A gorgeous friend of mine gave me a bag full of fresh limes from her back garden today.
When someone gives you lemons make lemonade? Or when someone gives you limes - make lime cordial.
Cordials are very simple & quick to make - put it in a pretty bottle and you have a lovely, simple gift - straight from your (or someone else's!) back garden.
Generally strong flavoured, tart, fruits such as citrus and berries - make great cordials. Frozen berries are perfect for this. Why not experiment with different fruits or combine flavours such as lime and raspberry.
For the lime cordial you need ...
130g fruit (including the rind of 3 limes) - crushed or cut into small pieces
(When using citrus include the rind (the coloured layer on the skin) - but remove as much of the white pith as possible)
300g water
Sugar (for weight see below) *
- Bring the fruit (& rind) and water to a low boil - stir to break up the fruit. Let simmer for a few minutes then remove from the heat.
- Strain the water and fruit mix through a fine sieve into a clean measuring jug - making a note of how many ml - Or weigh the strained liquid.
- Return the strained liquid to a clean saucepan.
- *Calculate 2/3 of the weight of the strained liquid and add this amount of sugar. If you want a sweeter cordial you can add up to equal amounts of sugar to strained liquid.
- Return the sugar and liquid to the heat and bring to a low boil, stirring to dissolve all the sugar. (If you think you may want a sweeter cordial - taste at this point and then add the sugar accordingly.)
- Once the sugar is dissolved let simmer for a couple of minutes
- Pour the cordial into a clean bottle and let cool. Keep refrigerated
If you are making a berry cordial - or other non citrus fruit - add a squeeze of lemon (to taste) to the cordial before bottling - it gives a nice 'lift' to the flavours.
Serve with ice, diluted with water to the desired strength.
This recipe is an adaptation from the 'Thermomix - everyday cooking for every family' cookbook
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