“You’ll gain a greater appreciation of a drink if
you attempt to make it yourself, more so if you
g row or forage the raw ing redients”
You’ll gain a greater appreciation of a drink
if you make it yourself; more so if you grow
or forage the raw ingredients. If you have
space in your garden or if your allotment
tenancyallows,plantanappletree,
preferably a dual-purpose cider apple.
Cider is one of the most rewarding drinks
to make. There’s nothing like the smell of
crushedapplesonacrispautumnday.Our advice...
What we’ve learnt
The old, horny-handed regulars on the
allotment know best. They advised us to
stake our apple trees when we planted
them out, but we went by the theory that a
good buffeting from the elements will rock
the young tree back and forth, encouraging
a stronger root set and a thick, healthy
trunk. Eight years on, we have one straight
tree and four with a pronounced wonk.NETTLES Harvest a kilo of young nettle
leaves and simmer in a large pan of
water for 10 minutes. Strain the liquid
into a bucket, add 3 cups of demerara
sugar, the zest and the juice of 3 lemons,
then cover. When cooled, add ale yeast
and ferment for 3 days before storing in
expandable plastic bottles. It’ll be ready
to drink a week after bottling – it tastes
like a zingy, herbal ginger beer.MARROW Hollow out the insides of a
large marrow from one end, and stuff it
with 2½ cups of demerara sugar, a 3cm
piece of ginger, 1 tbsp black treacle and
the juice of 1 orange. Add red wine
yeast. Stand the marrow upright in a
bucket. After 4 weeks, poke a hole in
the base of the marrow and collect the
liquor. Pour into a fermentation jar, fit an
airlock and allow fermentation to finish
before bottling (around 2 weeks). You’ll
get a rummy brew to impress guests.BEETROOT To make Eastern European
beet kvass, place 500g of washed,
peeled and chopped beetroot in a
fermenting bucket, along with a scant
cup of sugar, the juice and zest of 2
lemons, a toasted slice of rye bread
(yes, really) and a pinch of caraway
seeds. Add ale yeast and leave to
ferment quietly for 4 or 5 days. Strain
and store in bottles for 2 weeks to
mature. The resulting beverage is mildly
alcoholic, with a unique, sour tang.HORSERADISH Scrub, peel and chop a
cupful of horseradish root. Add 15 black
peppercorns and a spoonful of honey
and pour into a jam jar, with a 70cl
bottle of vodka. Let marinate for around
3 days before straining and serving.ROSEMARY Use a sprig or two to liven
up a G&T. A stripped rosemary stalk also
makes an ideal cocktail muddler.Five plants that do the booze-ness
Here comes the
science bit: once
the produce is
picked and the
drinks created,
the fermentation
process begins
NEST (^) | GROWING