Borage Ale Recipes

OLD ENGLISH SPARKLING BORAGE WINE CUP

Steps:

• Blend brandy, sugar, wine, juice and ice until combined.
• Combine champagne, lemonade, ginger ale, borage and wine mixture in large bowl just before serving.
• Serve in chapagne flutes and decorate with borage flowers.
• Notes on Borage: Borage is a traditional herb used as a diuretic, diaphoretic, and anti-inflammatory. It was also thought to relieve symptoms of melancholy. Borage is a native of the Mediterranean but is well adapted to growing in British soils.
• These days, borage is rarely used in cooking or grown in the common herb garden. It is a beautiful plant with delicate blue flowers. The leaves, flowers and stalks of borage are edible, however borage is a voracious grower and can take over a garden very quickly. This has lead to a decline in its popularity as a garden plant and also as an ingredient in meals.
• Using Borage in Cooking.
• Borage is a versatile herb in the kitchen; its leaves, stalk and flowers are edible. The young, fresh leaves have a mild cucumber taste and can be added to salads, used in stocks, soups and stews, or brewed to make a refreshing tea. You could also try adding them to sandwiches instead of lettuce, or chopping them and adding them to cream cheese or yogurt. When cooked, borage leaves may be used as a substitute to spinach. Don't be put off by the fine white hairs on the leaves, as once in the mouth they quickly dissolve. They also disappear when cooked.
• Borage flowers are beautiful and both look and taste fantastic in salads. They can also be preserved or candied. Why not try freezing some in ice cubes and adding them to drinks or simply floating the blooms in a glass of lemonade?
• The stems of borage are used to flavour a number of alcoholic beverages, including Pimms No. 1. In Spain the stems are parboiled and fried in batter. Chopped up, they make a great addition to soups and can also be eaten raw; giving a hearty crunch to salads.

MIXED HERB SALAD WITH BORAGE : LA SALADE DE PLUSIEURS HERBES

Steps:

• Wash the lettuce and herbs well, dry them and place them in a large dish. Sprinkle with salt, add the oil and finally the vinegar. Let the salad stand a while before serving.

BORAGE FLOWER SYRUP

Steps:

• Place the borage flowers in a small bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to steep overnight.
• The next day, strain the liquid into a pan and bring to a boil. Pour this boiling liquid over another cupful of borage flowers. Soak for 8 to 10 hours. Strain again and press all the juices out with the back of a wooden spoon.
• Measure the liquid and add 1 cup of sugar for every 1 1/4 cups of water. Heat slowly until the sugar has dissolved, then boil vigorously until thickened. Remove from heat, skim and store in clean bottles or jars. Keep in refrigerator.

BORAGE JELLY

Steps:

• Soak 6 cups of borage leaves and mint leave if using and flowers parts in a 4 cups of cold water overnight, drain and strain, pressing the liquid out of the leaves and flowers gently.
• Measure 4 cups of the liquid, add the lemon juice, and pectin.
• Put into a deep jelly kettle and bring to a rolling boil, then add sugar and stir to mix well.
• Stir and boil hard for 1 1/2 minutes, or until mixture sheets from a wooden spoon, skim, pour into hot clean 1/2 pint jelly jars. Seal the a water bath accordingly.

BORAGE ALE RECIPE

Steps:

• Put the borage leaves in a tea bag or cheesecloth bag. Boil water, sugar, and borage for 30 minutes. Cool to 70 degrees. Remove the borage, and pour the wort into a clean fermenter. Add dissolved yeast or yeast starter. Ferment up to 2 weeks, or until bubbles subside. Prime with 1 ounce corn sugar, 1 ounce table sugar, or 1.5 ounce dry malt extract if carbonation is desired. Bottle and stored in a cool place for 10 days before drinking.