Recipe request from River Cottage "Preserves"

[Nelly]

I'm 500 miles from home and my River Cottage "Preserves" book. Is there someone out there who has the same book and who can give me Pam Corbin's recipe for Pontack sauce? I have spent the morning forking 10 lb of elderberries into freezer bags (and over the kitchen floor ) and although most of them are reserved for wine, I would really like to try that particular recipe for Pontack. Ta muchly in advance!

[lynnew]

pontack sauce

Makes 1 x 350ml bottle

500g elderberries
500ml cider vinegar
200g shallots, sliced
6 cloves
4 allspice berries
1 blade of mace
1 tbsp black peppercorns
15g root ginger bruised

Place elderberries in dish with vinegar put in very low oven for 4-6 hrs or overnight. Remove strain through seive, crush berries to obtain max juice.
Put juice in a pan with sliced shallots, spices and ginger. Bring back to boil and cook for 20-25 mins until slightly reduced. Remove from heat and strain.
Return to pan and bring back to boil then boil for 5 mins. Pour into warm sterilised bottles and seal. Store in a dark cupboard and enjoy.

I've just made some and its wonderful

[Nelly]

Thank you sooooo much for that. You are a star! You don't think you'll manage to leave it for 7 years then? (-;

[Flummery]

I actually found a bottle we'd made 9 years previously - can you tell how good I am at clearing out my cupboards?
It was DIVINE!

[Nelly]

Wow! What did you do with it? Sounds like it was so good you just knocked it back neat! I'm off to pick even more elderberries today. If I'm lucky there might even be plenty still to pick when I leave East Yorkshire and head back to Skye. I might be living in a 12-foot caravan but the preserving pan is coming out of storage and heading back with me!

[mrdinkle]

I have just followed the Food for free version, it is quite different to this. I have more frozen elderberries so might make this version tomorrow.

It tasted a bit weird, a bit salty and not overly flavoursome - it smelt like it ought to taste nice though. Perhaps 7 years festering will give it a bit of bite

[smallblueplanet]

What is the recipe you've got Mr d? I've just found some elderberries at the bottom of the garden!

[mrdinkle]

The recipe I used comes from Food for Free (not the collins gem one, although my brother in law has that and I think it has the recipe in it or something similar).

Ingredients:

1 pint vinegar (or claret)
1 pint elderberries
1 tsp salt
1 blade of mace
40 peppercorns
12 cloves
1 finely chopped onion
A little ginger*

* non specific, I used 15g root bruised up as above though I have seen recipes that use ground

Pour 1 pint of boiling vinegar (or claret) over 1 pint of elderberries in a stone jar or casserole dish. Cover, and allow the jar to stand overnight in an oven at very low heat (I did it in the day for about 6 hours). Next day pour off the liquid, put it in a saucepan with a teaspoon of salt, a blade of mace, 40 peppercorns (not 39, not 41 ), 12 cloves, a finely chopped onion and a little ginger. Boil for 10 minutes and then bottle securely WITH the spices.

Richard Mabey says, as mentioned earlier - it should reputedly be kept for 7 years. However he reckons it was pretty rich after 1 year.

I think I am gonna try the one Flummery posted as I have more in the freezer, though perhaps Flummery could confirm if it should be sieved/strained into the bottles?

Thanks you!

[smallblueplanet]

Ta mr d, sounds interesting.

[mrdinkle]

No problem.

Sorry Flummery, it would help if I could read. Your post clearly says to strain it!

[ginger ninger]

Ooo I might have a go at that myself MrD...sounds yum.

[mrdinkle]

I like the sound of the river cottage one as to be honest mine was a bit salty - though who know what it will be like this time next year!

Do you think half a teaspoon of ground allspice would be a suitable substitution for 4 allspice berries?

[Scottishnewbie]

what do you do with this sauce as I've never heard of it before!

[mrdinkle]

Apparently there are regional variations but most people put it on liver, duck and pork and anything else they want to drizzle it on.

The story goes that there was once a hostelry in London's Lombard Street where Samuel Pepys first drank Chateau Haut Brion. It was on the site of this tavern that Monsieur Pontac - owner of the chateau set up his famous eating house. One of his specialities was Pontac's sauce made appropriately from claret and elderberries. In a modified form this became of the the famous of all store sauces. The nineteenth century cookery writer Eliza Acton recommended using elderberry ketchup with fish. Its sharp fruity taste also acts as a good foil to liver and kidneys.

[dylan hudson]

i have just made 3 bottles and it tastes very vinigery is this usual if not then can i fix it?