This cordial was submitted to the InterKingdom Brewer’s Guild at Pennsic in 2010 where it received a score of 96.<\/p>\n
Chief among its criticisms were that the pear overwhelmed the blackberry, which was only a small, light note at the end.\u00a0 It was not a cloying thing, but quite light. The pear was hellish to clarify, and eventually I settled for just siphoning carefully.\u00a0 I had a good amount lost because of the pear mung, which hung on the bottom of the bottle like some galactic nebula.\u00a0 All in all, it was a really nice little thing though.<\/p>\n
Blackberry Pear Cordial<\/strong> Procedure:<\/strong> Straining was an utter disaster. The regular strainer took the berries and large chunks, but In frustration, I left it in a corner of the kitchen counter for about 18 weeks. When I saw that In the future, I would put the pears in cheesecloth or something to start with perhaps. Or get Inspriation:<\/strong> The recipe was rougly inspired by the basic cordials in ‘A Queen’s Delight’ (see the pdf documentation) Pear Cordial
\nRecipe:<\/strong>
\n1 handful blackberries (aprox. 1\/2 to 3\/4 cup)
\n4 pears, sliced with cores discarded
\n750 ml brandy
\n250 ml simple syrup (2 c. white granulated sugar to 1 c. water, boiled until clear)<\/p>\n
\nI took the berries, which had been frozen, placed them and the four pears in a wide-mouthed
\njar, adding 750 ml of brandy. Later in the day I added the cooled symple syrup. I lightly swirled
\nthe bottle every couple of days. It sat on a shelf for about three weeks, before attempting to
\nstrain.<\/p>\n
\nthere was excessive sediment. I poured the mix through coffee filters, but there was still so
\nmuch sediment that it was terrible to behold.<\/p>\n
\nthe mung had settled, I siphoned what I could from the batch. The result was four small bottles
\nof this blackberry pear cordial, and one slightly larger bottle of cloudlike mung.<\/p>\n
\na chemical-grade filter. Or just make a larger batch knowing I will have to siphon it to clear.<\/p>\n
\nI made strawberry cordial last year, and found it pleasant. It was based on the recipe ‘Cordial
\nof Divers Berries,’ based on 1655 (?) recipe of ‘A cordial water of Sir Walter Raleigh’ (the latter
\nshown on reverse). However, I am not partial to strawberries, especially. I am however excessively
\npleased with blackberries, so I used commercially frozen blackberries (which always tasted
\nlike good blackberries to me, flavorful) and then decided that the bosc pears I had worked
\nnicely boiled in wine, so why not toss them into the cordial. I’ve seen other parings of blackberry
\nand pair in deserts, so it seemed like a good idea.<\/p>\n
\nand these recipes below.<\/p>\n
\ndeltafoxtrot:
\nCut unpeeled pears in quarters, and add them to a large glass
\njar. Fill the the jar with brandy, to cover the fruit. Make sure
\nit\u2019s completely covered.- no pieces floating on top.
\nAllow it to macerate (sit) for two weeks, shaking it up each
\nday. Press in usual manner then sweeten if desired with a
\nsimple syrup or jazz it up with a vanilla or ginger syrup.
\nSyrup is 2 parts water to 1 part sugar. For vanilla syrup add
\none split vanilla bean to syrup as you make it. For ginger
\nsyrup, add sliced, peeled fresh ginger to taste. depending on
\nhow hot you like it, anywhere from a two inch piece sliced to
\nup to a cup. Your choice.
\nSimmer\/boil for 15 minutes or so til it thickens up, let it cool
\nwith the vanilla or ginger in it, then strain and add it to the
\npear brandy. Decant to smaller bottles.
\nI\u2019m so making this! DF always has the best recipes for
\nyummy drinks.<\/p>\n