Soft Fruit Recipes

[PaulSB]

Shortly our allotment will yield its' annual bounty. We will be overwhelmed with red, white and blackcurrants, gooseberries green and red and rhubarb.

I'm not complaining but want to try something different with the harvest. We already make jams, cordials, flavoured gin and vodka, coulis, jelly, jarred fruit, stewed fruit all for storage. On top of this we freeze whole fruit which will last most of the year.

What else can we try? Bizarre unusual or just different would be great.

 

[lukesdad]

Fruit fools are good and gooseberry and rhubarb can be used in sauces. Rhubarb and ginger with fillet of beef is a particular favourite and gooseberry with duck or pork.

 

[vernon]

Shortly our allotment will yield its' annual bounty. We will be overwhelmed with red, white and blackcurrants, gooseberries green and red and rhubarb.

I'm not complaining but want to try something different with the harvest. We already make jams, cordials, flavoured gin and vodka, coulis, jelly, jarred fruit, stewed fruit all for storage. On top of this we freeze whole fruit which will last most of the year.

What else can we try? Bizarre unusual or just different would be great.

Eating it fresh?

 

[PaulSB]

Eating it fresh?

Is that safe?

 

[User482]

There was a recipe in the Guardian recently, for gooseberry cake. Try searching their site. I'll be making some, as I had a pound left over even after making a load of jam. Gooseberry also goes very nicely with mackerel.

 

[BSRU]

Fruit flapjacks.

 

[Gareth]

Home brewed fruit and berry based wines.

 

[coffeejo]

Home-made ice cream?

 

[Archie_tect]

Can't beat stewed rhubarb or gooseberries and custard in my book.

 

[Kirstie]

Make some pies and sell them at the local farmers market?

 

[Telemark]

large bowls of all types with yoghurt (or ice cream)
chutneys (rhubarb, gooseberry)
sorbet (black currant is sublime!)
fruit tarts (for example, gooseberry & elderflower)
rhubarb or gooseberry or mixed fruit crumble
meringues
pavlovas

Our strawberries have started ... the other stuff is still waiting for a bit more sunshine


T

 

[dan_bo]

Are you trying to tell me you have RETAINED flavoured vodka?

 

[scots_lass]

Rhubarb and raspberry jam - lovely! You can just taste the raspberries through the rhubarb!

 

[PaulSB]

Some great suggestions there. I'm the only person in our house who likes chutney and I love the thought of rhubarb or gooseberry chutneys. Flapjack is a good idea as well - never thought of making my own but it's something I buy on nearly every ride. Presumably I can make a bucket load of different flavoured ones, freeze and have home made flapjack on every ride!! Hadn't thought of sorbet, though goodness knows why not! As a jam and rhubarb lover that one sounds good as well.

Our red currants are the best ever this year but we seem to have fewer blackcurrants coming ready.

I've one suggestion for folk to try - Gooseberry vodka. It's superb. I forget the quantities but you can easily google it, in a large one litre kilner jar place gooseberries, sugar and vodka (cheapest you can get), shake every day for a week to aid the sugar disolving, leave for three months minimum, then strain and store. My last bottle is half finished and has been the best. Serve very cold or poured over ice, the gooseberry flavour comes out as though freshly picked.

After straining put the gooseberry fruit in the fridge overnight, serve with quality ice cream. Real WOW factor stuff. I have one small kilner jar of gooseberries left from the process last summer - must try those soon.

Red currants in gin are almost as good, but not quite.

 

[Midnight]

Although not recommended for rhubarb, you could put some of your fruit into a Rumtopf.