Silver Birch Sap Wine

So now you have your Silver Birch Sap you may think what could you possibly do with such a sugar rich liquid. The answer is of course, make wine! Unfortunately we do not have any pictures of the batch we made this year but I can tell you it ended up being an off-white coloured wine and one of our more enjoyable brews. We will definitely be making this one again next spring.

Minimum Equipment Requirement

  • 1 Gal Demijohn or Drum/Tub
  • 1 Airlock
  • 1 Siphon Tube

Ingredients for 1 Gallon Silver Birch Wine

  • 1 Gallon Silver Birch Sap Unprocessed (not boiled down or anything).
  • 1133g Sugar
  • 2 Lemons
  • 277g Raisins

Method

 

  • Sterilise your equipment
  • Boil the Sap and Lemon together for 20 minutes
  • Add the sugar and raisins and stir in while still warm
  • Strain the flowers – keep the liquid but not the flowers themselves
  • Place into the primary fermentation bucket/Demijohn
  • Allow the mixture to cool until it reaches around 21C
  • Add yeast and yeast nutrient
  • Cover and place airlock
  • Keep in a warm dry place
  • After 8 weeks, test the mixture with a hydrometer. Add sugar according to taste if it’s ready to bottle.
  • Add a crushed Campden tablet to clear according to the tablet instructions and allow to settle
  • Rack Off and bottle.

Dandelion Flower Wine

Dandelion Flower wine is best made when the dandelion flowers are in full bloom in the spring and fully open on a sunny day. The wine requires acidifying for the yeast so it tends to become a very citrus flavoured wine. For this reason we called this batch the Citrus Bang. We aren’t usually very fond of overly citrus flavours so we may change or ignore this recipe next year or use it as “Filler” wine only (wine we make only when we have made everything else available and have spare drums/demijohns).

Dandelion Flower Wine Dandelion Flower Wine

Minimum Equipment Requirement

  • 1 Gal Demijohn or Drum/Tub
  • 1 Airlock
  • 1 Siphon Tube

Ingredients for 1 Gallon Dandelion Wine

  • 1.136 Litres of pressed dandelion petals (follow the instructions for how to prepare the petals in our post on dandelion cordial if you are unsure)
  • 340g Raisins
  • 907g Sugar
  • 3 Lemons
  • 3 Oranges
  • Water as required

Method

 

  • Sterilise your equipment
  • Boil the Petals
  • Allow petals to steep for a minimum of 2 hours (we did overnight to increase flavour)
  • Strain the flowers – keep the liquid but not the flowers themselves
  • Add raisins, Lemon Juice, Orange Juice, sugar and orange/lemon zest to the liquid and place on a low boil for 30 minutes.
  • Allow to cool.
  • Mix thoroughly and add to the Primary Fermentation Bucket/Demijohn and top up with water.
  • Allow the mixture to cool until it reaches around 21C
  • Add yeast and yeast nutrient
  • Cover and place airlock
  • Keep in a warm dry place
  • After 8 weeks, test the mixture with a hydrometer. Add sugar according to taste if it’s ready to bottle.
  • Add a crushed Campden tablet to clear according to the tablet instructions and allow to settle
  • Rack Off up to three times, or less if you don’t mind it cloudy. Top up with water and bottle when finished.

Make your Own Sourdough Bread

Sourdough Bread

If you know about bread making, you may think it takes a lot of different ingrediants to make bread that wouldn’t necessarily be cheaper than just buying yourself a loaf of bread. With sourdough however, the only thing you need to buy is flour (unless you have foraged it yourself of course).

Sourdough does take some looking after however, I tend to fit it in alongside other daily chores such as feeding the animals so it doesn’t get forgotten about. To make sourdough bread, you first need to make a sourdough starter:

How to Make Sourdough Starter

Sourdough Starter

Ingredients

  • Plain Flour (I prefer “Strong Bread Flour”)
  • Water

Equipment

  • Large lidless Jar
  • Piece of cloth big enough to fit over the jar top
  • Elastic band or hair bobble

Method

Add 2-3 heaped tablespoons of flour to the jar and enough water to create a thick liquid that is easy to stir. Cover with the cloth and keep it in place with the elastic band.

  • You do not need to buy yeast for sourdough. The sourdough will activate with the natural yeast already there.

After a day or two, the mixture will begin to form bubbles of the surface and a separate liquid will form at the top. It will smell yeasty/alcoholic. This means it’s working! If you see or smell mould (distinctive and hard to miss), the mixture has not activated or the yeast has died, if this happens you will need to throw it away and start again.

  • Once the mixture has activated, “feed” every other day with 1-2 tablespoons of flour and a bit of extra water to mix in well.

How to Make Sourdough Bread

 

Ingredients

  • Sourdough Starter
  • Water
  • Plain Flour

Method

There are a few different methods of creating the perfect sourdough bread. I found I had to undergo a lot of research and experimentation until I found a method that worked for me. This is the method I use currently and has been reliably providing better bread but you may wish to adapt it slightly or improve it if you can!

Step One

When your sourdough starter has filled the jar it’s time to separate off some of the liquid. Pour half of it into a bowl to be made into bread. Always feed the starter after removing some of it to make sure it stays strong and healthy.

You can make the sough as big as you want, so I do not tend to measure out the flour. Mix in as much flour as required to make a rough dough at this stage though, you can add more later if you want it bigger.

Cover with cling film and place in the fridge overnight. This prevents the yeast from exhausting itself too quickly.

Step Two

The next day take out the bowl and flour a work surface to knead the dough. Add more flour and water at this stage before kneading to get the size and consistency you want. The dough should be stretchy and elastic. Knead the dough so that you push and stretch it out without breaking it. Try to do this for at least 10 minutes, I normally watch a program while I’m doing it so I can zone out and not feel like it’s taking forever.Sourdough Bread

 

Make a rough loaf shape and place into a loaf tin. It does not have to touch the sides it will spread out as it rises. Leave the dough for a day in a warm location – I keep it on the kitchen counter near to the oven top so it’s nice and warm.

 

 

 

Step Three

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C when the dough has risen well. If in doubt leave the dough longer, it need to have risen enough so that the inside is fluffy and airy. If it spills over the side of your tin do not worry, trim off the excess and chuck it in separately as nibbles. Do not squash or touch the dough when it has risen – you want to keep it intact as it is.

Sourdough Bread

Place the loaf tin in the oven on a tray in the middle of the oven. When the loaf looks ready – it’s not. Place a skewer in it and you will see the middle is still slightly doughy. You should have a good crust at this point though, if you do now is the time to turn it down to 140 degrees to make sure it cooks well throughout. Most sourdough books recommend keeping it on high throughout but every single time I did this the middle did not cook and the outside over cooked, and a low heat also fails to cook it properly. This is just the way I found it works well for me, your oven may be different. When the bread smell starts to leak into the next room it’s ready to come out.

Wrap the bread in greaseproof paper to keep it fresh.

 

Sourdough Bread

Dandelion and Ginger Cordial

After running out of Dandelion Flower Cordial I decided to adapt the recipe a little to add some extra oomph for my next batch. As such the recipe is very similar.

  • Due to no preservatives or additional ingredients, this cordial has a high sugar content to prevent it from going bad.
  • Dandelion flowers can be collected around March to April when the sun is in full swing to ensure the flowers are out and full of goodness.
  • Can also double as a great hot tea drink to combat colds, enjoy with hot water and a slice of lemon.

Ingredients

  • 100 Dandelion Flower Heads at least – the more the better
  • 1kg Demerara brown sugar estimate
  • half a lemon
  • Knob of fresh Ginger Root

Method

Collect at least 100 dandelion flower heads fully opened and trim off the green bases. It’s okay to get a few green bits in with the petals and they usually get in the way.

dandelion flowers

Give the petals a quick wash/rinse but be careful not to loose all the flavour!

 

dandelion flowers

Grate the ginger with a fine tooth grater and squeeze out the ginger juice into a saucepan.

Boil the petals and ginger juice with roughly 1 pint of water and allow to cool and steep overnight in a covered bowl.

Add the juice from a half a lemon and strain out the petals thoroughly.

Weigh the liquid (a bit tricky I know) and for every 1g of liquid you have created add 0.95g of sugar. You can use different sugar types if you prefer but they will affect the flavour, this time I used Demerara Brown sugar for a more caramel flavour.

Stir in the sugar and gently heat until dissolved (do not boil).

Pour contents into bottles and seal.

dandelion and Ginger Cordial

Dandelion Flower Cordial

This recipe makes a great light flavoured cordial and makes 1-2 bottles. Enjoyed best over a slice of lemon and ice cubes this is a perfect spring and summer drink. The flavour is very mild and sometimes outweighed by the syrupy nature of the cordial so those who have a sweet tooth may really enjoy this one.

  • Due to no preservatives or additional ingredients, this cordial has a high sugar content to prevent it from going bad.
  • Dandelion flowers can be collected around March to April when the sun is in full swing to ensure the flowers are out and full of goodness.

Ingredients

  • 100 Dandelion Flower Heads or more
  • 1kg sugar estimate
  • half a lemon

 

Method

Collect at least 100 dandelion flower heads fully opened and trim off the green bases. It’s okay to get a few green bits in with the petals and they usually get in the way.

dandelion flowers

Give the petals a quick wash/rinse but be careful not to loose all the flavour!

 

dandelion flowers

Boil the petals with roughly 1 pint of water and allow to cool and steep overnight in a covered bowl.

Add the juice from a half a lemon and strain out the petals thoroughly.

Weigh the liquid (a bit tricky I know) and for every 1g of liquid you have created add 0.95g of sugar. You can use different sugar types if you prefer but they will affect the flavour, for a clean basic flavour use white granulated.

Stir in the sugar and gently heat until dissolved (do not boil).

Pour contents into bottles and seal.

 

dandelion flowers

Dandelion Coffee

This coffee can be made all year round, but to get the best size of dandelion roots harvest them around February & March just before they flower.

dandelion Coffee

Ingredients

  • Dandelion Roots

Method

Scrub the roots to ensure they are clean from soil.

Dry them or oven roast them at a low temperature until brittle to the touch.

Grind up the roots and store in a clean dry jar.

 

To enjoy this coffee, boil the powder in a saucepan until the water turns dark brown like espresso and you can smell the “coffee”. Then pour into your cup as per normal instant coffee. The great benefit of this coffee substitute is that not only does it taste almost the same as coffee and have a great robust and smooth savoury flavour but it also has zero caffeine in it. If you are looking to cut back on your caffeine this may be the answer for you.

Goose Grass Tea

Goosegrass Tea

 

If you have picked up some goosegrass this spring for eating, save a little to one side for some goosegrass tea.

DIABETICS SHOULD AVOID THIS RECIPE.

Making the tea is very simple! Just dry out the goosegrass at around 50 degrees in your oven or dehydrator. Then collect in an air tight dry and sterile pot.

To brew the tea, simply add a little to your strainer or pot and allow to steep for ten minutes.

This tea makes a great herbal remedy for constipation as it’s a mild laxative.

Sweet Chestnut Soup

sweet Chestnut Soup

Ingredients

A knob of butter
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely sliced
• 1 large potato, diced
• 400g sweet chestnuts
• 1–1.2 litres vegetable stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 150–200ml single cream

Method

  •  Gently fry the garlic, onions and butter in a saucepan until golden brown.
  • Then add the chestnuts, potato, stock and bay.
  • When the potato is soft remove the bay and blitz.
  • Stir in ream and adjust seasoning to your taste.

sweet Chestnut Soup

sweet Chestnut Soup

Roasting Sweet Chestnuts Recipe

roasted chestnuts

Ingredients

  • As many Viable Sweet Chestnuts as possible/according to your needs

Method

Cut a cross in the top of each chestnut.

Pre-heat the oven to at least 200 degrees C.
Place chestnuts scattered out evenly on a baking Tray

Bake for 30 minutes.

 

These are best eaten while still warm so be careful and remove the outer hard shell first.

Elderflower Wine

elderflowerwine

 

This turned out to be an Excellent wine. In fact it was so delicious the 30 odd bottles  that we made were quickly whisked away by friends and relatives. For basically the cost of the sugar, you can have a brilliant, slightly sweet and flavourful and strong white wine.

This is the recipe we used:

Elderflower Wine – 1 Gal

500ml Picked Elderflowers pressed lightly. Remove green stems.
1.5kg Sugar. White granulated to avoid changing the flavour
250g washed raisins
1/2 Mug Strong Tea
3 Lemons Squeezed
1 tsp yeast
1 tsp yeast nutrient
4.5L hot water

 

  • Sterilise your equipment
  • Dissolve the sugar in the hot water
  • Place the flowers, raisins and lemon juice in the primary bucket
  • Add the sugar water
  • Mix thoroughly
  • Allow the mixture to cool until it reaches around 21C
  • Add yeast, Tea and yeast nutrient
  • Cover and place airlock
  • Keep in a warm dry place
  • After 8 weeks, test the mixture with a hydrometer. Add sugar according to taste if it’s ready to bottle.
  • Add a crushed Campden tablet to clear according to the tablet instructions and allow to settle
  • Rack Off and then bottle!