing him through the thistles with fallen flowers stuck in his hair.
An hour later, and back home, we had a washing up bowl full which were duly shaken to remove insects and snipped to remove the biggest stalks.
I'd checked out a few recipes online, but all had citric acid in them, which, this being a spur of the moment sort of thing, I didn't have.
Luckily a friend had given us the lovely Edible Wild Plants & Herbs
by Pamela Michael which had a recipe for elderflower syrup, which she recommends as a drink diluted with water. You can also use it for cooking fruit in, adding 1 1/2 cups per kilo of fruit. I'll try this once the gooseberries are ripe.
See here for the recipe.
Recipe Costs
£0 bowl full of elderflowers
£1.63 1750g granulated sugar
£1.63Total
£0.40 per litre of cordial - 2p per diluted litre (4% the cost of the equivalent at ocado)
Into the pan went all the flowers with enough water to cover (about 4.5 litres)
Half an hour of bringing to the boil and simmering later, and with the kitchen full of the smell of flowers, the soggy mass of flowers was strained off. I used some cloth in a sieve, as there were quite a lot of small bits of flower in the pan.
The resulting liquid was measured (3.3 litres) and 400g of sugar added for each 750ml. After bringing to the boil again I bottled it in some steralised screw top wine bottles. This should keep for several months in the fridge, and should last us through the summer.
I also put some in plastic bottles in the freezer, which should last until the autumn.
Recipe Timings
1hr picking flowers
0.5hrs Preparation of flowers
0.5 hrs simmering
0.5 hr Bottling
Taste Test
For an initial taste test I diluted this about 1:20 (15ml per 300ml) with water, and if anything it's was a bit sweet and tasted more of elderflowers than perhaps I'm used to with commercial cordials. It may be why many recipes include citric acid, as a bit of acidity would contrast the sweetness well.
I think I'll try to dilute it more, especially for children, as I worked out diluting it 1:20 means 1.3 teaspoons of sugar per 300ml of finished drink. This is however still much better than fizzy drinks at 8tsp per 300ml, and orange squash at 3.5tsp per 300ml. Pure orange juice contains over 5 teaspoons, although this is in naturally occurring sugars.
For a second test I reduced it to 1:30 (10ml per 300ml), and this is much more refreshing, and only has just under a teaspoon of sugar per 300ml.
I'll look forward to trying it with the Rhubarb Schnapps which is still banished to under the stairs.
We've been trying to cut down on the amount of fruit juice we consume since I read this article in the paper some time ago. Making a cordial which is basically sugar water may seem a silly way to go about this, but hopefully once diluted it won't be as bad.
There are three good trees in the hedges round the cricket field, and they are nicely away from any roads, which makes for safer and cleaner picking. It's the same place I tend to pick blackberries from, I see it as an added bonus to being a member.
The flowers themselves smell lovely, it was one of those times I really appreciate living in the countryside, helping the boy pick flowers and then chasing him through the thistles with fallen flowers stuck in his hair.
An hour later, and back home, we had a washing up bowl full which were duly shaken to remove insects and snipped to remove the biggest stalks.
I'd checked out a few recipes online, but all had citric acid in them, which, this being a spur of the moment sort of thing, I didn't have.
Luckily a friend had given us the lovely Edible Wild Plants & Herbs
by Pamela Michael which had a recipe for elderflower syrup, which she recommends as a drink diluted with water. You can also use it for cooking fruit in, adding 1 1/2 cups per kilo of fruit. I'll try this once the gooseberries are ripe.
See here for the recipe.
Recipe Costs
£0 bowl full of elderflowers
£1.63 1750g granulated sugar
£1.63Total
£0.40 per litre of cordial - 2p per diluted litre (4% the cost of the equivalent at ocado)
Into the pan went all the flowers with enough water to cover (about 4.5 litres)
Half an hour of bringing to the boil and simmering later, and with the kitchen full of the smell of flowers, the soggy mass of flowers was strained off. I used some cloth in a sieve, as there were quite a lot of small bits of flower in the pan.
The resulting liquid was measured (3.3 litres) and 400g of sugar added for each 750ml. After bringing to the boil again I bottled it in some steralised screw top wine bottles. This should keep for several months in the fridge, and should last us through the summer.
I also put some in plastic bottles in the freezer, which should last until the autumn.
Recipe Timings
1hr picking flowers
0.5hrs Preparation of flowers
0.5 hrs simmering
0.5 hr Bottling
Taste Test
For an initial taste test I diluted this about 1:20 (15ml per 300ml) with water, and if anything it's was a bit sweet and tasted more of elderflowers than perhaps I'm used to with commercial cordials. It may be why many recipes include citric acid, as a bit of acidity would contrast the sweetness well.
I think I'll try to dilute it more, especially for children, as I worked out diluting it 1:20 means 1.3 teaspoons of sugar per 300ml of finished drink. This is however still much better than fizzy drinks at 8tsp per 300ml, and orange squash at 3.5tsp per 300ml. Pure orange juice contains over 5 teaspoons, although this is in naturally occurring sugars.
For a second test I reduced it to 1:30 (10ml per 300ml), and this is much more refreshing, and only has just under a teaspoon of sugar per 300ml.
I'll look forward to trying it with the Rhubarb Schnapps which is still banished to under the stairs.
Saturday, 16 May 2009
Rhubarb Schnapps
So now that I've made rhubarb crumble, rhubarb jam, rhubarb crumble, rhubarb chutney and rhubarb crumble I was searching round for ideas and came across a few people who had made rhubarb schnapps. This sounded like a great idea, especially as it would be ready for the planned camping trips during the hot summer we've been promised.
The same recipe was used on both erin's kitchen and the accidental scientist, a simple looking looking procedure from Nigella Lawson's How to be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking.
See here for the recipe.
Recipe Costs
£6.22 1kg rhubarb (equivalent cost, mine was free)
£0.28 300g granulated sugar
£11.19 1l vodka
£17.69 Total (£11.47without buying the rhubarb)
£17.69 per litre of schnapps (£11.47 without buying the rhubarb - peach schnapps costs £14.27 at ocado)
The method couldn't really be easier, it took me longer to pick and trim the rhubarb into the compost heap than it did to follow the instructions.
I raided the cupboard and turfed some pasta out from a large preserving jar, then stuffed it full of the chopped rhubarb. Raw rhubarb has an indescribably lovely fresh smell which I am hoping will come through in the finished drink.
Sugar in next, I had to temporarily take out some of the rhubarb so I could fit it in, hence the above picture looking a bit like one of those coloured sand in a jar things you can get at the seaside.
I managed to top the jar up with about 850ml of the cheapest vodka I could find, I guess I'll mix the remainder in once the recommended six weeks is up and I'm bottling it.By all accounts this will turn out to be a lovely pink colour and taste just perfect mixed with sparkling white wine. I'll watch it carefully as it has to be regularly removed from it's hiding place under the stairs and given a good shake.
Recipe Timings
15 minutes Preparation
6 weeks Standing
Taste Test
This will have to wait until the summer.
Friday, 15 May 2009
Rhubarb Schnapps Recipe
This recipe is adapted from the one in Nigella Lawson's How to be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking.
Ingredients
1kg rhubarb
300g granulated sugar
1litre vodka (cheapest you can find)
Method
See here for pictures of the method.
Chop the rhubarb into 2cm pieces
Mix in a steralised jar with the sugar and vodka
Leave in a cool dark place for between six weeks and six months, shaking well occasionally.
Strain and bottle.
Serve neat or with fizzy water / wine.
Makes about 850ml
Friday, 8 May 2009
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