Recipe of the Month: August

Natural Cordials

Whether you are looking to cool down or to drink for picnics, here are three summer cordial recipes.

I don't like sweeteners so I've used unrefined sugar, but adjust to your own preferences. A can of coke is 39 g of sugar (a level teaspoon is 5 g) so I have made each drink 330 ml the same as a can of coke for comparison. I have tried to work this out at the bottom of each cordial as best as I can, but it is a rough estimate).

I don't like adding citric acid so I limit the number of ingredients but if you prefer a fizzy tang, you can add citric acid to taste.

Each of these cordials will store in the fridge for a couple of weeks or pour it into ice cube trays and freeze. Dilute with still or sparkling water or as the basis for a fruit cocktail, mocktail or ice lolly. They are also perfect as a milk/mylk shake flavouring, as ice cream sauce or mixed into plain yoghurt. These cordials are equally perfect in the winter made with hot water.

1) Ginger Cordial is perfect for travelling as it is a natural aid for any travel sickness. Peel and chop 50 g raw ginger. Place in a saucepan with 1/2 litre of boiling water and 70 g of unrefined sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Cool the cordial then strain it through a sieve. Dilute 1 part cordial to 10 parts water.

At the proportion of 1 part cordial to 10 parts water, 70 g of sugar would make up 5.5 litres. If a glass is 330 ml (the amount of a canned soda) this would be 4.2 grams of sugar, (a level teaspoon is 5 grams) compared to 39 grams of sugar in a can of coke.

2) Blackcurrant Cordial is a huge hit of vitamin C and makes the most of any blackcurrants you might have in the garden. Frozen blackcurrants works just as well and the recipe is proportional so works with whatever you have got. Weigh the washed blackcurrants and place them in a saucepan. Whatever the weight of the fruit is, make up half the weight of the blackcurrants with boiling water and a quarter of the weight of blackcurrants in unrefined sugar. Cook gently until the fruit is totally soft. You can add more sugar or a squeeze of lemon juice to taste. If using lemon juice, roughly 1 squeezed lemon for every 250 g of fruit. Allow the mixture to cool, strain through a sieve. The left overs in the sieve can be added to a fruit crumble or stirred into yoghurt. Dilute 1 part cordial to 10 parts water.

At the proportion of 1 part cordial to 10 parts water, for every 1 kg of fruit, there is 250 g of sugar. This would make up 5.5 litres of drink. If a glass is 330 ml (the amount of a canned soda) this would be 15 grams of sugar, (a level teaspoon is 5 grams) compared to 39 grams of sugar in a can of coke.

* My friend doubles the sugar and halves the water to create a thicker, sweeter liquid that she dilutes 1 part cordial to 12 parts water. This is too sweet for me, but you might want to experiment by tasting the cordial in the pan and adding more if you prefer it.

3) Lemon Cordial screams summer. Juice 8 lemons then chop up the skins into quarters. Throw them into a saucepan with 260 g unrefined sugar and 2 litres of boiling water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved then allow to cool and strain through a sieve. Lemon juice contains approximately 5% citric acid, so it has a natural tang in its natural form.

At the proportion of 1 part cordial to 10 parts water, 260 g of sugar would make up 22 litres. If a glass is 330 ml (the amount of a canned soda) this would be 3.9 grams of sugar, (a level teaspoon is 5 grams) compared to 39 grams of sugar in a can of coke.

 

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