Raspberries are in full flush now, so take advantage of that abundance to brew raspberry cordial. You can call it a home-brew because the juice ferments and becomes slightly alcoholic. It's sweet, light, and a clear red color, with the true raspberry flavor. Uncork a bottle in winter, and the fragrance immediately takes you right back to summer. At least, while you’re drinking it.
If you’re using fresh raspberries, you won’t need to add yeast because the yeasts needed for fermentation exist on the fruit. But if the cordial has been sitting around for a couple of days and there still isn’t foam on the surface to indicate fermentation, stir in a tiny pinch of baker’s yeast to encourage it. Confession: I’ve made the cordial with supermarket frozen raspberries more than once, and haven’t needed to supplement it with commercial yeast.
This recipe is adapted from Leda Meredith's Preserving Everything.
- large bowls
- potato masher or food processor
- sieve or colander
- cheesecloth or clean kitchen towel
- very clean, very dry bottles. How many depends on the volume each contains.
- funnel
- Ziploc bag or balloon for each bottle
- needle or pin
- corks or other dependable stoppers
- 2 quarts – 8 cups – 2 liters – fresh or frozen raspberries
- 2 cups boiling water
- 2 cups granulated white sugar
- If using frozen berries, thaw them out.
- Crush the berries in a non-reactive bowl with a potato masher. Or pulse them briefly in the food processor, then transfer the mass to a crock or bowl. Don’t attempt to puree the berries, just break them down into fine chunks.
- Have the water boiling. Stir it into the raspberry mass.
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Cover the bowl with cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel. Now leave it in place for 24 hours, stirring once in a while.
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Strain the liquid into the second clean bowl through a sieve or colander lined with cheesecloth. The more you strain, the more juice you get and the less seeds to deal with.
- Discard the seedy pulp.
- Add the sugar to the juice, stirring. Stir well again every 15 minutes for the next hour, making 5 times altogether.
- Strain the sweetened juice again.
- Funnel the cordial into your bottles. It will continue fermenting.
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Do not cork the bottles yet; fermentation creates gases that can pop corks right off and spew your beautiful cordial everywhere. Fit a Ziploc bag or balloon over each bottle and secure it with a rubber band. Pierce each bag once with the needle. This keeps dust and bugs out and allows fermentation gases to escape.
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Put the bottles upright in a cool, dark place. The bag will inflate as the cordial ferments. When they deflate, you can cork the cordial. This should take about two months.
- Store the bottles on their sides in that cool, dark place for a further 2 months. The wait is worthwhile to let the cordial mature.
- The cordial may be a little fizzy when first poured out. Drink it that way if you like. Otherwise, decant it. There may be some sediment at the very bottom of the bottle. In that case, pour the cordial off gently to leave the sediment behind.
- Kept corked and cool, the raspberry cordial will stay delicious at least a year. But you’ll probably drink it up way before.
How to serve raspberry cordial: Pour it into tumblers or small glasses, either at cool room temperature or cold. I like it iced, myself.
Other seasonal berries like yellow raspberries, blackberries, mulberries, and blueberries can be substituted in this recipe. Naturally, the color will be different according to the fruit used. Best is to use organic or foraged fruit.
If making the cordial in quantity, it’s worth investing in one or more fermentation locks, as many as needed for your bottles. These locks do a great job of keeping the cordial clean while allowing gases to escape. Find them at local winemaking suppliers or order online.
