Mid-winter is the time to be thinking of marmalade.
If nothing else it’ll take your mind off that other old rubbish that happens towards the end of December.
Organic Seville Oranges
Seville oranges are in season from December to February so you’ve plenty of time to be thinking about it. If you have some indifferent honey you’d like to use up, here’s a good target – oranges and honey together develop a superb depth of flavour.
Mead flavoured with fruit is known as Melomel. I’ve got 6 blackcurrant bushes in my garden; I planted them in 2004 as cuttings. Each year now, in July I make between 10 and 30 gallons of wine from the currants they give me. Instead of sugar I use some horrible honey I bought in haste – I’m drinking my mistake. If you’re out there Frank – you know who you are – cheers!
If you have a wine hydrometer, you won’t need me to tell you how to use it and you can be more precise about how much honey you want to add.
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients
3lb blackcurrants
3.5lb honey
1 gallon water
Red wine yeast and nutrient
Pectic enzyme
Method
Mash the fruit in food grade plastic bucket. Do not use metal – I use a plastic bottle full of water as a pestle;
Boil honey and water in a large pan, remove scum and pour still boiling over the fruit;
Cover with a cloth;
When cooled to blood heat add pectic enzyme as per instructions on container and leave for a day;
Next day add the wine yeast and yeast nutrient, stir and cover;
Keep covered in a warm place, stirring once per day, for 5 days;
Strain into a demi-john, fit airlock and leave till it stops fermenting and wine clears;
Flyaway hair? Try this recipe I found this morning. It takes minutes to prepare and will hold the most stubborn hair in place.
Ingredients
15 grams grated beeswax
4 teaspoons coconut oil
Method
melt the beeswax in a glass jar or bowl over a pan of hot water;
when melted – add the coconut oil;
when that too has melted – stir well and pour into a shallow jar;
If you want to add fragrance – cool slightly and stir it in just before bottling.
To use, scrape a little out with a teaspoon – or a fingernail if you’ve got one of those long curved ones. Spread it out over your fingertips then rub it through your mad hair.
PS If you don’t like the consistency you can always melt it down and add more beeswax or coconut or fry an egg in it.
