Mirabelle glut ... help help pleeeease!

[supersprout]

We saw that the mirabelle tree on the plot had shed its load yesterday, so picked them all up this morning - they're in fantastic condition and I'd like to process them today. No jam - too much. I have a dehydrator - will they dehydrate? Any and all ideas welcome, please :-[  :P ::)

[supersprout]

[RobinOfTheHood]

Give 'em to me!   ;D ;D

[Squashfan]

Gads, supersprout, well done!  :o I'd get that dehydrator going. Can you freeze them? I'd get googling if I were you! Good luck... :D

[greyhound]

I was given a bucketful last week.  Made lots of chutney (mmmmm) and tried a liqueur recipe I found here

http://www.epicurien.be/epicurien/recette.asp?fil=27

Lots more drinkies ideas there if you don't mind it being in French.  Basically it's just the stoned mirabelles, white rum, and sugar to taste.  Proceed as for sloe gin.  Although they do say to blanch the fruit "to prevent fermentation in the bottle" which is a new one on me.

[Curryandchips]

Tried to post earlier, but the site was too busy and wouldnt let me.
That is a tremendous Crop supersprout ...  :o

Stewed and frozen mirabelles ... mirabelle dipping sauce ... mirabelle leather ...

[tim]

Had to look up 'Mirabelles' on the net!!

[supersprout]

Thanks for replies - three basketsful sorted and cleaned, one to go ... six Kilners in the oven ... six to go in ...syrup on the boil ... and I will have four baskets with the slightly unripe ones to process tomorrow, so keep those suggestions coming please!  :P

No room in freezer, but will dehydrate some to see if they turn out like skinny Hunza apricots :-\

Mirabelle dipping sauce curry - link to recipe?
Lovely idea for alcohol greyhound, will try to persuade the MOH to give that a go (good for his French lol)
:)

[Curryandchips]

Not a recipe as such supersprout, as I cook by the seat of my pants, but I processed some plums according to the following ...

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/joomla/smf/index.php/topic,23308.0.html

Hope this helps, you adjust it according to your whim of course, or at least that is my philosophy !!! Unless it's an outstanding success, in which case it's Curry's dipping sauce of course ...  :D

[flossie]

Enjoy the glut.  I had about 2 dozen off my little tree this year, they were delicious.

[grawrc]

Lots more drinkies ideas there if you don't mind it being in French. 

Afaik the French are the leading producers of Mirabelle in the world. Most of it becomes eau de vie which is really rather nice. :)

[cleo]

Bring some over hun-you know I am lazy,eat a few let the blackbirds have the rest-it was the same with the cherry plums :-[

[supersprout]

A treeful of mirabelles ... bottled! ;D
Big jar or little jar cleo? ::)
Thank you tim

[CityChick]

Oooo, SS, they look yummy!! :)

[Chris Graham]

WOW those look amazing !!!!

[saddad]

Great, which reminds me to look over the gage, some have split with the rain and the wasps will have them if I'm not quick!
;D

[bellebouche]

Splendid Haul!

We've got a four mirabelle trees but only get a few dozen fruits from them.. and they never seem to ripen in one go... but that's OK, makes for reasonable grazing whilst walking round the garden.

Did you stone those fruits before bottling them? The only reason I ask is that I had a go last year at doing a big jarful in the same kind of way that you'd make Damson/Sloe gin.. whole fruit, bit of sugar, topped up with gin.

It took a good six months but the Mirabelle Gin took on an excellent golden hue and a pronounced almond-y flavour. Kind of like Amaretto.. but with a slightly more tart/fruity edge. I attribute this to leaving the stones in.

I still have some now.. and at a year old it's thick/syrupy and has an excellent flavour. Worth a go if you have some left!

- Adrian

[supersprout]

Thank you for your kind comments - yes dad, I think we were just lucky with the timing, lucky you with gages (green lol)
I didn't stone them BB - sorting, washing and bottling were enough! :P - but a) wanted that lovely almond-ey flavour to percolate through the fruit and syrup during storage (cor, that drink sounds gooood!) and b) have you ever TRIED to stone a damson? t'aint at all like a plum >:( ;D

[tim]

Talk about re-cycling, Sarah - the one with the black top was a present some years ago from eldest granddaughter, with her own blackcurrants in!!

[bellebouche]

I didn't stone them BB - sorting, washing and bottling were enough! :P - but a) wanted that lovely almond-ey flavour to percolate through the fruit and syrup during storage (cor, that drink sounds gooood!)

Ahh.. this thread brough on a rash bout of salivation so there was only one appropriate course of action... a DRINK!

It's not the best photo but it should help capture some of the colour of the boozy mirabelle gin a year after it was made. See how the glass is not quite full... that's photographic evidence of poor self control! I could barely contain myself and had to have a sip before I fired off a few snaps.

Brief recipe tips:-

Use clean, blemish free fruits. Not too ripe. Pack the jar solid. Don't oversweeten... just a few tablespoons should do it.. you can always add more later. Top up with gin and make sure that the fruit is wedged in enough to ensure that it's all submerged. Stash somewhere dark until at least Christmas time.

All told.. a ten quid bottle of gin should make two/three large jars of this go a long long way and the flavour is quite something else.

The gin-soaked fruits make decadent little additions to a fruit crumble too! Double bonus.

[tim]

Too late, because she's done it now, but just remembered that I did Victorias like sloe gin one year & it was fine. But not as 'deep' as sloes, of course.