Winter Warmer: Elderberry Cordial

While it's sad to say goodbye to the nice warm weather, there's something incredibly cosy and comforting about putting on a wooly cardigan and snuggling up with a nice cup of tea by the fire when the weather starts to turn cooler.  For a tasty treat that's a bit different, why not try making your own elderberry cordial?

The following recipe can be served as a cordial with hot or cold water or used as a fruit coulis on top of yoghurt or in a rice pudding.  If you're after something a bit stronger to take the edge off of a nasty cold, mix the cordial with whisky, lemon and hot water for a twist on a traditional hot toddy.

Ingredients

• 1 large bag of ripe juicy elderberries (around 1kg)
• 1kg Demerara Sugar (approx)
• 6 cloves
• 1-2 tsp Ground ginger or 6-8 strips of fresh ginger if you prefer
• 1 tsp Tartaric or Citric Acid to preserve
• Sterilised bottles to store

Directions

1. Take a large bowl and a use a fork to remove the berries, put the berries in an oven proof dish and into a warming oven (around 100c) for around 1hr, until they soften slightly.
2. Mash the berries to release the juice then transfer all to a muslin bag and leave to drain.
3. Measure the juice in a jug, for every ½ litre of juice add 450g of sugar
4. Place the fresh ginger & cloves in a hand tied muslin pouch and drop into the mixture (if using ground ginger drop into mixture with cloves and sieve at the end)
5. Warm the mixture until all the sugar has dissolved and the liquid thickens, take out the muslin pouch and add the tartaric/citric acid, mix until dissolved.
6. Sieve the mixture into clean sterilised bottles (store in a cool place for up to 1yr)