As we approach the one year anniversary of our regular trips to the markets, I am constantly amazed at how much better life has been since we started shopping like this. We’ve saved lots of money on produce, despite the fact that we buy so much in bulk, though this has to be countered to some small degree by the increases in our gas and electricity bills. Having said that, we wouldn’t change a thing – we love going to the markets, and we love spending our weekends turning the treasures and bargains we find into something interesting.
Last week, we came home with a tray of gorgeous, big, green and purple figs – 43 (I counted!) for $16, which seemed ridiculously cheap. I planned to give half the tray to my mum, and in fact, only bought them because I knew I would be seeing her that night. Ripe figs certainly aren’t a keeper, and I knew that if I had them at home for a couple of days, they’d be too mushy to give as a gift. Pete, Big Boy and I ate six of the remaining figs the next day – cut in half, griddled briefly, and then wrapped in cheese and prosciutto. I had them with Gorgonzola Dolce, and the boys had haloumi on theirs.
Pete turned the remaining kilo or so of figs into Fig and Calvados Jam for my dad. All of Pete’s jams are good, but the fig jam is up there with the Provence style Apricot and Nectarine he made last Christmas. In other words, it’s really, really good. Our jams never use commercial pectin – we always make our own from apples. The latest batch of pectin was made from new season Royal Gala apples and is setting very firmly. It goes to show how much better the pectin is from slightly under-ripe, early season apples.
The fig man at the markets also had limes, and I couldn’t resist buying a box. They were quite expensive ($14/box of 48), but the last batch of lime cordial was so popular that I wanted to make some more. Of course, all cordials use enormous amounts of sugar, so I had to walk up to the shops to stock up. Walking up was easy, but walking back with 8kg of sugar was hard. (There’s always a moment when I wonder if I should have put a packet back – although that’s invariably 200m from home, after I’ve walked 800m). The lime cordial is dead easy – everyone should make some. Well, everyone who picks up a box of limes at the markets, that is.
LIME CORDIAL
- 8 limes
- 1.5kg sugar
- 1 litre boiling water
- 4 tsp tartaric acid
Zest the limes and then squeeze the juice into a separate jug (I sieve it first). Put the zest, hot water, sugar and tartaric acid into a large mixing bowl and whisk vigorously until the sugar dissolves. It’s pretty hot, so don’t get carried away and whisk until it all splashes out of the bowl, or you’ll burn yourself. Stir in the lime juice. Let the whole thing cool, and then pour it through a sieve (to get the rind out) into sterile glass bottles, seal and refrigerate.
We usually serve this with soda water, although it’s pretty good just with cold tap or filtered water.
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
I’m thinking of making kumquat cordial….but we’ll see. Like the lime cordial recipe too
Celia,
Lime cordial sounds very refreshing.
we’ve had great success with ginger cordial. the recipe comes from Sally Wise’s book , A year in a Bottle. Its an ABC book that we have used for several recipes.
Diana
Thanks for the tip, Di. Pete loves ginger cordial – we’ll have to try and track down the recipe..
Hi Celia,
Do you know where or do you buy haloumi in bulk? If so, where would you recommend?
Thanks,
Peta
Peta, I don’t buy haloumi in bulk, sorry, but you could give Harkola a call and see if they sell it. I know they do have quite a large refrigerator section in their warehouse.
Cheers, Celia
Thanks Celia,
I will check them out.
Peta
Hi Celia,
Many thank for your prompt reply…. both the Chef and Gina did not have the jam funnel in stock, however I found a couple at “HOUSE” store at Broadway in Sydney.. the top end is 120mm and the bottom is only 50mm which might be suitable for your requirements!
Regards,
Philip
Thanks Philip!
We were just discussing making this instead of elderflower cordial… limes are plentiful and cheapish at the moment and I don’t drink squash but Brian does and I thought you must have a recipe somewhere. xxx
Our very first post, Jo! :)
Hi! I am making various cordials at the moment and think I will try this one! I used citric acid to preserve my elderflower cordial, but most other cordial recipes don’t seem to use either citric or tartaric acid and require being kept in the fridge for a few weeks… this won’t really work for me as we wont drink everything soon enough and I am hoping to make cordials that last so I can give them as gifts.
Do you think if I just add tartaric acid to any cordial recipe it will work out ok? It wont ruin it will it?!! I am not an experienced cordial maker!
And how much longer do you think the cordials will last if I add tartaric/citric acid?
I believe citric acid will alter the flavour more than tartaric acid… but I have no idea where to buy tartaric acid from – any tips?
Sorry to pick your brains as much as this all in one go! Any answers you have will be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Mim
Mim, I’m sorry but we don’t make many cordials, so I’m loathe to advise you on keeping times! We keep all our cordials in the fridge and consume them within a couple of months. We add tartaric acid to our lime cordial for flavour rather than keeping qualities. In Australia, tartaric acid is available at the supermarket!
I just had a look for you, and Pam Corbin’s book Preserves (an English print, so you should be able to find it on Amazon or the River Cottage website) has a page about preserving cordials by hot water sterilising (quite detailed instructions for two different techniques). She says that unless you do that, cordials “can be kept in a dark, dry place, or the refrigerator, for a few weeks, or frozen.”
Hope this helps – and I highly recommend Pam’s book, well worth getting!
Hi There!
Thanks for the reply! I actually made some blackcurrant cordial and put citric acid in it, hoping that it might help preserve it (i have heard that both citric and tartaric acid help to preserve) – I didnt keep them in the fridge as I have made so many cordials lately that there isnt much room! One bottle (the half full one) went mouldy – but the other hasnt – so this doesnt help me resolve matters much!! I think next time I will have to keep them all in the fridge or try freezing them.
Also – I made your lime cordial the other day – it is fab (and after all that – having found a home brew shop and gone and bought the tartaric acid – i completely forgot to put the tartaric acid in!!).
Thanks for looking it up for me – i appreciate your time and efforts! I am looking for that book on amazon right after i send this! Thanks, Mim