Tag Archives: berries

Blackberry Preserves

“There was much more than she’d asked for: hot bread, butter and honey and blackberry preserves, a rasher of bacon and a soft-boiled egg, a wedge of cheese, a pot of mint tea.  And with it came Maester Luwin.”  (I: 113)

Blackberry Preserves

Our Thoughts:

These preserves are bursting with the intensity and vibrancy of spring! Slathered over a buttered scone, the tanginess of the blackberries is balanced wonderfully by the relatively meager sugar content (as compared to commercial jams). A perfect destination for berries that are either fresh off the plant, or at the end of their life, this recipe can be followed using other berries as well, or even mixing berries. If pectin is added and proper canning technique used, these preserves could be saved to brighten up a dreary winter morning.

Continue reading →

Cold Fruit Soup

“There were great joints of aurochs roasted with leeks, venison pies chunky with carrots, bacon, and mushrooms, mutton chops sauced in honey and cloves, savory duck, peppered boar, goose, skewers of pigeon and capon, beef-and-barley stew, cold fruit soup.” -A Clash of Kings

Medieval Fruit Soup

Medieval Cold Fruit Soup

Our Thoughts:

On first taste, the medieval soup comes across with just a strong honey taste.  The color tells one’s brain to expect a different flavor, a strawberry, perhaps, but once over that initial surprise, you can begin to really appreciate it for its own merits.  With a little  cinnamon on top, the soup reminded us of a candied apple, yet the almond milk lends it just a bit of exoticness.

This recipe, along with the modern version, is available in the Cookbook.