Fiona’s elderflower vodka/liqueur recipe
I was looking through Rose and David Mabey’s book Jams, Pickles and Chutneys (Penguin handbooks) last week to see if the had any recipes for elderflowers. They did have one – elderflower vinegar. “If you can make vinegar then you must be able to make elderflower vodka,” I mused. A brief sojourn on the internet threw up two recipes Hank Shaw’s Elderflower Liqueur and Elderflower Vodka from Eating From The Ground Up. As our liqueur cellar is running very dry I vowed to have a go. The Chicken Lady was up for the challenge too. “We...
read moreSeville Orange marmalade and liqueur recipes
I picked up The Contessa from the vet’s this morning. She’d been staying with them for a day and a night as they carried out a blood sugar curve test. She was diagnosed with diabetes last year and is doing pretty well but recently she has lost a lot of weight and her diabetes needs to be stabilised. The daily injections are not the gruelling trial that I thought they would be. In fact, a kind reader suggested that we give her a tiny treat after the injection and that has worked well. Immediately she spots the syringe she starts to dance...
read moreThe great sloe gin challenge: The Results
Picking sloes to make sloe gin is hugely popular in the UK. Perhaps because it combines the hunter gatherer instinct and the delight of making your own tasty grog. Although traditionally it is drunk at Christmas, it’s the most popular drink to be proffered in a hip flask out here in the country. There is a lot of competition over who has the best brew, secret recipes are not aired and shared. To be offered a sip of ten year old sloe gin is an honour, not to be turned down. It’s two years since we completed this challenge and I must...
read moreApple and Blackberry Cordial recipe
2009 is a great year for blackberries. We have loads in our garden and I’m bottling them and processing them for winter. I’ve also become very interested in cordials. Danny has started using my Lemon and Elderflower cordial instead of white wine in cooking. I reckoned that Blackberry and Apple cordial and a Wild Plum cordial would appeal to him. Deep into Oded Scwartz’s Preserving I read his words on making cordial, “Boil for just 4-5 minutes as you don’t want to turn it into jelly.” Basically making cordial is very easy...
read moreMixed soft fruit vodka liqueur recipe. Harlequin grog.
Tiny hands clapped with glee when we surveyed our potential black, red and white currant harvest back in the spring. The gooseberries looked promising too. “We can make loads of schnapps and finally our own red currant jelly. This year I’ll make some gooseberry sauce for Christmas and some gooseberry vodka with the dessert gooseberries.” “The gooseberry vodka didn’t last long. When you made it last year.” “I only had a couple of shot glasses. This year I’m going to hide it away.” The sawfly must have been...
read moreFiona’s Elderflower and lemon cordial recipe
I love drinking citron pressé on a hot summer’s day. This is the juice of half a large fresh lemon, topped up with caster sugar and ice cold water. I discovered this drink on holiday in Brittany when I was nine years old and have enjoyed it ever since. So this year I thought it would be fun to make an Elderflower cordial with a distinct lemon kick. I’ve just finished bottling it. The result was a zingy grown up cordial that balances tangy lemon with the fragrant buzz of elderflowers. Delicious with iced water (my first teetotal sampling)...
read moreWalnut Wine – Vin de Noix
Having started the pickled walnuts I still had loads of nuts left over, so I looked around for other green walnut recipes. I was tempted by an Italian walnut liqueur that my last hairdresser makes every year. He buys pure alcohol in Italy and makes enough to last him until the next annual visit. He loved it and his wife hated it. Perhaps a perfect state of affairs when it comes to sharing precious grog. Some recipes suggested that it could be made with vodka but I decided to wait until we visit Italy again and can buy the alcohol. Finally, I...
read moreIrene’s Strawberry vodka liqueur recipe
I’ve had a few emails asking for a recipe for strawberry liqueur. I haven’t made it myself but Irene shared her recipe in the comments on our post Two recipes: Wild Damson Gin and Sloe Gin recipes. This is the most visited post on our blog. The credit crunch has seen an upturn of visits too. And why not? There’s nothing like the distraction of homemade grog when times are getting tough. I spent a couple of hours analysing the jungle of srawberry liqueur recipes on the internet but always Irene’s recipe sounded best. I...
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