Feathers blanket the orchard. Our geese are mid-moult and feeling sorry for themselves. Luckily, summer fruits provide a cheerful distraction. Early plums and crimson cherries, plus dusky blackcurrants, pink raspberries and plump strawberries from the fruit cage. The tubby gaggle gathers around our boots as we pick, ready to catch any falling fruit. They also waddle over to the gooseberry patch to scrump the aptly named berries. We turn what is left into one of our favourite summer drinks.
Gooseberry soda
Make a refreshing, fruity summer drink with a recipe from Kathy Bishop and Tom Crowford on their Somerset smallholding
Makes approximately 750ml
Ingredients
- 350g Green gooseberries very ripe
- 2 ½tbsp Honey
- 450ml Soda water or sparkling mineral water
- Ice to serve (optional)
Method
Step 1
Put the gooseberries in a blender with a splash of water to help loosen them up a bit, and pulse into a thick purée.
Step 2
Using a large spoon, push the purée through a wire-mesh sieve suspended over a large jug to extract the bright-green juice. Once as much juice has been extracted as possible, discard the pips and tough skins that have been left behind.
You should end up with around 300ml juice (if you have much less than that, then just put a smaller amount of the soda water in at the end so that the flavour doesn’t get diluted too much).
Step 3
Add the honey to the juice and stir until dissolved. You can add a little more or reduce the amount to taste if you like; the riper your gooseberries are, the less you’ll need. Top with the soda water and gently stir to combine.
Step 4
Pour the soda into a sterilised bottle, seal and pop in the fridge to chill. Serve cold, over plenty of ice. It will keep happily in the fridge for a couple of days, but may need a gentle shake before serving if it has settled in the bottle.
The Seaonal Table
Kathy and Tom combine running their Somerset smallholding with full-time jobs, and also find time to write a blog called
The Seasonal Table – a journal of slow food and slow living.
Find out more about The Seasonal Table:
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Louise Hagger
