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Hedgerow Cordial

An autumn foragers
             winter delight.......

Dark, fruity and delicious, just like I like my.....​

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Hedgerow fruit is early this year and is in an absolute abundance all around us if you know what you are looking for. A little time and you could have some delicious cordials or jellies to warm you through winter.

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Most hedgerow fruit needs to be picked, sometimes frozen and cooked, so has fallen out of favour in busy lifestyles. However, now I think we all know we need to take less time in the office and more time to connecting with the world around us, this is a great way to chill out, relax and connect.

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Make sure you research which fruits can be used, so you don't end up using something poisonous such as cuckoo-pint berries or shiny black deadly nightshade berries! There are useful guides on the internet, the Woodland trust are helpful, as are foraging groups on Facebook (although remember not everyone in them is an expert) and there are many foraging books available to help.

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Yes, there is sugar in this and yes some vitamins maybe lost in cooking but many of these fruits are very high in vitamins like vitamin c, such as rosehips, which you can't eat as they are anyway. Vitamin c is involved in the growth and repair of tissues in all parts of your body, it helps wounds heal and the body make collagen. It also helps with the absorption of iron, so this is a good drink to have with an iron rich meal such as red meat, seafood, beans, lentils or spinach.

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Frosts are coming much later in recent years, start this recipe a day ahead so you can freeze the sloes and rosehips overnight to fully ripen and soften the flesh.

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Ingredients

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Makes varying amounts depending on amount of fruit collected, as a rough guide

approximately 750g of fruit will make about a litre of cordial

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Foraged fruit of the hedgerow, any mixture of blackberries, sloes, rosehips, elderberry, damsons, haw berry or crab apples.

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Lemon juice or citric acid to preserve - optional but advised if making a large batch - see step 5 for amount.

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Air tight bottles for storage. Clean and fill will boiling water for a few minutes to sterilise.

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1. Remove any leaves or stems (or little friends). Place any sloes and rosehips in a bag or box in the freezer over night, allow to defrost before continuing. 

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2. Finely chop or blend rosehips, if chopping use gloves as the seeds have little hair which can irritate.

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3. Place all ingredients in a large pan, cover with water to a centimetre above fruit. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes, stirring and mashing gently with a potato masher occasionally as it cooks.

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4. Pass through a sieve to remove most of the fruit solids, then through a muslin to ensure those irritating hairs from rosehips are caught.

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5. Measure the liquid and put in a clean pan with 300g sugar per 500ml of juice. You can add lemon juice or citric acid at this point to help preserve cordial, 0.5 juice lemon or 20g citric acid per 500ml.

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6. Heat gently until sugar dissolves, removing any scum with a slotted spoon. Pour into sterilised bottles and leave to cool, store in fridge for up to 3 months. Can also be frozen in ice cube trays or plastic bottles to preserve longer.

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7. To enjoy as a hot spiced drink , add whole spices such as star anise or a cinnamon stick to a hot cup of cordial.

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