Of berries and herbs......

Cordial, 2016 recipe.   

                                            

Every year I try something a little different, this year I was recommended to use brown sugar in my redcurrant cordial, so here are the measurements and in a few months I will let you all know how it turned out. 

- A little over 1 kg of redcurrants

- 1 liter of alcohol over 40%

- 200 gr brown sugar 

- Sterilise a glass jar

Put all ingredients inside, close tight. 

Keep in a dark cupboard, and shake everyday until the sugar is dissolved. 

About 4 months later (Christmas time) strain, then store in a glass bottle.

We are all familiar with the words of the folk song ' Scarborough  fair ', words which makes one dream of Provence, herbs and warm summer days..... but even in cold Norway you can grow the famous four 'Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme'.

Without a green house I am rather limited in what I can grow in my garden, but herbs seem to thrive despite the cold winter.

Most herbs keep well when dried, but parsley keeps most of its flavor if preserved by freezing.

I also freeze red-currants, but not raspberries this year. We ate most of them, otherwise the rest was used to make raspberry-currant jam. A winner combination mixing the sweetness of the raspberries with the pectin rich currants.

For a jelly recipe I use each year follow this link: http://roland-designs.blogspot.no/2012/07/red-currant-jam.html

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme + mint

Parsley does not taste so good when dry, so I freeze it.