Summer Berry Cordial

Sunday 17 July 2016

Summer Berry Cordial     





Our soft fruit is going great guns in the garden at the moment.   It  all seems to be ripening at once.   We have never gotten so many strawberries as the bumper crop we are enjoying this year!   


We  moved them into large pots on the patio, which seems to have agreed with them.  Trust me when I say that  I am not complaining! 




  Summer Berry Cordial






With so much coming at once however, it can be somewhat of a challenge to use it.  At present I am drying strawberries, raspberries and black currants in our food dehydrator, and I have frozen bags of them as well.   


This weekend I decided to make a summer fruit cordial with some of them . . . something delicious for us to remember summer with in the colder months ahead.  The nice ones that you can buy in the shops are so very expensive . . . I thought it would be nice to make some of our very own.



Summer Berry Cordial



A Cordial is a thick syrupy fruit drink, very concentrated.   It can be drunk on it's own in small quantities, or mixed with sparkling water and poured over ice for a refreshing drink.  You can also make an alcoholic cordial. 



 If you are familiar with the Anne of Green Gables story, you will remember that on a lovely October day Anne invited her friend Diana over for tea in the afternoon.  


Marilla had told her they could have the raspberry cordial that was leftover from the church social.  Anne took the wrong bottle and the pair proceeded to get very drunk!

 

 Summer Berry Cordial




Mine is not of the alcoholic variety!  (Although you could probably use it to make a cocktail with if you were so inclined!)



Summer Berry Cordial




It is sweet and delicious . . . and not so hard to make as one should suppose!  Truly!!   It tastes fabulous diluted with sparkling water and poured over ice on a nice summer day!




Summer Berry Cordial





Deliciously refreshing I would say!  It went down a real treat today!


 

 Summer Berry Cordial





It's also delicious served straight up in a small cordial or liqueur glass.  I can see us enjoying it this way when the winter winds begin to blow . . . oh, but it would make a lovely dessert sauce as well.




Summer Berry Cordial






It also makes the perfect hostess gift, decanted into a pretty glass container, for all of those summer parties and barbeques you are going to be invited to this summer!  


I hope you will give it a try!  You will just LOVE it!  

 

Summer Berry Cordial 






*Summer Berry Cordial*
Makes 1 scant litre
This is a delicious drink that will be lovely in the months to come.  A little taste of summer.   You can drink it full strength, or dilute it with some sparkling water and serve over ice, for a refreshing summer drink.

400g of black currants (about a pound)
300g of strawberries (3/4 pound)
150g gooseberries (generous quarter pound)
150g raspberries (generous quarter pound)
the juice of 1 large lemon
350g of granulated sugar (generous 1 3/4 cup)

Pick over all of your fruit and gently wash it.  Place it into a saucepan along with 1/2 litre of cold water (about 2 1/4 cups) and the lemon juice.  



Bring slowly to the boil over medium low heat..  Simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes, or until the fruit is very pulpy.  Remove from the heat.

Place a large fine meshed strainer over a deep bowl.  Carefully pour the fruit and all of the liquid into the strainer.  Cover with a clean cloth and leave to drain overnight.  


The next morning remove the strainer and discard any pulp inside.   Pour the juices into a clean pot.  Add the sugar. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly until all of the sugar is dissolved.  


Pour immediately into warm sterile bottles.  Leave a 1/3 inch gap at the top.  Seal and store in a cool dark place or the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

6 comments

  1. This looks so good. My dream use would be poured over vanilla ice cream, with a ginger cookie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oh, that does sound very good Carol! Thanks for the idea! xo

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  2. Oh yes, yes, yes! This sounds really perfect right at the moment. We also are having an excellent berry year and the garden and the forests are heaving with them. I'll make some of this up today. The Swede loves both blackcurrant and raspberry cordial, so he's bound to like this. The other thing we have is masses and masses of beautiful cherries. I've never seen them grow so well. I swear I'm eating my bodyweight of them every day straight from the trees and there are still hundreds left :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ohh, I wish we had a cherry tree! I would love that! I could easily eat my body weight in them each day and more! Lucky you Marie. Maybe a cherry cordial is in order??? xoxo

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  3. Lucky you!
    My pretty berries were eaten by chipmunks!
    Looks so pretty!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Monique. Chipmunks, so cute, but so very naughty! xo

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