Recipe kindly sourced by Robyn Harrison

This cordial does not use sulphites to preserve it – so it’s much healthier than most commercial cordials.

  1. 24 limes
  2. 1 cup sugar approximately
  3. Wash the limes VERY thoroughly, then remove zest from ten of them using a vegetable peeler. Avoid the white, bitter pith. Set aside.
  4. Squeeze enough limes to make 16 oz. (2 cups) juice. Place in a saucepan.
  5. Bring the lime juice to a boil, reduce heat to medium and reduce the juice by half. Have a heatproof measuring cup on hand. When it looks close to half its former volume, pour into the cup and check. Return to the boil if necessary. Reducing it too much is better than not enough.
  6. Once it’s reduced by half, measure the lime juice reduction again and add an equal amount of cane sugar, by volume. Stir to dissolve.
  7. Stir in the zest and allow to steep for 15 minutes, then strain.
  8. Pour into a sealable glass bottle and store in the refrigerator. Will keep indefinitely.

you can make a grapefruit cordial the same way. Looks wonderful (red grapefruit), but the colour vanishes in a cocktail. It tastes great by itself, or try a Paloma (tequila, grapefruit cordial, fresh lime and soda). Bottoms up….