I was meant to publish this post last year, I’ve only just got around to writing it. Oops, sorry about that….
Anyway, it was autumn 2020 and we were discussing Christmas presents for our families. We wanted to make something, but wasn’t too sure. After a week of going back and fourth with ideas, we settled with fruit Gin.
So off we went, foraging through the local hedgerows and came back with a haul of elderberries and blackberries.
I know elderberries contain cyanide and this can be removed by cooking them. Not wanting to cook them down to a pulp, I thought the best option would to microwave them for a couple of minutes. In fact we done this with the blackberries too, just to get the juices flowing.
Bottled and ready to go
Ingredients
500g of fruit
100g of sugar
70cl Gin (we used a supermarkets own brand of Gin)
Method
Remove the fruit from their stalks and remove any unripe fruit.
Place the fruit in a microwavable bowl and heat on full power for a couple of minutes.
Place the fruit and sugar in a large sterilised jar. Pour over the Gin and give it a good shake.
Over the next week, give the jar a good shake twice a day until all the sugar has dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, store in a dark cupboard for around 4 weeks.
Strain the berries and mixture and discard the berries. You should be left with a sweet tasting gin. If not, add more sugar.
Return the Gin to the jar and store for another month or two before bottling and drinking.
