My Granny is the stuff that legends are made of. During the war, despite tight food rationing, Granny made elderflower champagne by the jeroboam and held lavish parties. One night, during one of her infamous parties, the corks from her champagne bottles  exploded and all the guests thought they were being machine gunned from the skies by the Germans. They ducked under the tables.

Granny also filled a whole bath tub up with peaches and crates of gin to make peach gin. It was Granny who taught me how to make colourful vodka jelly which my children ate by mistake when they were tiny.

My brothers often egg me to ‘go on, be the woman Granny was’ but Granny’s crown belongs to the baby of our family, G, who is every bit as feisty, ambitious, ferocious as Granny had been.

Anyway, just to keep the tradition alive, I made some orange gin (because we had a surplus of organic Mallorcan oranges which do not last because they are organic). Here’s the recipe:

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ORANGE GIN

  1. The peel from 6 oranges, NO pith – save the flesh for a glamorous gin desert (recipe after this one)
  2. 200g granulated sugar
  3. 1 litre bottle gin
  4. 2 cloves

Pour out 1/4 bottle of the gin and save for the second recipe.

Add the orange peel, sugar and cloves to the gin. You might have to decant your gin into another bottle if the gin you are using comes in a bottle that has a narrow opening.

For the next few days, keep on shaking the bottle to mix everything up. Then store in a dark place for at least 6 months.

 

GINNY FRUITS

Just soak chopped fruits up in a mixture of 50% gin and 50% tonic water overnight.  Add some sugar if you wish.  Serve with Greek yoghurt and garnish with nuts, raisins and mint leaves.

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