Repost: was OT Elderflower cordial
 

4 teaspoons of citric acid
2 teaspoons tartaric acid
1 teaspoon epsom salts.

2½ lbs of white sugar
2 pints water

3 lemons or
4 limes or
4 juicy oranges or
about 5 lbs youngish rhubarb sticks.

Stainless steel or good enamel saucepan. (Or Pyrex)

Method(s)

(The lemon recipe was Lord Louis Mountbatten's. He didn't take alcohol
or other stimulants such as tea or coffee, and the recipe was given to
anyone who was to entertain him, but they were given to understand it
was a *SECRET*. Since he is no longer with us, I can't see that it will
hurt to pass it on.
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Lemons or limes:

Grate zest from fruit with the part of the grater with small oval
cutters - this should produce a pile of strands.
Cut fruit across and extract juice.
Add to zest.

Boil the water and add the sugar, acids and Epsom salts. Stir until
dissolved. Add zest and juice.

Cover, and allow to stand for 24 hours.

Strain, and keep refrigerated.
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Orange:

Remove pips from oranges and cut into chunks, peel and all.

Liquidise *THOROUGHLY*.

Add all ingredients and bring slowly to the boil, then simmer for an
hour, with the contents of the pan barely moving.

Liquidise again, bring to the boil again, then bottle the juice. This
should produce a thickish gloop which when made up, is very like the old
MoF [1] orange juice which came in big medicine bottles during the war
and just after.

[1] Ministry of Food
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Rhubarb

You'll need three pounds of sugar.

Cook rhubarb in the water with the sugar.
Strain, and add the acids and Epsom salts to the juice.
Stir until dissolved, then bottle.

Keep refrigerated.

You can dunk a couple of heads of elderflowers in while the juice is
still warm. Leave for 12 hours and then strain.

You can still use the rhubarb for a crumble or pie, etc. (I did!)
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Note: all these cordials will go mouldy very quickly if not
refrigerated. Recently, I had the idea of freezing the cordial in an
ice-cream tub. You can then dig out as much as you want if you use a
good stout spoon, as the sugar prevents the juice from freezing really
hard.

Also, it tends to pre-chill your drink.

Putting it into ice-egg bags was not a success, as the whole thing was
extremely sticky and the 'eggs' all stuck to each-other.
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--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote in message
k...
4 teaspoons of citric acid
2 teaspoons tartaric acid
1 teaspoon epsom salts.
plus the rest.

I wonder what they would taste like after a few weeks had some yeast been
introduced....years ago I made a huge batch of rhubarb wine (80 gallons) and
then distilled it...a bottle of port wine was added when in the charred oak
cast.....a recipe given to me by the brewmaster at Tdacaster Tower Ales....

The message
from "Harold Walker" contains these words:
"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote in message
k...
4 teaspoons of citric acid
2 teaspoons tartaric acid
1 teaspoon epsom salts.
plus the rest.

I wonder what they would taste like after a few weeks had some yeast been
introduced....years ago I made a huge batch of rhubarb wine (80
gallons) and
then distilled it...a bottle of port wine was added when in the charred oak
cast.....a recipe given to me by the brewmaster at Tdacaster Tower Ales....

The product is a concentrate...

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/