Thursday 19 January 2012

Hawthorn Berry (Haw) Wine

Recipe
4 pints hawthorn berries
3 lb / 1,350 grams sugar
1 lb / 450 grams sultanas
Citric acid
Campden tablet
Yeast energizer
Water up to 1 gallon
Wine yeast


Method
Boil the hawthorn berries and place in fermentation bucket. Add the sultanas and sugar and stir vigorously to dissolve the sugar. When cool add the citric acid, yeast energizer and wine yeast. Cover and leave for five days in a warm place, stirring daily. Strain and put into a demijohn and fit an airlock to seal the jar.

Store in a warm place and allow the fermentation to work. When fermentation has ceased, rack the wine into a clean jar and place in a cooler environment and leave. When the wine is clear and stable siphon into bottles.


Notes
Taken from http://www.wine-making-guides.com/hawthorn_berry_wine.html

Update
Not tried this yet but now's the best time (Early January) when the haws are fat and ripest. 

Hazelnut Shortbread

Recipe
3 cups of plain flour.
¾ cup of granulated sugar.
?½? cup of hazelnuts?
¼ teaspoon of salt.
1 ¼ cups of unsalted butter, in pieces.

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C)

Shell the hazelnuts and place directly on a baking tray. Roast for 5-10 minutes or until the skins begin to crack. Remove and place on a tea towel. Roll the contents inside to dislodge the skins.
Remove from tea towel and dispose of skins then place hazelnuts in plastic freezer bag and bash with rolling pin (or use food whizzy thing) until effectively ground.

Now reduce the oven temperature to 325°F (160°C).

In a suitably sized bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, hazelnuts and salt.
Cut the butter into flour mixture with a knife until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
Knead until the mixture holds together; then divide the dough in half.
Position each of the halves on an ungreased baking sheet.
Pat each out into a nine-inch circle, then crimp the edges.
Cut each circle into 12 equal wedges, but do not separate.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Recut to separate wedges.
Allow the shortbread to cool completely

Notes
The main Shortbread recipe was lifted from http://www.hazelnutrecipes.org/hazelnut-shortbread.html but since i'm not keen on destroying the whole flavour with Chocolate, i removed that bit. I also picked the hazelnuts myself so needed to roast them. I lifted that method from the utube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7bb1GsMEok

Update
Last year saw a bumper crop of wild Hazelnuts in late August/early September and i collected and stored a big tub of them. Only now in January have i considered making something out of them and what better sweet than Hazelnut shortbread.

Bachelor Bread

Recipe
Dried milk Powder
Self raising Flour
Rice Milk (or milk or Water)

Method
Bung a portion of the flour into a bowl and add same again (or maybe a bit less) of milk powder. Add milk and stir with knife until thickened into a dough. Nead only until most of the flour and milk powder is absorbed into Dough. Add more ingredient to bulk up until it fits snugly inside bread tin.
Cook in 200 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

Notes
Lifted from a Ray Mears episode. No measurements were given so i never used any.
The name of the bread was simply chosen because of the simplicity and speed in making it.

Adding salt is optional as is adding other things like sugar, honey, berries or even nuts.
Personally i love the above recipe on its own simply warm from the oven with salted butter.

Monday 9 January 2012

Rosehip Wine

Recipe
2lb fresh rosehips
1 tsp citric acid
3lb sugar
1 gallon water
yeast and nutrient
pectice enzyme

Method
Start by boiling up the gallon of water and while this is on the go wash the rose hips well then crush, cut and chop (or blitz in small food whizzer).
Put sugar into polythene bucket and add the crushed rosehips.
Pour the boiled water over the sugar/rosehips and stir to fully dissolve the sugar. Leave to cool and then add pectic enzyme.

After 24 hours later add the citric acid, yeast and nutrient.
Leave closely covered in a warm place for 2 weeks stirring daily.

Strain the liquor through nylon bag and put into demijohn. Fit airlock and continue to ferment until the wine clears, approx 3 months.

Rack off into clean demijohn and store in bulk for a further 3 months.

Rack again then bottle.

Remember to keep all wine equipment sterilised at all times not forgetting the daily stirring spoon.

Notes

Update
Transferred to Demijohn and waiting to clear.