shelf life of home made cordials?

[ghoti_fish]

Hi all
I've just finished my first ever attempt at rhubarb cordial!
I followed a Jamie Oliver recipe. It was fairly simple, just rhubarb, sugar and lemon juice. So I've just bottled it up and was wondering how long I've got to drink it. I guess the sugar and lemon juice will act as some form of preservative. ...

Basically if it lasts a while I'll keep both bottles but if its going to go off quickly I'll put one in the staff room at work! Maybe I should just be generous anyway, but its pretty tasty!
Thanks all

[vegboi]

Hi all
I've just finished my first ever attempt at rhubarb cordial!
I followed a Jamie Oliver recipe. It was fairly simple, just rhubarb, sugar and lemon juice. So I've just bottled it up and was wondering how long I've got to drink it. I guess the sugar and lemon juice will act as some form of preservative. ...

Basically if it lasts a while I'll keep both bottles but if its going to go off quickly I'll put one in the staff room at work! Maybe I should just be generous anyway, but its pretty tasty!
Thanks all

Oo I was thinking of trying cordial but I ding have a strainer so you mind if I ask how you made this after cooking the fruit. Thanks


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[alldigging]

https://www.jamieoliver.com/magazine...hubarb-cordial

Did they say a month in the fridge on the big allotment challenge?

[roitelet]

I make lots of different cordials every year. I strain them through sheeting, I find that muslin is not fine enough. After bottling in small bottles I sterilize them. The bottles must be glass and have metal lids. Fill the bottles with the cordial to within half an inch of the top. Make sure that the lids are not tightened.Put the bottles in a deep pan that will allow you to fill with cold water to almost the top of the bottles. The bottles should stand on a trivet or an old tea towel will do. Bring to the boil over the course of one hour and then simmer for 20mins. Remove the bottles at once and tighten the lids.

I am still using cordials I made three years ago and they are fine. The other alternative is to use small mineral bottles and freeze the cordial. Make sure you leave enough space for expansion, the only problem I have had with freezing is that sometimes it can make the some cordials throw a precipitation .

[roitelet]

Oo I was thinking of trying cordial but I ding have a strainer so you mind if I ask how you made this after cooking the fruit. Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Grow Your Own Forum

Yes,cook the fruit gently. Some fruit like black currants and blackberries need water to extract the juice. Just add enough water to the raw fruit so that you can just see it. It is not an exact science. After cooking strain the fruit overnight. I use sheeting as I find that the muslin is not fine enough. Add 3/4 of a pound of sugar to a pint of juice and stir until dissolved, bottle and sterilize as in the previous post.

[Alison]

Without steralising some will still keep for many months but it does depend on how much sugar is added

[mothhawk]

I seem to remember that in one of the "Mary Berry Cooks" episodes, she made lemon and elderflower cordial, and added campden tablets (as used by beer/wine makers) to it, which she said made it keep a great deal longer than it otherwise would.

[mothhawk]

Here it is
BBC - Food - Recipes : Elderflower cordial

[Scarlet]

I made a load of black currant cordial last year and froze it in ice cube trays. Works for me.

[Printemps]

As an avid cordial maker I prefer to bottle my syrups into 50cl plastic bottles - pre-sterilised with Milton - then pop them in the freezer. The only additive I use is citric acid when making elderflower cordial.

[Bal]

ihave just made some elderflower cordial using Hugh Fearnly-Whittinsomethins recipe, made it last year as well.I froze it last year, but would like to try and sterilise tit this year. I was going to put it in the bottles with Grolsch type stoppers, will they work ok?

[roitelet]

They should be fine so long as you have a pot deep enough to sterilize them in. Don't tighten the stoppers to there fullest extent until the sterilization process is complete. I use screw top bottles and loosen the tops a quarter turn before sterilizing and as soon as the time is up remove them and tighten the tops.

[Printemps]

Just a thought, but if anyone is making "Hugh Fearnly-Whittinsomethins" (love your description Bal!!) or anyone else's recipe for elderflower 'champagne', I also recommend using sterilised plastic bottles, ie the ones that held any fizzy drinks such as Coke, Lemonade, Tonic Water etc. Such bottle are made to withstand pressure.

Some years ago I helped out the catering company at a wedding and was given permission to have all the empty champagne bottles, with a view to bottling my eldeflower 'fizz'. Talk about game for a laugh - it's impossible to put the cork back in unless you have the proper (expensive!) cork-putter-inner!!!

[Raybon]

Scarlet - Would love a recipe for blackcurrant cordial, if you have time!

[Penny Dreadful]

We made a gooseberry cordial a few years ago (the royal we - husband did the graft, I did the tasting) and that was good for a few weeks. It sort of failed the sniff test after 5 or 6 weeks so we got rid after that. Had seriously never thought of freezing though! Will do that next time