Anne Shirley Cordial

This weekend a friend posted a photo of her lovely daughter holding a glass of Red Current cordial they just made, and I asked for the recipe! My own daughter has several bushes of both red and white currents, and had recently mentioned she wanted to do something with them...

I picked a couple of cups of currents, and simmered them 10 minutes in 3 cups of water, strained, added 1/3 C plus a Tbsp OG beet sugar, 4 sprigs of lavender and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Diluted a bit more and served over ice - it was a big hit!! My 9 year old grandkids liked it so well they helped pick a second batch of currents and lavender! 

Current cordial is popular in Sweden. With a taste similar to lavender lemonade, the addition of lavender gives it a NW twist, and it makes a refreshing drink for a summer afternoon.

*Anne Shirley*

I was reminded of the episode in Anne of Green Gables and a scene in the recent Anne with an E series, "Diana is Invited to Tea With Tragic Results." Anne is allowed to invite her bosom friend Diana Berry for Tea, and her guardian Marilla, headed off to an Aid society meeting, tells Anne she may serve Diana the Raspberry Cordial left over from the church social as a special treat. 

Anne is bubbling when she shares the menu with her friend, especially that their drink "begins with an R and a C and is bright red color. I love bright red drinks, don't you? They taste twice as good as any other color." - Anne of Green Gables, Chapter XVI

Anne presents the bottle to Diana with a tumbler, but doesn't taste the 'cordial' herself, "I don't feel as if I wanted any after all those apples." ... Diana pronounces the cordial, "ever so much nicer than Mrs Lynde's, though she brags of hers so much. It doesn't taste a bit like hers!" And with Anne's urging, goes on to drink several glasses of the bright red elixir.

... The reason it tastes different, of course, is that Anne mistook the bottle of Red Current Wine (also bright red!) for the cordial, and Diana becomes hopelessly drunk - to her mother's fury and Anne's consternation! 

My grandkids love the occasional 'Shirley Temple,' so it seemed 'Anne Shirley' would be a fitting name for this bright red NW lavender and Red Current cordial. 

Blogger Tori Avey has written a lovely post about her own memories of reading Anne of Green Gables (finally!!), her exploration of recipes for non-alcoholic fruit "squashes," and directions for making raspberry cordial.

My mama, born in 1912, read the Anne books as a girl, and passed on her love of them to me. I am always impressed on rereading how well they are written. My 15 year old granddaughter and I recently watched seasons 2 and 3 of Anne With an E - and the "cordial" scene was a delight!

Enjoy this summer treat!