Beech Leaf Noyau
Season: Late April to early May. The name for this unusual alcoholic cordial is actually the French word for fruit pit. Traditionally, it was made from bitter almonds or peach pits mixed with gin and left to steep in a warm place for several days before being cooked up with sugar, and then filtered through blotting paper. This recipe is from Richard Mabey’s excellent Food for Free. It uses the young, silken leaves of the European beech tree (Fagus sylvatica), to make an exquisite hedgerow version of the liqueur; the leaves first appear toward the end of April.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 4 cups
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Pack the beech leaves into an earthenware or glass jar until it’s about nine-tenths full. Pour the gin over the leaves, making sure they are well covered (they will oxidize and turn brown if left exposed). Let steep for 7 to 10 days so the leaves can release their striking green pigment. Strain the infused gin through cheesecloth or a jelly strainer bag (see p. 33).
Step 2
Put the sugar and 1 cup of water into a saucepan and heat gently to dissolve the sugar. Allow to cool completely before adding to the infused gin. Add a couple of capfuls of brandy too.
Step 3
Put a couple of fresh beech leaves into a sterilized screw-top or stopper bottle (see p. 125), then add the noyau and seal.
Step 4
Wait for a cold winter night and a roaring fire, then partake of this potent liqueur. Use within 2 years (it may darken in color over time).
P.S.
Step 5
If you miss the young beech leaves of early spring, you may get a second chance to make this noyau toward the end of June. Some beech hedges, when trimmed, will throw up new young shoots–not as prolific as the early crop, but still worth snatching.
