We've just moved into a home with a garden and are loving it. But coming from South Africa the plants are all quite new to us. We have an abundance of berries and herbs and I am battling to find recipes for using them apart from the usual jam. Does anyone have simple recipes to use for currants, gooseberries, (other berries I am yet to identify so general European berries), holunder (elderberry I think), and something called zitronemelisse which smells divine. I also love the variety of flavoured water one gets here. How can I make my own?

typical swiss recipe.

1) take a wedge of cheese.

the end.

• Dip bread into bucket of stinking, melted cheese.
• Eat a sausage.
• Cook veg. Then cook it some more. Leave in warm water for an hour. Serve.
• Take hash brown. Rename.
• Take plate of lettuce and tuna. Accompany with pack of Marlboro Reds.

Hello fellow saffa It's not Swiss but here is a link to a fantastic blog which I adore that features a recipe for fruit leather: http://expatchow.blogspot.com/2008/0...t-leather.html
A mix of berries should be delicious!

For homemade flavoured water, in this heat, I just chuck some freshly grated ginger, some mint leaves, some pieces of lemon and some rohzucker (optional) in a jug and fill it with water. I have not had the time to do any further research on this so I am interested to see what others reply with.
I guess you could use bruise some of the leaves from the zitronemelisse and place them in some water.. perhaps in some boiled water, leave to cool and have iced tea.

All berries make excellent liquors
take 4 cups of berries, 3 cups of vodka, 3 cups of sugar
Place all in a glas jar, flip the jar back and forth every day, strain and use after three months.

Make a sirup with the Zitronenmelisse (btw. what's the name in English?)
Take about 15 twigs of Melisse, 1 1/2 kg sugar, 1 liter of water
Bring sugar and water to the boil, let it cool, add the Zitronenmelisse and let it rest for eight days, stir every day, strain and fill it into bottles.

The Swiss Betty Crocker.

http://www.bettybossi.ch/fr/shop/sho...aspx?aid=33011

I've got that book in English. I got it online, but I have no idea where from.

I'll have a look.


E.T.A - Here it is.

You forgot vast amounts of

Thanks Meisie and Simplon for your help. I think the english word would be lemon balm, but am not quite sure.

As for the rest of the clever answers, they just reminded me why I have stopped contributing regularly to this forum.

Hello

You can make awesome jams and marmalade with the berries...you have to cook them with a lot of sugar that's called "gelierzucker" (which you can easily found in the local supermarkets) and then put them into a jar a let it cool out. It tastes awesome with bread and butter.

You can also make a cake with the berries or muffins. You can find a lotta receipes in the world wide web for that.

The Zitronenmelisse and the Holunder you can make awesome sirups! You can cook them with a lotta sugar, a bit of lemon and the ingredients. Very refreshig in the summer and a good add in champagne when you like it sweet

en guete!

According to dict.leo.org, this is correct.

I found them mildly funny. Even more so, as there's some truth in them.

As to your lemon balm, I found this recipe:
http://www.chefkoch.de/rezepte/10995...se-Sorbet.html

for a sorbet. translate.google.com should be of help deciphering it.

Thanks for the link to the cookbook in English. I just picked myself a birthday present ;-)

Brakefast: Rösti
Lunch or dinner: Fondue
Cold drink: Rivella

If the OP is wondering why they are getting 'off topic' replies to their question, I think it's because the original title is 'looking for typical swiss recipes' - perhaps if the title was 'what do I do with the berries from my garden?' - you would get the answers you are looking for

If anyone wants to order the Betty Bossi Cookbook, I found the link from the swiss tourism office:

http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/inte...tty-bossi.html

That's where I got it from!

http://www.gesalzen-gepfeffert.ch/re...chweiz_00.html
http://www.schweizer-kochrezepte.ch/


Not specifically about berries, but for those interested in swiss recipes (in German).

Here is a collection of recipes using Zitronenmelisse.

Some, like this Procecco Torte, look pretty tasty and as it doesn't require any baking, perfect for weather like we're having.

Get a subscription to a magazine like Le Menu (www.lemenu.ch) I've found a few recipes in the magazine that came out great! Plus it's written in German

I just remembered an old favourite of my mother: Elderberry vinegar
6 dl dark Balsamic vinegar, 600 g elderberries, 300g sugar, 1 cinnamon stick, all spice, cloves

Heat the sugar and the vinegar, add cinnamon, all spice an cloves (my mother puts the spices into a tea egg), let it simmer for five minutes, let it cool, remove the tea egg, and strain the vinegar