At this time very year I have to start letting a few things go. I am letting go of the dream of making elderflower cordial. The fact that the flowers are now turning into berries helps a little on this.

However there is still time for cordial. This was my first attempt at making rhubarb cordial. the recipe was taken from this month's NZ Gardener and it needs only 6 stalks of rhubarb unlike some of the 1kg wonders that are out there. This recipe also boasts that it can be made the day before. I initially wondered who would be so disorganised, only to discover that would be me.

We are still tweaking the sugar ratio. I like my rhubarb tangy. However this 1 cup of sugar recipe masked all the mouth puckering, eye squinting glory of rhubarb leaving a subtle rhubarb scent and cloying sugary taste. Serving it with some gin and soda might fix that. Reducing the sugar by a third in the second batch appeared to work too.

On the other hand, here is the cordial recipe that doesn't let me down

Lemon Cordial (courtesy of the side of the King's Tartaric Acid box)

3 lemons - peel and juice
3 cups of boiling water
3 cups of sugar
1 teaspoon citric acid
1 teaspoon tartaric acid

Mix all in non metal bowl until sugar is dissolved and leave to cool. Strain and bottle.

Brilliant! That's another three gifts sorted.