Making Citrus Cordial

Today I noticed how laden my mandarin and lemon trees were, and I remembered how much the bearded wonder enjoys homemade cordial so I set out to make a batch.

After picking the fruit, I washed in in the sink to remove any dirt or bugs.

I collected the zest from about 4 lemons then I juiced the remainder (there were about 14).

I collected all the peel from mandarins and lemons and boiled them on the stove to extract as much flavour from them as I could. I strained it after about 30 mins cooking and threw the peel into the compost.

I found it easier to juice the mandarins with a stick blender and strain. The pulp was added to the pot on the stove.

The strained citrified water was measured out into a measuring jug and had the equivalent amount of sugar added to make a syrup. I added 2 teaspoons of citric acid and the same amount of tartaric acid to the syrup and stir till sugar is dissolved. This helps with the shelf life. The acids are natuarally occuring acids and can be bought at the grocery store.

I mixed the juices and the zest with the syrup and bottled in hot sterilized bottles whilst the liquid was hot. I put the lids on whilst all still hot and a vacuum was created and the lids will pop in when sealed correctly. If you have any that didn't seal, use that bottle first.  Once opened keep in the fridge. Tastes delicious mixed with icy cold water.