We collected lots of different delights on our recent foraging trip, and there were many great ideas for preserves.

Biddy White Lennon, who led the foraging tour, knew her audience however and suggested that haws are good for making a flavoured brandy…who could resist?

I didn’t really have enough haws or enough rosehips for any one recipe, so I decided to combine them for this recipe.
I used pretty cheap brandy and made it up in an old lemonade bottle. It doesn’t look very pretty right now, but I have faith. Plus, having leftover brandy to flambé all sorts of things made my kitchen a more interesting and dangerous place for a while!

I know that this isn’t really baking, but it will hopefully be delicious and therefore meet my blog requirements!

This is part one of a recipe really because my haw and rosehip brandy has to be stored away for three months…ready for the new year! Hopefully then I can tell you how it turns out!

Haw and Rosehip Brandy

Ingredients

150 grams caster sugar
700 ml brandy
400 grams mix of haws and rosehips

Method

1. Pull the haws off their stalks. Clean the rosehips and haws by rinsing them in cold water. Shake off as much excess water as possible and crush them slightly. I used a pestle and mortar for this job but a rolling pin would do the job.
2. Pour the brandy and sugar into a sealable bottle. Glass is preferable.
3. Shake the bottle until the sugar is dissolved.
4. Add in the crushed haws and rosehips.
5. For the next seven days you need to give the bottle a good shake every day. Please don’t expect it to look very appetising!
6. Then just store it away for three months.

I will be straining it off through a muslin cloth and thinking of some interesting recipes in a few months time!