Cranberry Fizz - A non-alcoholic drink for Christmas

Photograph by Kevin Summers

Finding interesting drinks for those who don't, or can't, drink is always a bit of a challenge but I would certainly raise my glass to this gorgeously festive Cranberry Fizz from Lindy Wildsmith's latest book, Artisan Drinks.



Artisan Drinks celebrates the pleasure to be had from making your own drinks. With over 100 recipes for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, Lindy Wildsmith takes you from the freshly harvested ingredients to the finished product in your glass.  Along the way, she rediscovers artisanal techniques and takes a wholesome approach to sourcing natural ingredients for infusing macerating, pressing brewing and fermenting your own drinks.

Lindy Wildsmith is a great believer in the importance of good, seasonal ingredients and connecting with the land, people and business around you.  Her love of nature, the changing seasons and the countryside have inspired her interest in both curing and preserving an making drinks.

Kevin Summers has been a photographer for 20 years, working advertising, editorial and television commercials.  His main focus is still life and food photography and he has worked with Delia Smith and Nigel Slater.

In the Introduction, Lindy takes us back to her childhood memories as well as the revival in artisan food producers, but the message is clear, nothing is quite as good as the drinks you make at home yourself.  There are also a couple of pages on Sourcing and Seasonality, whether from the garden or foraged from the hedgerow, there is lots of useful advice and a helpful artisan drinkmaker's year chart.

Still waters run deep - Cordials, syrups and soft drinks contains everything you need to know to make and keep soft drinks safely.  The recipes include Italian lime siroppo, Ginger Cordial, Instant Lemon Sherbet, Rose Petal cordial, Spiced blackberry tonic and Rosehip syrup.

Family Fizz - Alcohol free sparkling drinks will be well received by most people and make a great alternative to alcohol at celebrations. Recipes include the classic Elderflower 'Champagne', Nettle Beer, Lavender Spritz, May's dandelion, ginger and liquorice beer and Cranberry Fizz.

A global resurgence - Beer, cider and perry we used to make our own beer years ago first from a kit and then we moved on to hops and fuggles.  I've never made cider but my mother has many stories of exploding bottles of cider made by my grandfather!  The recipes include Woodforde's Nog, Festive spiced ale, Three Counties cider and perry and Old English 'Champagne' sparkling perry.

A very good year - The wine list we made wine too, using everything from sloes to carrots, all those bubbling demi-johns used to be gathered around the inglenook fireplace. Recipes include Rhubarb wine, Clover flower or dandelion wine, Beetroot and Marjoram wine, Carrot Wine and Bully Lane red berry wine.

And now for something stronger - liqueurs, digestifs and pick me ups many of you may have made and enjoyed sloe gin, so here there are recipes for some alternatives. Recipes include Bourbon Shrub, Limoncello San Vigilio, Nocino (Italian Walnut Liqueur), Cherry Brandy and the delightfully named Herefordshire Vet - aromatic fruit liqueur.

Taking the plunge - punches, cups and party drinks as Christmas is just around the corner, these party drinks will certainly liven things up.  Recipes include Old English cider cup, Rosemary and Thyme perry infusion and Wassail - Christmas Spiced Ale,

Happy Hours - artisan cocktails and elegant mocktails for those who want to serve a sophisticated drink there are plenty of ideas, recipes include Bejewelled Pink Elephant, Damson Gin Fizz and Jumping Jack Flash.  Mocktails include Garden Path- Lavender ice cream soda, Tropical Storm , Flirty and Pussyfoot.

Oasis of Calm - teas, tisanes and spicy brews some great ideas for something other than breakfast tea.  Recipes include Herb garden tisanes, Lime and other flower infusions, Ginger root and lemongrass tea, Middle Eastern cardamom coffee and Hot tangerine and nutmeg chocolate

The book finishes with a comprehensive Glossary and Directory of equipment suppliers and on line retailers in many different countries

Cranberry Fizz
makes 2 litres (3 pints 10fl oz)
On festive occasions this stunningly colourful drink can be dressed up for the non-drinker at the party.  Vary the fruit in this recipe to make vibrant fizz at any time of the year - rhubarb in spring, soft fruits and cherries in summer and blackberries in autumn.

500g (1lb 2 oz) cranberries
Finely pared rind and juice of 1 lemon
Finely pared rind and juice of 1 orange
300g (10.5 oz) sugar cubes
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
2 litres (3 pints 10fl oz) boiling water
2tsp (10g) baker's yeast or 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
Pinch of caster sugar
4 tsp (20ml) warm (not hot) water

You will also need
Large earthenware crock or deep bowl
Mouli-legume (food mill) or mincer
2 x 1 litre (1 pint 15 fl oz) sterilised plastic (PET) bottles with screw caps

Put the fruit in the crock or deep bowl and crush with a potato masher or the end of a rolling pin or, even better, put through a Mouli-Legume or mincer.  Add the citrus zest and juice, add the sugar cubes and the cream of tartar.  Pour the boiling water over the top, stir and leave to cool until lukewarm.

When the liquid has cooled sufficiently, mix the yeast and caster sugar with the warm water, stir into a paste and add to the liquid. Cover with a clean cloth and leave for 48 hours.

Using a slotted spoon, skim and discard any debris that may have floated to the surface.  Strain into a large jug and use a funnel to pour into bottles.

Making and keeping: Make in winter.  Keeps for 2-4 weeks in a cool place.  Once open drink up within a few days before the sparkle subsides.

I simply ran out of time to make this recipe so can't give you my opinion on the taste and ease of making.  I hope to make some before Christmas comes so we can enjoy it in the holidays. 

Artisan Drinks by Lindy Wildsmith
Published by Jacqui Small www.jacquismallpub.com (@JacquiSmallPub)
RRP £25.00

To order Artisan Drinks at the discounted price of £20.00 including p&p* (RRP: £25.00), telephone 01903 828503 or email mailorders@lbsltd.co.uk and quote the offer code APG236.
*UK ONLY - Please add £2.50 if ordering from overseas.

Labels: Artisan Drinks, cider, Cocktail, cordial, cranberries, fizz, Jacqui Small Publishing. Beer, Lindy Wildsmith, liqueur, Mocktail, non-alcoholic, soft drinks, wine

posted by Janice @ 07:00 7 Comments

Homemade Christmas Gifts - Sloe Cordial

Sloe Gin is very popular, but I've made it in the past and it just lurks in my drinks cabinet and ends up getting thrown out.  So this year I decided to make Sloe Cordial a non-alcoholic cordial that can be topped up either with alcohol i.e. Gin, Vodka, Prosecco, dry white wine or with non-alcholic mixers like tonic water, soda water or lemonade.

I froze my sloes after picking, mainly because I didn't have time to make the cordial, but the freezing also helps break down the sloes and mimics the frost you are supposed to have had before picking them.  I was rather pleased that I had because I was contacted by Pattesons Glass with the offer of some jars or bottles to review.  I decided to go for the bottles and make some gifts for Christmas.

Pattesons have a fantastic range of glass bottles and jars which are ideal for those of us obsessed with keen on preserving in all it's forms, they are also great for styling in food photography and I'm sure you will be seeing more of these bottles in future posts.   Jars are not too difficult to get hold of, but a great range of interesting bottles like the ones in the photograph above are much less widely available.   I have plans for some flavoured vinegar for the larger bottles.  The only drawback with these bottles is that they are only available in fairly large quantities.  You can order a sample set of three different bottles or jars for £10.  If you want to order bottles, then you may wish to get together with a group of friends and share the bottles between you, as 50 is the minimum order.  Pattesons also sell Le Parfait jars in smaller quantities which are ideal for preserving.

Sloe Cordial

1kg Sloes
1 litre water
Juice of 1 lemon
Granulated Sugar (80g per 100ml liquid)

1. Bring the sloes, water and lemon juice to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Break up the cooked sloes with a wooden spoon or potato masher, don't bother about the stones as they will be sieved out later.
3. Simmer for a further 10 minutes.
4. Pour the mixture through a sieve.  If you want your cordial to be clear you should line your sieve with a muslin and don't push the pulp through.  I didn't do that and although the cordial is perfectly fine it isn't clear.
5. Clean the pan and pour the juice back in, add the sugar and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.
6. Bring to the boil an simmer for another 10 minutes.  Cool and bottle in sterilised bottles.

To drink, add 10 parts water to one part cordial. 

 I received a range of glass bottles from Patteson's Glass, I was not paid for this review and all opinions are my own.

Labels: bottles, Christmas, cordial, gifts, glass bottles, glass jars, homemade gifts, jars, non-alcoholic, Pattesons Glass, Sloe Cordial, Sloes

posted by Janice @ 20:41 10 Comments