Gin,Elderflower & dreams of summer

Gin & elderflower go well together, you can go the whole hog & get gin with elderflower in the botanical mix . You can make G&T with elderflower cordial (or ditch the tonic & go with elderflower pressé). There is St Germain which you can switch for the vermouth in a Martini or you can make some grown up "Jello shots".

Gin & Elderflower Jelly
Following last weeks experiments with tea jelly, I wanted something similar with a delicate taste to follow on from the Salmon. I did some reading about Gelatin & gelling to find out what the malic acid was for (it's a flavour enhancer) in the fact duck recipe and then I tweaked it to my own ends. First off I dropped the unrefined sugar as I wanted a clear end product. Then I made up a Gin & St Germain mixture & replaced the Lemon juice with that, adding an extra 5ml or so to account for an alcohol loss whilst the jelly was hot. More importantly I left myself more time. I think I can now conclusively say that I'm using water with too little calcium & I'll have to go hunting for something nearer the 200mg/L concentration.

I ended up with quite a loose set, but a good clarity & a very good taste. Hopefully with just a little more refinement this will become a great summer BBQ dessert.

Meanwhile that Martini in full

8pts Gin (drier the better)
1pt St Geramian
1pt Noilly Prat

Stir over ice, make sure its very very cold & serve.

(I'd recommend making the Martini with some "spare" and using that to make the jelly)