Christmas preparations
After days of manly endeavour shooting and ferreting, I have slipped seamlessly back into my alter ego, Domestos - god of childcare and household chores. My primary function of the day was to look after Chub Chub whilst Em applied herself fully to making a pair of stunning Christmas cakes, one for us and one for a gift. In between baby duties I did have time to produce some Christmas fare of my own, as well as a few other things and as all of the recipes were made up, I would like to record them all for next time.
The bullace liqueur (sloe gin basically, made with home distilled spirit and bullaces - a stone fruit very similar to the sloe) doesn't really require the full-blown ingredients and method treatment. I simply two thirds filled a wine bottle with bullaces, (which amazingly are still hanging in mauve clusters on my parents tree), poured in granulated sugar up to the same level as the fruit (with a little encouragement it falls into the gaps between the fruit) and finally filled the whole thing up with strong home distilled spirit, though 40% vodka would work just as well. Usually I prick the fruit with a needle to encourage the colour and flavour to come out, but the fruit was so soft owing to the lateness of picking that I deemed it unnecessary. The bottle will sit in the larder now for six months to a year (depending on when I remember it) and then should be ready for drinking.
Self Sufficiency Mincemeat
It is always our aim to produce as much of our own food as possible. Christmas more than any time is a period when food is bought in, and every year I am torn between the pleasures of traditional Christmas fare and the feeling that we should be using our own ingredients. This time, as an experiment I have devised a self-sufficiency mincemeat, only utilising those things which we produce ourselves, save for the spices. The pear treacle mentioned in the recipe is produced by simmering pear juice until it reduces to a thick, black syrup very similar in appearance to its namesake.
Ingredients
1 lb chopped Bramley apples (small pieces)
4 oz grated suet
9 oz chopped prunes
9 oz chopped dried pears
6 oz honey
2 oz chopped walnuts
4 tbsp pear treacle
8 tbsp plum wine
4 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp grated nutmeg
3 tbsp strong spirit
Method
- Combine all of the ingredients apart from the spirit in a heat proof bowl, stir well and leave to sit overnight.
- Cover the bowl with foil and place in a cool oven (120° C) for three hours.
- Remove bowl from oven and stir the mincemeat regularly as it cools down to coat the fruit with suet.
- When the mincemeat is cool, pour over the spirit, stir thoroughly and pack into sterilised jars ready for use.
Spiced Damson Cordial
Carrier bags of damsons have been cluttering up our freezer for months and finally we have got round to making our spiced Damson cordial. The recipe was dreamt up to produce a non-alcoholic winter drink for Christmas presents and is best served hot.
Ingredients
Damsons (fresh or frozen)
Cinnamon sticks
Cardamom pods
Cloves
Grated nutmeg tied in a small piece of muslin
Granulated sugar
Method
- Place the damsons in a large stock pot and add enough water to reach half way up the level of the fruit.
- With the lid on heat the fruit slowly until it comes to the boil, turn the heat off and leave the damsons to steep until they are completely cool.
- Strain the fruit without pressing it (which would release unwanted sediment).
- Add the spices to the strained liquor at a ratio of roughly 3 cinnamon sticks, six cardamom pods, 10 cloves and 1 tbsp grated nutmeg per 5 L of liquor. More can be used to produce a stronger flavour if required.
- Heat the spiced liquor until it is hot, but not boiling and maintain the temperature for as long as possible, to allow the spices to infuse. (I left mine on the back of the Rayburn for 24 hours)
- Strain the liquor to remove the spices and add roughly 3 kg of sugar per 5 L of liquor.
- Bring the cordial to the boil, stirring occasionally so the sugar dissolves.
- Seal the cordial in preheated sterilised bottles for keeping, or use immediately.
The damson port was intended for Christmas, but I never got round to it in time. The idea behind this recipe is to use spirits to kill the fermentation when the wine reaches the required sweetness, this will produce a fortified wine which does not contain chemicals (commercially sulphites are added to stop fermentation, a technique also practised by many home made wine producers).
Ingredients
6 lb damsons
7 pints boiling water
3 lb granulated sugar
wine making yeast
strong spirit (or vodka)
Method
- Place damsons in a non-metallic container which can withstand boiling water (a plastic bucket with a lid is ideal).
- Pour boiling water over fruit, cover with a lid or a tightly fitting cloth and leave to cool down.
- Whilst the fruit is cooling down activate some wine making yeast.
- When the fruit has finished cooling add the yeast, cover the vessel and put somewhere warm. If it is summer, care will have to be taken that vinegar flies do not enter the container and contaminate the wine.
- Fermentation should begin in a couple of days and after a further four days strain the liquor from the damsons into a demi-john which already contains the sugar. Don't fill the jar right to the top, but leave a couple of inches gap.
- Shake well to dissolve the sugar, put in an air lock and leave somewhere warm to continue fermenting.
- Taste the wine periodically and when it reaches the required sweetness pour it into another demi-john, leaving behind as much of the sediment as possible.
- Top the demi-john right up with spirits, cork and allow to settle.
- When the damson port is clear, pour it off into clean wine bottles, leaving behind the sediment.
- Leave to mature before drinking.
N.B - If fermentation continues after the spirit has been added there is insufficient alcohol present to kill the fermentation and more spirit must be added.
Fermentation begins
Game Pudding
S and S came to dinner and it seemed only fitting that I should feed them the game which I had procured on their farmland.
Ingredients
8 oz shredded suet
1 lb self raising flour
Seasoning
1/2 pint cold water
Streaky bacon finely sliced
Leeks sliced
Pheasant diced
Pigeon diced
Tomato purée
Winter herbs
Plain flour
Beer (which has been heated to remove alcohol)
Method
· Mix together the suet, flour and seasoning in a bowl and stir in the water to create a soft dough.
· Roll out two thirds of the dough and line a three pint pudding basin with it.
· Fry the bacon until the fat runs, add the leeks and stir until they are thoroughly wilted.
· Combine the bacon and leeks with the pheasant, pigeon, tomato purée and herbs in a large bowl and mix, adding enough flour to make the ingredients just stick together.
· Fill the lined pudding basin with the mixture and pour in the beer until it nearly reaches the top.
· Rollout the remaining suet pastry to create a lid and having wetted the edges, place it on the pudding then crimp it down.
· Cover the pudding with greaseproof paper and foil, tied down with string.
· Steamed the pudding in a large saucepan for at least five hours.
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