Gilbert’s Grapes in Grape Liqueur Recipe
I’m still ploughing through the fourteen kilos of grapes that we were given last week. I made another batch of grape jam, set some aside for wine and rang my friend Marjorie. She lived in France for years, is passionate about two things. Gilbert and food. Gilbert, her husband, describes himself as, “Rotund, relaxed and retro.” Quietly, he is a true bon vivant. Marjorie’s food is superb. She immediately suggested her grape liqueur recipe. Then I remembered finishing a wonderful meal at Marjorie’s with little...
read moreBest Chilli Sherry recipe
I’m not successful when I try and grow chilli plants from seed. Everything starts off well, and I give my surplus plantlets away to friends. A few weeks later, when my plants are beginning to look peaky, I spot the giveaways flourishing in their gardens. It’s maddening. Last year one friend even complained that she had a glut! So I supply the neighbourhood but am forced to cheat with chilli plants at home. By mid July, when it’s clear that all hope is lost, I drive to a good garden centre. If I’m lucky, I’ll find...
read moreRaspberry gin recipe
This recipe can also be used for blackberry gin and vodka Our autumn fruiting raspberries are late, but they’re finally here. Just a few of them. Succulent and tempting and the promise of more to follow. If you grow autumn fruiting raspberries you might like to have a go at making this delicious raspberry gin. The liqueur is delicate yet has a fresh raspberry bite that makes a change from the raunchiness of sloe gin. (This is a fresh review. I nipped out to the barn this evening to try some of our July 2006 vintage and it was superb....
read moreRecipe for Bullace Vodka
A friend from Kent gave us a small bag of bullaces (a small type of plum that grows wild in English hedgerows) last October. We bunged them into a small Le Parfait jar, topping it up with sugar and vodka. We found the forgotten jar last weekend, hidden behind some pickled plums. It was excellent. Unfortunately, as you can see from the photo, it didn’t last very long. As with all fruit liqueurs, you can use gin or vodka as the base. We have a preference for gin in fruit liqueurs but this bullace vodka was superb. We will certainly make...
read moreTwo recipes: Wild Damson Gin and Sloe Gin recipes
Unlike sloes, wild damsons are hard to find. For every thirty wild plum trees there may be just one wild damson tree. When I spot wild damsons in the hedgerows, they are harvested into a special bag. These, and the diminutive bullace, are the kings of hedgerow fruit. These tiny fruit make such an irresistible liqueur that overnight guests have actually turned down Danny’s famous cooked breakfast, and gone back to bed to sleep off the excesses of the night before. Our damson and sloe gin is not the thick ultra sweet variety. We prefer...
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