Sloe gin recipe
Autumn is the perfect time to make sloe gin or vodka. Hedgerows are full of ripe, juicy sloes and the delicious fruity liqueur will be ready in time for Christmas. So why not give it a go? It's so easy to make and you certainly won't regret it when, feet up in front of the fire with the wind and snow howling outside, you treat yourself to a warming tipple.
Equipment needed
2 litre preserving bottle such as show here
Weighing scales
Ingredients needed
1 litre bottle of gin or vodka (no need to buy an expensive brand!)
450 grams of sloes
250 grams of white sugar, whose purpose is not only to sweeten the liqueur but to also extract the maxium amount of juice from the sloes.

Method
1. A few days before you're ready to start put the sloes in a plastic bag and place them in a freezer. This will break the skins.
2. Let the sloes defrost before using.
3. Put the sloes, sugar and gin or vodka into the preserving bottle and seal.
4. Give the contents a thorough shake.
5. Shake the bottle every other day for a month.
6. Shake once a week for the second month.
7. When you're ready to drink (see below) strain clear the liquid into the 1 litre sterilised gin or vodka bottle.
8. Add more sugar if necessary according to preference.
9. The liqueur can be drunk from the third month onward, though will improve with age.
The left over sloes can be used to make jam.
10:27 AM | Category: |
 There are so many plums available at this time of year it's a crime not to make some effort to use as many as possible. Besides strong arming the family to take as many as possible and freezing loads for the winter, making plum wine and plum jam are quick and easy ways to gain from all that fruity goodness.
Here's the recipe for plum wine. No chemicals are used, just all natural ingredients other than Milton baby liquid to sterilise equipment. A great Summer wine to make... if you fancy making an Autumn wine try my apple wine easy recipe, or for Spring my dandelion wine easy recipe.
Besides the desire to not waste a single plum, I started making this wine because I was fed up trying to find wine in the shops that didn't have the 'contains sulphites' message hidden away on the back label. Sulphites can cause allergies and a headache.
The instructions below are to make one gallon of wine, which will give you about six bottles. If you can make a batch of five gallons even better... it's simpler to make large batches of wine since it's easier to bottle without disturbing the sediment. Just multiply the ingredients by five apart from the wine, for which you should follow the instructions on the container.
The cost of equipment is pretty low... about £35 if you acquire the wine bottles by saving from bought white wine. Thereafter your only cost is for sugar, lemons and some wine yeast... so having made the initial investment in equipment, typically you're enjoying rather nice, strong wine with no sulphite content for well under 50p a bottle! Why wouldn't you want to do it?


Equipment needed
Something for stirring the contents
Large strainer
Long clear plastic tubing (available from DIY stores)
Funnel
A 1 gallon demijohn (cheaper if you buy several)
6 wine bottles (ideally clear glass)


Ingredients needed
5lbs (2.25 kilos) of healthy plums
3lbs (1.35 kilos) of sugar
1 gallon of water
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
Wine yeast


Method
1. Sterilise the fermentation barrel and lid using the Milton liquid.
2. Wash the plums, cut in half and remove the stones.
3. Place in fermentation barrel
4. Bring water to boil and pour in fermentation barrel.
5. Put the lid on and leave for four days, stirring twice daily.
6. Add the sugar and stir vigorously to dissolve.
7. Add lemon juice and wine yeast and put the lid on. and stir twice daily for five days.
8. Store somewhere warm. After a few hours you'll notice something starting to happen... there'll be a froth on the surface as the yeast starts to ferment, turning the sugar into alcohol. Stir the contents twice a day.
9. After five days transfer the liquid to the demijohn using the plastic tubing and funnel. Make sure all the equipment has been sterilised with Milton liquid.
11. Avoiding disturbing any sediment, place the fermentation barrel at a higher level than the demijohn (e.g. put the barrel on a table and the demijohn on the floor), put one end of the plastic tubing in the barrel, and having placed the funnel in the neck of the demijohn give the other end of the tubing a strong suck to pull some of the wine in the tube up and over the edge of the barrel. Quickly remove your mouth and put the tube end into the funnel. The wine should start to drain.
11. Stop removing liquid when you get close to the bottom so you transfer as little of the sediment as possible. Once all the liquid is in the demijohn top up with water to bring to a gallon. Seal with the rubber bung and airlock, having put a small amount of diluted Milton liquid in the airlock.
12. You can now store the wine for months somewhere cool and frost free. At first the fermentation may start up again and you'll see bubbles going through the airlock. Gradually the wine will clear.
13. Once fully clear repeat the draining process, this time from the demijohn to sterilised wine bottles. Put a stopper in each bottle and store.
14. The wine will be ready to drink after twelve months.
10:16 AM | Category: |

Apple wine recipe easy

No chemicals are used, just all natural ingredients other than Milton baby liquid to sterilise equipment. A great Autumn wine to make... if you fancy making a Spring wine you might like to try my dandelion wine easy recipe, or for Summer try my plum wine easy recipe.
I started making this wine for two reasons... firstly its a shame so many apples go to waste in Autumn, and secondly because I was fed up trying to find wine in the shops that didn't have the 'contains sulphites' message hidden away on the back label. Sulphites can cause allergies and a headache.
Every autumn there's an excess of free apples from friends or gathered in the wild. With a bit of organisation, very little effort and a small investment you can make yourself enough sweet white wine to last the whole year. Not sure where to get enough apples? If you don't have any friends desperate to give you their excess have a look around the countryside. Often there are trees along roadsides or footpaths where you can gather the apples for free.
The instructions below are to make five gallons of wine, which will give you just under thirty bottles. It's simpler to make large batches of wine since it's easier to bottle without disturbing the sediment.
The cost of equipment is pretty low... about £35 if you acquire the wine bottles by saving from bought white wine. Thereafter your only cost is for sugar, raisins, lemons and some wine yeast... so having made the initial investment in equipment, typically you're enjoying rather nice, strong wine with no sulphite content for well under 50p a bottle! Why wouldn't you want to do it?


Equipment needed
Something for stirring the contents
Large strainer
Long clear plastic tubing (available from DIY stores)
Funnel
30 wine bottles (ideally clear glass)


Ingredients needed
Enough healthy apples to fill the 5 gallon barrel... its best if you can get a mix of cooking and eating apples
8kg of sugar (adjust this depending on how sweet you like your wine)
1kg chopped golden raisins
The juice of 9 lemons
Small cup of black tea


Method
1. Sterilise the fermentation barrel and lid using the Milton liquid.
2. Wash the apples and quarter, place in fermentation barrel until almost full, discarding any bruised bits.
3. Fill with boiling water. It doesn't take all that much since the barrel is so full of apples.
4. Put the lid on and leave for a few days, stirring twice daily.
5. After a few days the apple juice will have seeped out into the water. Strain out the apples and you're left with the apple liquor.
6. Add the sugar, raisins, lemon juice and tea.
7. Top up with part cold, part hot water (so the temperature of the water is lukewarm) to make up to five gallons and stir to ensure all the sugar is dissolved.
8. Add the wine yeast, stir, cover with lid and store somewhere warm.
9. After a few hours you'll notice something starting to happen... there'll be a froth on the surface as the yeast starts to ferment, turning the sugar into alcohol. Stir the contents twice a day.
10. It will take a couple of weeks or so for the fermentation to finish. Once completed transfer the liquid to the demijohn using the plastic tubing and funnel. Make sure all the equipment has been sterilised with Milton liquid.
11. Avoiding disturbing any sediment, place the fermentation barrel at a higher level than the demijohn (e.g. put the barrel on a table and the demijohn on the floor), put one end of the plastic tubing in the barrel, and having placed the funnel in the neck of the demijohn give the other end of the tubing a strong suck to pull some of the wine in the tube up and over the edge of the barrel. Quickly remove your mouth and put the tube end into the funnel. The wine should start to drain.
11. Avoid transferring any sediment if you can. Once all the clear liquid is in the demijohn top up with water to bring to five gallons. Seal with the rubber bung and airlock, having put a small amount of diluted Milton liquid in the airlock.
12. You can now store the wine for months somewhere cool and frost free. At first the fermentation may start up again and you'll see bubbles going through the airlock. Gradually the wine will clear.
13. Once fully clear repeat the draining process, this time from the demijohn to sterilised wine bottles. Put a stopper in each bottle and store.
14. The wine will be ready to drink but will improve even more with age. Typically I bottle and start drinking the wine from May onwards. If the wine is too strong dilute with water.
10:15 AM | Category: |