Jembella Farm: Lemon Syrup

Tuesday, 14 July 2015

Lemon Syrup

At last we're getting some rain and real wintery weather here in South Australia. I may have mentioned once or twice, I love Winter. What's not to love about snuggling into thick socks, rubber boots, layers of jumpers, coats and scarves. Putting another log on the fire with the kettle on the hob whistling quietly, companionably. Leaping out into the weather to bring the cows down from the hill for milking time, feeling the soft rain on my face. Invigorating joy.

And suddenly citrus is in abundance again.
I love to make our own drinks and cordial syrups. In summer it's lovely to have lemon syrup/cordial on hand for adding to water or soda water. In winter it's delicious added to black tea or hot water for a warming lemony drink.
This syrup is not cooked, so the essential oils from the skins remain and are captured in the bottle.

Lemon Cordial
6 lemons
1kg sugar
1 dessertspoon citric acid
4 cups boiling water
Grate the zest from the lemons. Cut lemons in half and juice. Place in a container with the sugar and citric acid. Pour over boiling water. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Cover and leave overnight.
Strain through a sieve and pour into sterilised bottles. Seal. Store in fridge after opening.

I made a double batch.
A friend has given me some oranges from her tree so I'm going to have a go at making some orange cordial in the next few days.

I picked our first broccoli for the season and we ate it lightly steamed for dinner. I can't remember who told me about this but I'll share it with you just in case you don't know. Be sure to cut the broccoli off at an angle so the remaining stem doesn't become waterlogged and cause the rest of the plant to rot. There are little broccolini forming all the way along the stem between the leaves. These will continue for many months, providing many more meals.
I hope you're getting some good winter rains wherever you are.

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About Us

Whether you're living in an apartment, in a house in the suburbs or on acres, you can live frugally and sustainably. There are many things you can do to save money, eat ethically and healthily, reduce waste and live an enriched life.
We are Sally and Brian and we live in the Barossa Valley (South Australia) in a 100 year old house on sixteen acres with 2 dogs, 7 cows, 2 alpacas, 5 geese, 35 chickens, 78 sheep and a few bee hives.
Our way of life takes team work and dedication, but over the years we've learned to be more productive without seeming to put in quite so much effort. We've learned through making mistakes and taking a different approach to what the conventional ways would be. Still learning every day and constantly researching old and new methods, we believe that our lives are greatly enriched, we are healthier and we couldn't imagine any other way of life.
Considered to be living The Good Life, people love to visit us on our small farm to learn about our simple living philosophy.

Why do we do it?
Our love of good food, concern for our health and respect for all animals. The further we got into living on the land the more aware we became that most of the standard practices of growing food were not satisfactory. We couldn't eat with a clear conscience.
Milk from sad cows, pasteurized and homogenized into white liquid. Meat from distressed, hormone and antibiotic pumped livestock. Vegetables and fruits grown and sprayed with chemicals. What to do? Grow our own!
Slowly we grew our knowledge and took one step at a time, becoming proficient in one skill before moving on to the next. The learning curves were steep. We fell over and got back up again. There has been some derision and criticism of our approach from a few, but that's life when you swim against the tide.
If we are not the "norm" then so be it. There is nothing "normal" about growth hormones fed to beef, anti-biotics and chemicals fed routinely to chickens, cruelty and disrespect for farmed animals, meals in a box, GM foods, strawberries and tomatoes in winter.
Thankfully the World is waking up to cleaner and more ethical food. We didn't know back then that Organics and Bio-dynamics would become the "new black". The tide is turning and our swimming is becoming easier.