How much sugar should I use for the strawberry cordial?

In the boiled variant, 375 g sugar per liter of juice is used. In the uncooked variant, 1 kg berries and ¾ kg sugar are layered, together with 2 g citric acid.

How long should the juice boil?

The juice and sugar are boiled for 10 minutes, and poured hot into bottles that are covered at once.

What is the alternative to boiling the juice?

Berries and sugar are layered in a jar with citric acid and stand for 2 days. The juice is strained through a flannel cloth, poured into sulfured bottles set on a wooden base in a pot with cold water up to the bottle necks. Warm slowly to 70–80 °C and hold this temperature for ½ hour, cork and seal with wax.

How is the juice strained?

The berries are wrung or crushed with a spoon, and the juice is strained through a flannel cloth.

Strawberry Cordial – 1914 recipe

Name: Strawberry Cordial
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Total time: 3 h
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Norwegian
Ingredients: 1 l strawberry juice (pressed and strained from fresh strawberries); 375 g sugar (per liter of juice); 1 kg strawberries (for the cold method); 0.75 kg sugar (for the cold method); 2 g citric acid (for the cold method)

About the dish

Erken gives two methods for strawberry cordial in the 1914 edition: a quick boiling method and a cold method where berries and sugar steep for two days before the juice is heat-treated at 70–80 °C (175 °F). Sulfuring bottles was common preservation at the time, but is not used today.

How to make it

1
Press out the juice
Wring the berries in a cloth or crush them with a spoon, and strain the juice through a flannel cloth or straining cloth.
2
Boil the juice
Measure the juice, add 375 g sugar per liter and boil for 10 minutes.
3
Bottle
Pour the juice hot into clean bottles and cover them at once.
4
Alternatively: the cold method
Layer 1 kg berries and 3/4 kg sugar in a jar with 2 g citric acid. Let stand for two days and then strain through a flannel cloth.
5
Heat-treat
Pour the juice into clean bottles, set them on a wooden base in a pot and pour in cold water up to the bottle necks. Warm slowly to 70–80 °C (175 °F) and hold this temperature for 30 minutes. Cork and seal with wax.
6
Variant with corking before heating
The bottles can also be corked and tied over with string or wire before heating. Warm the same way for half an hour, lift the pot off the heat and let the bottles stand in the water until it has cooled. Seal with wax when they are cold.
7
Use the leftover berries
The remaining berries are used for marmalade.

Changes from the original

Modern units (l, g, kg) and Norwegian spelling in the ingredient list. The flannel cloth is given as a cloth/straining cloth. Sulfuring the bottles is mentioned as a historical detail, but replaced by well-cleaned/scalded bottles in the steps.

Original 1914 recipe

Verbatim from the first edition of the Big Cookbook.

Facsimile of the 1914 page at the National Library of Norway — Foto: Faksimile: Nasjonalbiblioteket

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1 l. saft 375 gr. sukker Bærene vrides eller trykkes itu med en ske, siles gjennem flonelklæde. Saft og sukker sættes over ilden og koker i 10 minutter; heldes varm paa flasker og tilbindes straks. Eller man lægger bær og sukker lagvis i krukke, — 1 kg. bær, ¾ kg. sukker og 2 gr. citronsyre — staar 2 døgn, siles gjennem flonelklæde. Saften heldes paa flasker, som er svovlet, sættes paa træbund i en kjel, paaheldes koldt vand til flaskehalsen, opvarmes langsomt ved 70—80 C, staar ved denne temperatur ½ time. Korkes, lakkes. — Andre foretrækker at korke flaskerne før kokningen og overbinde med hyssing eller staaltraad. Koker paa samme maate en halv time, kjelen løftes fra ilden, og flaskerne staar i vandet, til det er avkjølet; lakkes, naar de er kolde. De tiloversblevne bær benyttes til marmelade.

Revised 1949 recipe

From the revised edition of the Big Cookbook.

Facsimile of the 1949 page at the National Library of Norway — Foto: Faksimile: Nasjonalbiblioteket

ProofreadPage 710

1 l. saft 375 gr. sukker Bærene vrides eller trykkes itu med en skje, siles gjennem flanellklæde. Saft og sukker settes over varmen og koker i 10 minutter; helles varm på flasker og tilbindes straks. Eller man legger bær og sukker lagvis i krukke, — 1 kg. bær, ¾ kg. sukker og 2 gr. sitronsyre — står 2 døgn, siles gjennem flanellklæde, saften helles på flasker som er svovlet, settes på trebunn i en kjel, påhelles koldt vann til flaskehalsen, opvarmes langsomt ved 70—80 °C., står ved denne temperatur ¾ time. Korkes, lakkes. — Andre foretrekker å korke flaskene før kokingen og overbinde dem med hyssing eller ståltråd. Koker på samme måte en halv time, kjelen løftes fra varmen, og flaskene står i vannet til det er avkjølt; lakkes når de er kolde. De tiloversblevne bær benyttes til marmelade. Bærene drysses ned om aftenen med sukkeret, kokes næste morgen over svak varme i 10 minutter, skummes. Bærene tas forsiktig op og legges i de opvarmede skrueglass; disse holdes varme i stekeovnen, mens saften koker videre i 15 minutter, helles over bærene. En teskje god konjakk has øverst i hvert glass, og lokkene skrues fast til. NB. Mens sausen koker inn, settes lokkene løselig på glassene. — Hvis bærene er meget store, tas god vekt av sukker.

Strawberry Cordial

About the dish

How to make it

Changes from the original

Time machine – what changed?

Community interpretations

Frequently asked questions

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