Elderflower champagne

Use empty plastic water bottles, which should be sterile.

 

36 elderflower heads

1 lemon

680g caster sugar or granulated sugar works fine too

2tbsp white wine vinegar

4.5 litres water

 

Make sure there are as few insects as possible on your elderflowers. 

 

Put them in a clean bucket along with the juice of the lemon, its rind without any pith, sugar and vinegar.

Add the cold water and leave 24 hours.

 

Stir from time to time to dissolve sugar.

 

Strain through muslin into sterilised bottles.  Screw on tops.

 

Leave 2 weeks.  Check fizziness and let off excess build-up.

Rhubarb wine

This is my favourite home-made wine as it makes a very drinkable white wine which is not too sweet, unlike many fruit wines.  Rhubarb is also usually so bountiful if you grow it yourself, and you can usually cadge some off a neighbour if you don't.   It's very easy to propagate by digging up and replanting part of the plant.  This wine was a great hit at the summer fruit evening last year and I'm glad I made 20 litres of it.

Here's my recipe:

3 pounds rhubarb
3 pounds white sugar
1 gallon hot water (doesn't have to be boiling)
wine yeast

or for a larger metric quantity:

4 kilos rhubarb
4 kilos of sugar
13.5 litres water
wine yeast.

Method:

Pick the rhubarb and then chop it up and put in the freezer in plastic bags for a few days.  This breaks down the cells and releases the juice when the wine is made.  It's an essential step so don't miss it out. 
Put the rhubarb in a primary fementor (large bucket) and cover with the sugar.  Leave for 24 hours.
Add the hot water (doesn't need to be boiling) and mix.  Then strain out the rhubarb and put the liquid back into the primary fermentor and when it is luke warm add the yeast.  Cover and leave for 3 - 4 days, then syphon the liquid into demi-johns with air locks.  Leave to ferment.  Rack it into new demi-johns after around a month as there will be a lot of sediment.
Bottle up around 6 months, and then it's best to drink after about a year.  
The two year old wine that we are drinking at the moment is also good.

 

Fresh fruit smoothies

This strawberry and black currant smoothie was made by my son with strawberries, blackcurrants, a banana, a cup of apple juice and yogurt.

Blackcurrant cordial

This is so easy to make and you can use the almost unlimited supply of blackcurrants you get if you grow your own.  Blackcurrants are easy to propagate from cuttings - just stick a cutting in the ground in Autumn and you'll have a new plant next year.  Just make sure the cutting is taken below a node (the bit where the leaves grow from).  Kids love it and it's great for getting vitamin C into them.  My kids used to call blackcurrant "Ribena balls".  Today I used frozen blackcurrants from last season, which need using up before the next lot arrives.  But that way you can make it all year round as it only lasts a couple of months after turned into cordial (I have kept it longer however with no problems).

This is my method.

• 450g blackcurrants
• 250g caster sugar
• water
• Whole lemon

De-stalk and wash the blackcurrants.  No need to top and tail.

Put blackcurrants in large pan, cover with water then simmer very quickly until juice comes out.  Try and keep boiling to minimum to preserve vitamins.   Add skin and juice of lemon during the simmering.  Then strain - either through a fine sieve or a muslim, depending on whether you are fastidious about the odd bit.  Then add 12 oz sugar per pint of juice - or 1.2kg sugar to 2 litres of juice.  You may need to then reheat slightly to dissolve sugar - but again keep this to a minimum.  Bottle up to brim and then seal bottles with wax.  Keeps for six weeks in fridge or cool place. 

Elderflower cordial

I made a mega batch of Elderflower cordial today - 4 times the quantity which meant picking 160 elderflower heads, which was actually very quick. The main difficulty is sourcing the citric acid, which always seems to run out at this time of year. The best and cheapest way to get it is on the internet where you can get 500g bags delivered next day. It also avoid the hassle of being asked in a chemist what you are using it for. Apparently it is used to cut drugs, but the thought of hoardes of middle aged ladies being asked what their purchases are for in May and June always makes me smile.

Here's the recipe:

Makes 1.5 litres

20 heads elderflowers

1.8kg of granulated sugar or caster sugar
1.2 litres water
2 unwaxed lemons
75g citric acid

1. Shake the elderflowers to expel any lingering insects, and then place in a large bowl.

2. Put the sugar into a pan with the water and bring up to the boil, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved.

3. While the sugar syrup is heating, pare the zest of the lemons off in wide strips and toss into the bowl with the elderflowers. Slice the lemons, discard the ends, and add the slices to the bowl. Pour over the boiling syrup, and then stir in the citric acid. Cover with a cloth and then leave at room temperature for 24 hours.

4. Next day, strain the cordial through a sieve lined with muslin (or a new j-cloth rinsed out in boiling water), and pour into thoroughly cleaned glass or plastic bottles. Screw on the lids and pop into the cupboard ready to use.

Cook's Notes: To serve Elderflower Cordial: Dilute the elderflower cordial to taste with fizzy water, and serve over ice with a slice or two of lemon, or a sprig of mint floating on top.

For something a touch more sprightly, add a shot of gin or vodka and a lemon slice, or add it to white wine and sparkling water to make an elderflower spritzer.

Elderflower cordial is also brilliant in recipes such as gooseberry fool, and in vinaigrette - mix with wine vinegar, a touch of mustard, salt, pepper and a light olive oil (surprisingly good with a courgette, lettuce and broad bean salad). You might even try adding it to a marinade for chicken breasts. Try it in sorbets, or ice-creams, or just spooned over scoops of vanilla ice-cream, or use it to sweeten and flavour the fruit for a crumble.

I use screw top wine or cordial bottles which have been sterilised. To keep the cordial for longer I drip candle wax around the screw top to make an air-tight seal.

Lemon balm tea

I reached for my packet peppermint tea without thinking this morning and then remembered that lemon balm from the garden makes a lovely refreshing herbal tea. I just added hot water to a few leaves.
It's dead easy to grow too, and best grown near the house so the leaves are at hand when you need a cuppa.