Mrs Hopkinson's Elderflower Cordial

My daughter made  elderflower cordial  last week when it was one of these rare sunny days we call summer, and it was deliciously refreshing served ice cold with lemonade and Ice.  I  asked if I could have some more and was told to help myself,  so I opened the fridge and took out the bottle and gave it a shake and then poured into a glass with ice and, ergh it was all thick and gloopy and sweet enough to remove all my teeth, followed with guffaws of laughter from said daughter!!!!  well I never knew that it was mixed with lemonade the first time I thought it just came straight out of the bottle, guess I missed the fact that it is called cordial for a good reason.  So here is the recipe and you can try it for yourselves, just make sure you add the lemonade. Let me know what you think if you try it.. 

Quince Essentially Delicious

 I ate quince jelly as a child, my mum made both jelly and the jam, although  I never  really took to the jam as it looked like mashed baby food and the colour was more than off putting.  I have never made quince jelly but in the next few days that will change. The other day I was given a huge bag of them and I  was told that stewed quince was good so I thought that I would have a go, I can’t begin to tell you just how delicious this fruit is, the flavour is a cross between pear and pineapple and my kitchen smelt deliciously tropical for several hours after. So if you have any quinces loitering in your kitchen here is my version using my mum’s recipe for stewed apples:.... Let me know if you do try this or if you have any other recipes for quince that you think are worth trying out.

I used 4 medium quinces

250ml sugar or 1 cup sugar

1 large cinnamon stick

½ stick of vanilla pod

1ltr of water or 4 cups

Wash, peel and core the quince, they are tough little blighters so watch your fingers when coring them. Cut each quince in half and then half again.

In a medium sized  pot add the water and  sugar, cinnamon stick and the vanilla pod (slice the pod and flatten it before adding to the pot.  Stir till the sugar dissolves and then add the slices of quince and bring to the boil and then simmer uncovered  for about 40min, if you put a knife blade into one and it falls off then it’s done. Turn off the heat and leave to cool.

I had some biscuits called Kletskoppen!  Seriously I could not make up a name like that and they are like a flat brandy snap and very addictive. When the quinces have cooled I placed a couple of slices on to the biscuit and then topped with Cream and I can promise you that you will keep reaching for a quince again and again.

Will let you know how the jelly goes later.