Saturday, November 20, 2010

Mulberry and Blood Orange Cocktail

This week I'm hosting the 5th Anniversary edition of Weekend Herb Blogging and for the occasion I'm celebrating with the arrival of Mulberries.


mulberriesĀ© by Haalo


Mulberries aren't a true berry as they grow on a tree and the main varieties produce either, red, black or white fruit. I've used the red before in a mulberry and cinnamon cake but this is my first experience with the black mulberries.

The first thing to note is that these berries are extremely juicy - so juicy in fact that they can stain your fingers with their deep red juice. The second is that they are highly perishable - if you buy them make sure you have a use for them straight away. They are so delicate that even the pressure of sitting in their container caused the berries at the bottom to squash and release their juice.

When it came to deciding what to make this edition of Weekend Herb Blogging, something suitable for a celebration was in order. At first I thought of making something you could enjoy with champagne but then it came to me, how about something to put in the champagne.

The solution came in the form of a syrup - a mix of mulberry and blood orange juice.


mulberry blood orange champagne cocktailĀ© by Haalo



Mulberry and Blood Orange Champagne Cocktail

200 grams fresh mulberries
1 blood orange, juiced
1 teaspoon sugar

Champagne, or you favourite Sparkling wine


Make the mulberry and blood orange syrup:

I've used blood orange mainly because of their colour but regular orange would also work - the final product might not be as intensely coloured.

Put the mulberries, orange juice and sugar into a small saucepan and place over a low heat. Slowly let the mixture come to simmering point - stirring initially to dissolve the sugar and then occasionally to help the mulberries break down.

When the mixture has broken down fully, take a stick blender and blend until smooth. Strain this through a fine sieve and return the liquid to a clean pan. Simmer until the mixture reduces by a third.

Set aside to cool - when cool, place in a sealed bottle and store in the fridge.

To serve:

Give the syrup a stir before using - pour the cold syrup into a flute and then top with chilled Champagne.

You could also serve it with lemonade for a non-alcoholic version.


If you'd like to take part, there's still time to get your entries in.

Send your entries to whb AT cookalmostanything DOT com by
  • 3pm Sunday - Utah Time
  • 10pm Sunday - London Time
  • 11pm Sunday - Rome Time
  • 9am Monday - Melbourne (Aus) DS Time
Make sure your emails include the following information:
  • Your Name
  • Your Blog Name/URL
  • Your Post URL
  • A photo: 300px wide

5 comments

  1. I have a mulberry tree!
    can't wait till next year to try your cocktail!

    it is a very interesting tree, beautiful yellow leaves in autumn.
    mulberry tree

    once they grow the white mulberry everywhere here, the leaves feed the silk pupes (they eat only this kind doesn't like the black or the red ones)
    now it is a tree very difficult to find to buy.

    happy 5th anniversary!!
    baciusss
    brii

    ReplyDelete
  2. How beautiful does this cocktail look!! It would go down well with this summer that we have at the moment

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a beautiful color! I must admit that I have never tasted mulberries, though I am familiar with the tree (as brii explains, it was once common in Italy) and with mulberry paper. This is a perfect entry for a celebratory edition of WHB.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have 3 mulberry trees, but none of them are doing so well. Very small amounts of fruit. Yours look fabulous.

    ReplyDelete
  5. How wonderful to have your own mulberry tree Brii!

    Thanks MRM!

    Thanks Simona!

    Thanks Claudia - I can only wish I had a mulberry tree, I have to rely on finding the fruit at farmers markets.

    ReplyDelete

© Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once | All rights reserved.
BLOG TEMPLATE HANDCRAFTED BY pipdig