Wednesday 27 June 2007

Nettle Cordial

I found a lovely recipe on the Thorncroft site for Nettle Cordial, and unlikely sounding but delicious drink.

Here is the link: http://www.thorncroftdrinks.co.uk/recipe_nettle.htm

And the recipe:

100g freshly picked nettle tips
100g freshly picked young blackcurrant leaves
1 kg granulated sugar
40g citric acid
500ml boiling water

Add the sugar, citric acid and water to a large saucepan. Heat to 60 degrees C. Add the leaves and remove immediately from heat. Cover and leave for a week, stirring daily. Strain and bottle. Add one Campden tablet per batch or keep in refrigerator.

The nettle leaves are readily available at this time of year, and it just so happens that we have a blackcurrant bush in the back garden. I suspect it's the latter that really give this cordial it's great taste, but I'm going to try making it just with nettles to see what it's like. I have another reason for doing this: whilst the nettles are in abundant supply, I only have a limited supply of blackcurrant leaves, so I want to try some different substitutes. All ideas would be greatly appreciated! As usual, I'll update this post with any new developments I make. :)
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5 comments:

  1. thanks for the recipe! ive been looking for one everywhere. can u just use stinging nettles that u find in your back garden or do they have to be a certain type? also doesnt the acid in the stinging nettles give u stomach ache or something?

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  2. and one more thing i forgot to ask: when you say nettle tips do u mean the leaves of the nettle?

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  3. Hello, this blog has been a bit neglected (until now!) so your comments/ questions have gone unnoticed. If you're still around and still interested then here are my answers: yes you can use the nettles in your back garden. I haven't noticed any ill effects on the stomach (and I usually drink at least one cup of nettle tea a day - see the post I've just written on nettle tea. When I say "tips" I mean the young leaves towards the top of the stalk (although I just used all of the leaves that looked healthy and fresh).

    If you made the cordial I'd love to hear how you got on. :-)

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  4. It's along time after the event but I hope I can post this comment. I have made lots of elderflower cordial and did not have blackcurrant leaves, so substituted a cut up lemon as the elderflower recipe suggested. It made a lovely light tasting cordial with a gorgeous pink colour. Thank you for the inspiration.
    Christine Berry

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  5. Hi Christine,
    Thanks for the suggestion. I no longer have blackcurrant leaves available so that's a useful substitution. Happy cordial making! :)
    Elizabeth

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