now is the time (here anyway) to get those elderberries in....packed full of vitamin c, they make a fantastic winter remedy for staving off colds and coughs etc. Looking for recipes I came across something called "elder rob", which despite my years I'd never heard of, criminal!!! anyway, I decided to make some and added some blackberries for good measure.
Picking them is not so easy, growing very well by water, of which there is plenty here (just not on my land!), makes it all a bit tricky, requiring either sturdy footwear or no footwear at all. I gathered several carrier bags full from 3 different farms
This is the recipe I used adding the blackberries, I've ended up with 4 litres of the stuff, tastes yummy and should last, drink either watered down cold or heat it up as a toddy
I'd also fancied a go at flavoured vinegar, so tried this recipe, which I finished making today, just over 2 pints
And lastly and probably lastly as the beetroot have been pathetic this year and doesn't look like they will grow anymore, my delicious and much coveted beetroot relish
1kg Beetroot
500g onions
750g cooking apples (peeled and cored)
500g raisins
3 tablespoons ground ginger
1kg granulated sugar
1 litre malt vinegar (actually I used all sorts of old vinegars as I had no malt and a friend also told me that if you use malt vinegar things take longer to "be ready")
Peel beetroot and grate, dice onions and cooking apples. Combine all the ingredients in saucepan, stir the mixture and heat gently until sugar is dissolved then raise temperature until boiling. Continue gently boiling with occasional stirring until mixture is thick. (approx. 2 hours) To test when ready create a trench in the surface of boiling mixture with the back of a spoon. When the trench does not immediately fill with liquid, the chutney is ready. pot into sterilsed, hot jars and seal.
