Raspberry, Rhubarb and Hibiscus Cordial

, from Issue #51. September, 2015
Photography by Aaron McLean.
Raspberry, Rhubarb and Hibiscus Cordial

Cordials are all the rage so make your own and hunt out lovely glass bottles to fill and give to family and friends.

INGREDIENTS

8 stalks red rhubarb
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
zest and juice 1 lemon
2 hibiscus tea bags
4 cups water
1¼ cups caster sugar

METHOD

Wash and trim the ends of the rhubarb and slice thinly.

Place all the ingredients except the sugar in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 20 minutes until the fruit has collapsed. Remove the tea bags.

In batches, push the fruit through a sieve, pressing down on the solids to extract all the juices.

Discard the solids. You should have about 2¾ cups of liquid at this point. Put the juice into a clean medium-sized saucepan and add the sugar. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

Cook at a slow boil for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until reduced and syrupy and skimming off any scum from the surface.

Pour into sterilized bottles. Cool, seal and store in the fridge. Makes about 2 cups