Hedgerow Cordial with Rosehips, Blackberries and Sloes

 A dark, gently spiced cordial made from three familiar fruits of the autumn hedgerow. Blackberries bring sweetness, sloes add their distinctive sharpness and rosehips give the cordial its glowing colour. Serve it warm on a cold evening, or pour it over ice and top with sparkling water.

Ingredients

300 g ripe rosehips
300 g blackberries
200 g ripe sloes
1.2 litres water
20 g fresh ginger, thinly sliced
2 small sprigs fresh thyme
1 small cinnamon stick
3 whole cloves
Finely pared zest and juice of 1 unwaxed orange
500–600 g granulated sugar for every litre of strained juice

Method

Wash the fruit and discard anything damaged or mouldy. Trim the stalks and dried ends from the rosehips. Leave the sloe stones intact. Pulse the rosehips briefly in a food processor or chop carefully by hand. Put all the fruit and water in a large saucepan with the ginger, thyme, cinnamon, cloves and orange zest. Bring slowly to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 25–30 minutes. Stir occasionally and press the softened fruit against the pan without cracking the sloe stones. Rest for 15 minutes. Strain first through a fine sieve and then through a double layer of clean muslin or a jelly bag to remove the rosehips’ fine hairs. Measure the liquid and return it to a clean pan. Add 500–600 g sugar per litre, heat gently until dissolved, add the orange juice and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour into warm, sterilised bottles, cool and refrigerate. Dilute approximately one part cordial with four or five parts water.

Storage

Keep refrigerated and use within 3 weeks, or freeze in small containers for up to 6 months, leaving room for expansion.

Foraging & Safety Notes

Only gather fruit you can identify with complete certainty, away from busy roads and sprayed land. Leave plenty for wildlife. Do not crush or blend sloe stones. Double-strain carefully to remove the fine internal hairs from the rosehips. This is a refrigerated cordial, not a tested shelf-stable canning recipe.