To break up the boring budgeting posts, I thought I'd post this incredibly simple blackberry syrup recipe. I am constantly on the hunt for something new to do with blackberries at the moment, as it seems such a shame not to pick them every time I go out for a walk!
The syrup makes a nice cordial, and I'm also thinking of using it to flavour ice cream (with some frozen blackberries chucked in), and it would probably add a nice summery flavour to some kind of punch.
Ingredients:
Equal weights blackberries and sugar (I had about 2lb of both)
Method
1) Preheat over to 125 degrees C, pop clean bottles and a jug into the oven to sterilise. After 15 mins or so, turn the oven off, leaving everything where it is to cool down while you make the syrup.
2) Weigh out blackberries into a saucepan, weigh out sugar on top
3) Place pan over a low heat and ignore for a few minutes
4) I think you're not meant to stir it at all, for the clearest, purest cordial, but I can't work out how to make the last bit of sugar dissolve without stirring, so stir gently after most of the sugar has dissolved
5) Once all the sugar is dissolved, simmer very gently for a couple of minutes
6) Strain the syrup through a muslin (invest in a butter muslin, it will get lots of use, or fold a clean baby muslin in half and strain through two layers) into a sterilised jug. You can skip this step if you have (a) a steady hand and (b) a pan with a decent spout
7) Pour into sterile bottles, seal. Label when cool.
In other news, I have decided carrots are not worth growing. I bought Parmex carrot seeds, which are bred to be good container producers, and this is the best specimen so far:
The syrup makes a nice cordial, and I'm also thinking of using it to flavour ice cream (with some frozen blackberries chucked in), and it would probably add a nice summery flavour to some kind of punch.
Ingredients:
Equal weights blackberries and sugar (I had about 2lb of both)
Method
1) Preheat over to 125 degrees C, pop clean bottles and a jug into the oven to sterilise. After 15 mins or so, turn the oven off, leaving everything where it is to cool down while you make the syrup.
2) Weigh out blackberries into a saucepan, weigh out sugar on top
3) Place pan over a low heat and ignore for a few minutes
4) I think you're not meant to stir it at all, for the clearest, purest cordial, but I can't work out how to make the last bit of sugar dissolve without stirring, so stir gently after most of the sugar has dissolved
5) Once all the sugar is dissolved, simmer very gently for a couple of minutes
6) Strain the syrup through a muslin (invest in a butter muslin, it will get lots of use, or fold a clean baby muslin in half and strain through two layers) into a sterilised jug. You can skip this step if you have (a) a steady hand and (b) a pan with a decent spout
7) Pour into sterile bottles, seal. Label when cool.
(For the record, I think that's a 750ml bottle, so 2lb of blackberries makes about 500ml of syrup). No idea how long this will last, but I would think with all that sugar, and in a sterile sealed bottle, it must be good for a couple of months. I'll put a bottle away for a couple of months and examine it for mould...
In other news, I have decided carrots are not worth growing. I bought Parmex carrot seeds, which are bred to be good container producers, and this is the best specimen so far:
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