Recipe foraged from Sefton Women’s Institute
Ingredients:
1kg blackberries,
1kg little apples, destalked and chopped, core included.
Granulated sugar
Method:
Makes about 1.5 litres.
Put the blackberries and apples in a very large. Add 700ml water and bring slowly to a boil; if you mash the fruit (especially the apples) it does speed things up slightly. Cook slowly until the fruit is very soft and the blackberry juice is very runny. Remove from the heat, and then drip through a scalded jelly bag or a layer of muslin in a sieve suspended over a large bowl. Leave to drip overnight.
Measure the juice (it will be about a litre) and pour into a clean pan. Sterilise bottles – you will need them ready and to hand.
For every litre of juice, add 700g sugar (slightly more if you want it sweeter). Heat gently to dissolve the sugar and when all the sugar is dissolved remove from the heat. Pour immediately into the warm, sterilised bottles, leaving a 1cm expansion gap at the top. Seal with the lid.
The cordial will keep, sealed, in a cool, dark place for a two or three months.
Note: the apples can actually be any size but the apples on Rimrose Valley are teeny tiny.
I sterilise my bottles by cleaning in the dishwasher then lowest oven setting for 15 minutes just before bottling.
