The Cottage Smallholder

If you have looked up ‘wild damsons’ because you think that you have found some I do hope that you have discovered this highly prized fruit. But not on my patch! Wild damsons (the ones in the bowl) are the size of a small olive and have the same elongated shape. The dark bluish skins have Read More »

It was Gilbert who introduced me to gooseberry gin. He produced a battered old hip flask out of a hidden pocket in his fatigues. We were foraging for wild cherry plums and were resting on a mossy bank. Gilbert opened the stopper with a flourish. “I bet that you haven’t tasted this delicacy before.” One sip and Read More »

I had a sip or two of our elderflower vodka a couple of days ago. The flavour has improved and mellowed a bit. Unlike TCL’s - it’s drinkable – just. It has good notes when you open the bottle and sniff but the waft promises loads more than the grog actually presents. There is no trace Read More »

Fresh Morello cherries are quite hard to find in the UK unless you grow them yourself. We have two Morello cherry trees that I bought for 99p each from Netto a few years ago. One was supposed to be an ordinary cherry tree but clearly there had been a mix up of labels at the Read More »

I was looking through Rose and David Mabey’s book Jams, Pickles and Chutneys (Penguin handbooks) last week to see if the had any recipes for elderflowers. They did have one – elderflower vinegar. “If you can make vinegar then you must be able to make elderflower vodka,” I mused. A brief sojourn on the internet threw Read More »

  I picked up The Contessa from the vet’s this morning. She’d been staying with them for a day and a night as they carried out a blood sugar curve test. She was diagnosed with diabetes last year and is doing pretty well but recently she has lost a lot of weight and her diabetes Read More »

Picking sloes to make sloe gin is hugely popular in the UK.  Perhaps because it combines the hunter gatherer instinct and the delight of making your own tasty grog. Although traditionally it is drunk at Christmas, it’s the most popular drink to be proffered in a hip flask out here in the country. There is a Read More »

Tiny hands clapped with glee when we surveyed our potential black, red and white currant harvest back in the spring. The gooseberries looked promising too. “We can make loads of schnapps and finally our own red currant jelly. This year I’ll make some gooseberry sauce for Christmas and some gooseberry vodka with the dessert gooseberries.” Read More »

My fruit cages have given me so much pleasure, both in the construction and the ogling the of fruit. But I’ve been under pressure recently and only had time to pick raspberries. “Tonight I must have half an hour to pick the currants (white/red/black) otherwise I’ll miss them.” So Danny volunteered to cook the vegetables Read More »

I’ve had a few emails asking for a recipe for strawberry liqueur. I haven’t made it myself but Irene shared her recipe in the comments on our post Two recipes: Wild Damson Gin and Sloe Gin recipes. This is the most visited post on our blog. The credit crunch has seen an upturn of visits Read More »