There is so much that we grow that we make into drinks. Lets share ideas, success and the not so successful
Rhubarb Cordial
Not so much a recipe, more a method:) Chop as many stalks of rhubarb as available and barely cover with water. Add a generous knob of sliced fresh ginger and finely grated orange or lemon zest, simmer until the rhubarb is totally soft, the longer the better. Strain the pulp through a large sieve lined with muslin (or a jelly bag). Allow to drip several hours. Measure the liquid, return to a clean pot and add between 300-500 gr sugar per litre of liquid. Bring to the boil and when the sugar…
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Can anyone tell me what direction do you plant a grape vine? Is it north to South or East to West?
I have just opened and scoffed the first of the Rhubarb Fizz i made last month. OMG! It was soooooooo good! And so easy to make- I am going to make another batch today. Rhubarb grows all year round.
Hi All
I'm looking for a Kombucha mother - does anyone have a pup that they want to get rid of?
I'm in Bombay, so would love to pick up from somewhere in South Auckland
Cheers
T
I have the background gurgle of 17 L of Quince wine noisily expelling CO2as I write. Its also a pleasant quincy fruity aroma. We will be distilling it in about 10 days to make Quince Brandy. I think we will get about 3 L. To make some delicious Quince Liquer I will slow roast Quinces in honey for about 4 hours and put them into 1.5 L of the Quince Brandy. I let it sit for a month then strain it through a coffee filter. If I put it in the back of my cupboard and forget about it for a year - it appears as a deep magenta red in a beautiful bottle a little poured over ice it makes an elegant aperitif very like Dubonnet. For more distiling ideas check our UTUBE Channel - Alembics NZ
Thanks for all the advice Sharon and Moggy. I added more sugar last night and initially it had an effect and it started bubbling away, but this only lasted a couple of hours and nothing is happening now. It's stuck I'm thinking I'm going to try to restart it by making another yeast starter mix. I think my first diagnosis might be correct (vinegar fly). I know all the grapes were ripe cos I picked them myself and I checked virtually each bunch (it was a race to ripen them before the first frost). The yeast was good because I started it before I mixed it in and I followed the exact process as the first batch I made 3 days earlier. That batch tastes great and is bubbling away happily. I'm disappointed cos this was my first attempt at making wine with grapes after having made lots of successful wine with other fruits, flowers and vegetables. I understood that grape wine was meant to be easier than making wine from other stuff.
Maybe it'll be my first batch of home made vinegar or maybe I'll try the herbs or the flavourings.
Try it before dismissing it. They have an unexpected effect on wine.
Rather than using bought flavourings, herbs are good to add to improve flavour, I have a book which only has recipes for wines with herbs. My favourite is plum and rosemary, it neither tastes like plum nor rosemary but a little like ginger wine.
I decided to put it into the demijohn anyway and see how it goes. First impressions - sour taste, bubbling very slow - totally different to the first batch that was so active it bubbled out of the airlock when I first put in the demijohn (what a mess that was, it splattered the kitchen from ceiling to floor with purple grape must!!). I'm hoping the bubbles will speed up otherwise I'll have to add some more sugar cos I think it must have used all the sugar up.
Apple wine, hmm, sounds like a great idea.
I find wine is always a bit of hit and miss with me, I can follow the same recipe twice and get completely different results
I have apple wine on the go at the moment, it was meant to be cider, but it tastes nothing like cider and is strong enough to be wine, so I will just pretend it is meant to be apple wine. :)