Season: Pretty much all year round. I’d like to introduce you to a group of cordials with a name inspired by a British fruit juice beverage called Ribena. These can be prepared throughout the year and are an excellent way of using fruit that’s too ripe for jam making. I’ve made rhubeena with rhubarb, berrybeena with summer berries, plumbeena with plums–and currants work very well too. Use these fruits alone to make single-variety ’beenas or, for a lighter and more economical cordial, use 50 percent cooking apples. Because the fruit pulp will be strained, you needn’t be too fastidious with its preparation. Rhubarb should be cut into chunks. Strawberries should be hulled. Plums are best halved, but it’s not necessary to remove the pits. Apples should be stemmed and coarsely chopped, but there’s no need to peel or core them.

　　

Ingredients

makes about 6 cups

　　4 1/2 pounds fruit

　　Granulated sugar

　　Brandy (optional)

　　

Step 1

Place your chosen prepared fruit in a large saucepan. For each pound of black currants, apples, or hard fruit, add 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of water; for each pound of plums or stone fruit, add 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of water; for each pound of soft berries or rhubarb, add 3 tablespoons of water. Bring slowly to a boil, crushing the fruit with a wooden spoon or potato masher, and cook gently until the fruit is soft and the juices flowing. This will take up to 45 minutes, depending on the type of fruit. Remove from the heat.

　　

Step 2

Suspend a jelly strainer bag or fine tea towel (see p. 33) over a large bowl. Pour the fruit into it and leave to drip overnight.

　　

Step 3

Measure the resulting juice and pour into a clean pan. For every 2 cups of juice, add 1 3/4 cups of sugar (or to taste). Heat the mixture gently to dissolve the sugar, then remove from the heat. Pour immediately into warm, sterilized bottles (see p. 125), leaving a 3/8-inch gap at the top. At this point you may like to add a couple of teaspoonfuls of brandy to each bottle. Seal with a screw-top or cork.

　　

Step 4

’Beenas will keep for several months, provided they are sealed when hot and stored in a cool place. However, if you want to keep them for longer, you will need to sterilize the bottles in a water bath immediately after canning (see p. 125).

　　The River Cottage Preserves Handbook by Pam Corbin.Pam Corbin has been making preserves for as long as she can remember, and for more than twenty years her passion has been her business. Pam and her husband, Hugh, moved to Devon where they bought an old pig farm and converted it into a small jam factory. Using only wholesome, seasonal ingredients, their products soon became firm favorites with jam-lovers the world over. Pam has now hung up her professional wooden spoon but continues to "jam" at home. She also works closely with the River Cottage team, making seasonal goodies using fruit, vegetables, herbs, and flowers from her own garden, and from the fields and hedgerows.