We all know that Sloes make a great Sloe gin or Liqueur but combined with apples, they can also make a wonderful rich jelly.

Tiny purple sloes look like miniature plums and have a huge seed and very little flesh.  Although they can be used to make jam, you will spend a lot of time skimming off the stones for very little return, so using them to make a jelly is easier.

Sloes are best used with apples, firstly to even out their bitter taste and secondly to get the jelly to set.

Because you are making a jelly, this recipe is great for using up those scabby windfall or wild apples.

We use the spices to give the jelly a more rounded flavour and it is incredibly versatile.  Use like jam on nice fresh home made bread or scones, as an accompaniment to cold meats and rice pudding or even use as a marinade or glaze with duck or chicken.

You will need;

• A jam making pan
  

  Full of flavour

• About 6 – 8 jam jars with lids
• Jelly strainer
• Large glass bowl
• Long wooden spoon
• Jam thermometer
• Handkerchief size piece of muslin
• Saucer
• Large jug (comes in handy to take mixture from pan to strainer)

Ingredients;

• 2 Kg Sloes
• 2 Kg of cooking apples
• 2 Litres water
• 4 cloves
• 4 allspice berries
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• Approx 3- 4 Kg sugar (this will vary on the quantity of juice obtained).

Making the juice

Place the sloes in a sink or bucket of water and give a good “sloosh” around to get rid of any dirt and bugs.  Remove them from the water and put in a jam pan, taking out any leaves and bits of twig.  Don’t worry about removing any small stalks on the fruit.

Wash apples, chop roughly (including the skin and core) and add to the pan.

Add 2 Litres of water to the pan and simmer on a medium heat until all the fruit is pulpy, stir occasionally to stop fruit sticking to the base of the pan.

Place your jelly strainer over another equally large pan or bowl and strain the mixture, throw away the pulp (DO NOT put it in your compost bin – unless you want sloe bushes sprouting everywhere!).

Making the jelly

Put your saucer in the fridge.

Sterilise your jam jars.

Measure the juice and place in a jam pan, adding 1 Kg of sugar for each 1.5 litres of liquid.

Place the spices in a piece of muslin and tie at the top and add to the pan. (Klippits are handy for sealing the top of the muslin).

Heat on medium, stirring continuously until the sugar has dissolved.  Bring to the boil until jam temperature is reached (about 104 degrees).

Remove the saucer from the fridge and drizzle a little of the mixture onto it, let it cool for a few minutes.  If you take your finger or back of the spoon through it and it begins to wrinkle, it is ready for bottling, if not, keep trying every 10 minutes or so until this setting point is reached.

Take out the muslin bag of spices.

Fill the sterilised jars and seal immediately.  Leave to cool and label.

This lovely European pickle is a great way to use up a glut of cucumbers.

Do not panic at the amount of salt you see in the recipe, the salt is used to draw moisture from the cucumber and you will be rinsing this away before making the pickle.

The art to this pickle is in the preparation, to get as much moisture out of the cucumber as possible, if you don’t, the cucumbers can end up a bit soft and slimy.  So do take time to slice the cucumber finely and layer with the onion, sprinkling each layer with salt.

Once matured, after about 1 month, this pickle will make a great accompaniment to cheeses but also has enough “bite” to put with cold meats.

You will need;

• 1 large glass bowl
  

  A great way to use up those cucumbers

• 1 plate (that fits inside the bowl about half way)
• 1 heavier object to press down the plate (we used another smaller bowl filled with water)
• large pan or jam making pan.
• Slotted spoon, sieve or strainer.
• Approx 4 x 1\2 Kg jars with screw tops.

Ingredients

4 large cucumbers
6 -8 Small shallots or 3 medium onions (shallots tend to have a little more depth of flavour)
50g of salt

For the syrup:

550ml of white wine or cider vinegar (Do not use normal malt vinegar as this does not have enough acid content for pickling).
450g of soft brown sugar
1 tablespoon of mustard seed
1 tablespoon of celery or dill seed
½ teaspoon of ground cloves
½ teaspoon of ground turmeric

How to make the pickle

Wash the cucumber (leave on the green skin) and peel the onions or shallots.  Slice them both as thin as you can.

Put a layer of cucumbers and onions in the bowl and add a good sprinkling of salt, repeat this process until you have used up all your cucumber and onion.

Place a clean plate on top and weigh down to expel as much of the moisture as possible.  Leave this to stand for a minimum of four hours or overnight.

There should now be quite a quantity of liquid in the bowl, pour this off and rinse the cucumber and onion mixture in cold water a couple of times to get rid of the salt.  Make sure you pour off as much water as possible after rinsing.

Sterilise your jars by washing them in soapy water and rinsing in clean warm water. Place them on the oven shelf at 140C/275F (gas mark 1) and allow to dray for about half an hour.

Put the vinegar, sugar and spices in the pan on medium heat, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved.  Then add the cucumber and onion to the syrup and bring to the boil for only a couple of minutes.
Remove the cucumber and onions using a slotted spoon or strainer and place in a heatproof bowl in the oven with your jam jars.
Place the syrup back on the heat to simmer (not boil), to reduce the syrup for about 15 minutes.

When syrup has reduced, fill each of the warm jars with the cucumber and onion mixture making sure you do not press it down, pour over the syrup to fill the jars and seal.

Label when cold and put jars in a dark dry place for about four weeks to mature.

British strawberries may herald the start of Wimbledon, Henley and lazy days of leather on willow but, according to folklore, it is the Elderflower which heralds the start of British summer.

Valentine Warner's Elderflower Cordial

This year to help celebrate the six week Elderflower harvest, Belvoir has enlisted the skills of Valentine Warner, the chef known for his love of seasonal  ingredients and in particular his ability to forage for them, to raise the profile of this quintessentially British plant that has so much to offer.

The elder occurs naturally all over Britain.  However, it is traditionally a hedgerow plant and as the hedgerows themselves are in decline so naturally occurring elders are in decline too.

To help raise awareness of the plight of the British hedgerow and wild flower meadows, Belvoir has forged a partnership with Plantlife, the charity that works to protect Britain’s wild plants and to improve understanding of the vital role they play in everyone’s lives.

Belvoir has committed to donating 10p to Plantlife for every person who signs up to the Belvoir newsletter.

Valentine has devised two truly delicious recipes featuring Elderflower cordial – Elderflower & Gooseberry Jelly and Elderflower Cream Shortbread Tartlets – perfect for that other great British institution of afternoon tea.

True to his passion, Valentine has also provided a recipe for Elderflower cordial itself, using freshly picked Elderflowers.

Whilst relatively easy to make, it does need to stand for 24 hours and requires a large quantity of fresh Elderflowers.  These can be great fun to pick but with only a short six week harvesting window – you have to be quick!

Valentine Warner’s Elderflower Cordial Recipe

Belvoir Elderflower cordial is a favourite, but if doing some outdoor DIY here is a simple recipe. Tartaric acid is widely available in supermarkets and chemists and will not get you arrested if you buy it in large amounts.

Makes roughly 2 x 500ml bottles

Tp make great Elderflower cordial, the flowers mst be picked and processed within three hours

25-30 largish elderflower heads, from a wild clean place.
1kg granulated sugar
25g tartaric acid
1 long peeled strip of unwaxed lemon
750ml nearly simmering water
Fine kitchen muslin

Method
1.       Snap off any particularly thick stalks connected to the flower heads, leaving just the slim stems holding each blossom
2.       Put the flower heads in a large preserving pan or bowl
3.       Sprinkle over the sugar and tartaric acid
4.       Peel the lemon rind & add to the pan, along with all the lemon juice
5.       Add the hot water and stir gently but well. Cover loosely with a tea towel and leave to stand in a cool place for 24 hours, stirring every now and then.
6.       The sugar should completely dissolve and the syrupy cordial will become infused with the flavours of elderflowers. Strain the contents of the pan through a muslin-lined colander into a clean bowl. Decant into sterilised bottles
7.       Seal and store in sterilised bottles and store
8.       Sterilising Bottles -preheat the bottles in an oven at 180c/350f/Gas 4. Wash the bottles & stoppers really well and put on a baking sheet in the oven for 10 minutes. Leave to cool slightly before adding the cordial through a funnel.

Other Elderflower Recipes

Elderflower and Gooseberry Jelly

Elderflower Cream Shortbread Tartlets

More information

Belvoir supports the British Hedgerow

To help celebrate the six week Elderflower harvest, Belvoir has enlisted the skills of Chef Valentine Warner, to bring you some wonderful Elderflower recipes.

Renowned for his love of seasonal ingredients and in particular his ability to forage for them, Valentine Warner has created three fantastic Elderflower recipes to capture the taste of summer and to raise the profile of this quintessentially British plant that has so much to offer.

The elder is a hedgerow shrub which occurs naturally all over Britain. However, as the hedgerows themselves are in decline so naturally occurring elders are in decline too.

To help raise awareness of the plight of the British hedgerow and wild flower meadows, Belvoir fruit Farms have forged a partnership with Plantlife, the charity that works to protect Britain’s wild plants and to improve understanding of the vital role they play in everyone’s lives.

Belvoir has committed to donating 10p to Plantlife for every person who signs up to the Belvoir newsletter.

Capture the tast of balmy summer days

Valentine has devised two truly delicious recipes featuring Elderflower cordial ; Elderflower & Gooseberry Jelly and Elderflower Cream Shortbread Tartlets – perfect for that other great British institution of afternoon tea.

True to his passion, Valentine has also provided a recipe for Elderflower cordial itself, using freshly picked Elderflowers.

Whilst relatively easy to make, it does need to stand for 24 hours and requires a large quantity of fresh Elderflowers. These can be great fun to pick but with only a short six week harvesting window – you have to be quick!

Elderflower & Gooseberry Jelly Recipe

It can prove tricky to find fresh gooseberries these days as they, sadly, are not as popular as they used to be. This is why I have used canned fruit. The jelly is still excellent! Lady elderflower and hairy man gooseberry were born to be summer lovers.

Serves 4-6
2 x 300g tins of gooseberries in syrup
200ml Belvoir Elderflower Cordial
200ml water
12g of sheet gelatine (7 sheets approx measuring 7.5 x 11cm)
Fine kitchen muslin
1-1   ½ pt jelly mould

Method
1.       Pour the cordial into a saucepan followed by the water & the gooseberries with their syrup, I would note here that the gooseberries are dull in colour but once heated they will take on a wonderful blush
2.       Very gently burst the berries with a potato masher. Do not pulverise them.   Bring the mixture up to the faintest wobbling simmer but not hotter.
3.       In a separate bowl snap the gelatine into shards & cover in only just enough warm water to soak, remembering that once wet the gelatine will become limp. The water must not be boiling as it will destroy the properties of the gelatine. Leave it there until well softened , 5 minutes or so
4.       Double up some of the muslin in a sieve over bowl
5.       Pour the contents of the saucepan slowly into the lined sieve & allow to drip through of its own accord, if the latter half of the liquid stops dripping through, distress the pulp gently with a spoon to get it going again. Do not fiercely press the pulp to extract it as this will make your jelly misty.
6.       While the jelly syrup is still warm drop  in the gelatine, pulling it apart as you add it, this will help to eradicate lumps
7.       Whisk until all the gelatine has totally dissolved then pour straight into the mould & cover the top with cling film. Allow the jelly to set in the fridge for at least 4 hours
8.       When ready to serve, tease away the bottom of the jelly from the sides of the mould before briefly dipping it in a big bowl of hot water, if it’s a thin plastic mould or metal mould 1 or 2 seconds is ample.
9.       Turn out the jelly onto a serving plate .Double cream is a must.
10.   Peeled & very thinly sliced rounds of cucumber tossed in a tablespoon of sugar & left to drain then wrung out are also a very refreshing accompaniment.

Other Elderflower Recipes

Elderflower Cordial

Elderflower Cream Shortbread Tartlets

More information

Belvoir supports the British Hedgerow

Belvoir fruit Farms have enlisted the skills of Chef Valentine Warner, to bring you some wonderful Elderflower recipes, celebrating the six week Elderflower harvest,

Known for his love of seasonal ingredients and in particular his ability to forage for them, Valentine Warner has created three fantastic Elderflower recipes to capture the taste of summer and to raise the profile of this quintessentially British plant that has so much to offer.

The elder is a hedgerow shrub which occurs naturally all over Britain. However, as the hedgerows themselves are in decline so naturally occurring elders are in decline too.

To help raise awareness of the plight of the British hedgerow and wild flower meadows, Belvoir fruit Farms have forged a partnership with Plantlife, the charity that works to protect Britain’s wild plants and to improve understanding of the vital role they play in everyone’s lives.

Belvoir has committed to donating 10p to Plantlife for every person who signs up to the Belvoir newsletter.

Valentine has devised two truly delicious recipes featuring Elderflower cordial ; Elderflower & Gooseberry Jelly and Elderflower Cream Shortbread Tartlets – perfect for that other great British institution of afternoon tea.

True to his passion, Valentine has also provided a recipe for Elderflower cordial itself, using freshly picked Elderflowers.

A delicate summery desert

Whilst relatively easy to make, it does need to stand for 24 hours and requires a large quantity of fresh Elderflowers. These can be great fun to pick but with only a short six week harvesting window – you have to be quick!

Elderflower Cream Shortbread Tartlets recipe

Here are some perfumed little tartlets perfect for the great English summer tradition of a little outside afternoon tea.
Serves 6

Pastry
100g plain flour
50g semolina flour
100g salted butter
50g caster sugar
zested rind of the lemon
1 egg beaten
Pinch of salt

For the cream filling
125ml Belvoir elderflower cordial
300ml full fat double cream (not long life)
30g white castor sugar
Freshly squeezed juice of one medium lemon
You will need 1 x 6 hole muffin silicone mould

1.       In a large bowl combine the flours, sugars and salt with the lemon zest. Grate in the fridge cold butter
2.       Work everything together thoroughly with a wooden spoon until it forms loose dough then turn it out onto the work surface & briefly knead it into one block with your hands.
3.       Remember that the longer you work the dough, the warmth of your hands will make it overly sticky
4.       Divide the pastry into 6 parts & press it into each mould right up to edge, the pastry about the thickness of a one pound coin. Neaten up the open edges with a knife or if you like a more rustic looking tart then leave as is.
5.       Allow the chill in the fridge for one hour and preheat the oven to 150c
6.       Line each tartlet case with a scrumpled piece of baking parchment filled with ceramic beans or whatever you see fit for weighting down the pastry
7.       Bake the tarts for approx 30 minutes or until their top edges, are richly golden brown
8.       Remove them from the oven taking out the papers & beans. Lightly but carefully paint the inside of each tart case with beaten egg before returning them to the oven without the paper & beans. Cook them for a further 5 minutes or so until the bases are deep golden as well.  Allow the tart cases to cool
9.       In a non stick saucepan mix the double cream with the cordial & caster sugar, bring it up to a very brief but gentle boil and then simmer for 2 minutes (please do take care that it doesn’t split). Whisk in the lemon juice (it is the lemon juice that will set the boiled cream) and immediately turn off the heat
10.   Allow the mixture to cool for approximately10 minutes before pouring in to the 6 tart cases
11.   Place the tartlets in the fridge for 4 hours or  until the cream mixture has set
12.   When serving your elderflower tartlets dust the tops of each with icing sugar & accompany with fine tea, preferably outside

Cook’s Tips
If semolina flour for the pastry proves difficult to find, simply replace the 50g with plain flour so that you use 150g of plain flour instead.  In addition, if making your own pastry leaves you cold an alternative serving suggestion is simply to spoon the cream filling into ramekin dishes and sprinkle shortbread biscuits on top.  Delicious!

Other Elderflower Recipes

Elderflower Cordial

Elderflower and Gooseberry Jelly

More information

Belvoir supports the British Hedgerow