Getting ready for Christmas 2020

Every autumn we gather sloes from the hedgerows.  Every autumn we make sloe gin, and lay it down for the Christmas of the following year.  And every Christmas, we find ourselves sampling some of the hooch we made a mere three months previously.

With so little willpower at our command, what on earth has persuaded us to save a few bitter oranges from our annual marmalade making bonanza to concoct Seville orange gin this January?  This recipe by Maria Dernikos admonishes us to make it, and leave well alone for three whole years.  Good Lord, we might be dead by then.

Ready for action with gin and oranges.

It’s dead easy.  All it needs is gin, the thinly pared zest from a few Seville oranges, a couple of cloves and lots of sugar.  Bottle the lot, put in a cool dark place, and agitate daily till the sugar has dissolved.

After that, I think our only option is to try to forget all about it.  And perhaps we could remember it just one month shy of the three-year requirement, and drink a small glass of it on Christmas Day 2020.

PS.  With the juice from the pared Seville oranges, I made Seville orange curd.  This recipe is a bit sweet for my taste so I added some lemon juice.  Thanks Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall!

 

Author: margaret21

I'm retired and living in North Yorkshire, where I walk as often as I can, write, volunteer, and travel as often as I can.

33 thoughts on “Getting ready for Christmas 2020”

  1. Never been a fan of gin. Marmalade on the other hand is a different story. YUM. Since there is booze involved, I am betting you will thoroughly enjoy it, 3 years from now. Or sooner???? Cheers.

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  2. I have managed to tuck my sloe guns away so am drinking it at 3 years old. This is a very tempting recipe if only I could find Seville’s – no luck so far.

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  4. Christmas 🙃 !!!! . . . . all is forgiven with those lovely photos of all that zingy orangeness. There is something refreshing about using Seville oranges in the midst of an English winter isn’t there? But wait three years, now that is a dose of delayed gratification.

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  5. Orange gin sounds fabulous! We made raspberry gin in the summer and lasted until Christmas before we tasted it – VERY good!
    Mind you, I’m doing Dry January so it’s going to taste all the sweeter in Feb! x

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  8. This cracked me up–“Good Lord, we might be dead by then.” Three years is a long time to wait! And then I’d forget about it and it would end up sitting 10 years and then I’d be afraid it was poisonous . . . The orange curd sounds yummy, and you can eat it now.

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  10. I enjoyed a delicious gin and tonic recently which was served with orange. For some reason it was amazing. So much so that I was required to sample several more over the following day or two. Which leads me to suspect that I would very much enjoy this tipple. Round here it seems that sloes are as rare as hens’ teeth. I might have more luck with sevilles….

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