Bullace season

It's reached that time of year to make the Bullace gin. The bullace plums didn't show prolific growth at the orchard this year, but we have found a couple of bushes not far away in a secret location. By picking at both sites we were able to collect a few pounds of the bullace ready for making the bullace gin.

Bullace from the orchard

We've now cleaned the bullace and left them steeping in five bottles of Morrison's own label premium gin and sugar in the dark of our cellar. You can buy bullace gin, but it is cheaper and more fun this way.

Having picked the bullace I decided it was time to prune the bullace bushes. They grow at the side of the river. The competition for light from the elm and hawthorn had created long leggy branches about four to five metres tall. These were sagging over the footpath and blocking easy access by vehicles. It was not only inconvenient, but exposed the bushes to damage if a tractor used the route and pushed the branches aside. I've lopped them back to about two metres in height. They should bear fruit in the next year or two. 

Bullace tree cut back

While I was pruning the bush a visitor who's interested in the site called by by for a chat. He had a carrier bag of apples and plums from his own fruit trees which he kindly gave to me. Nice fruit, hopefully within a couple of years I'll be able to return the gift from our own trees.

Bullace Gin

We mentioned earlier our creation of a Bullace Gin using wild fruits gathered from the orchard site. It is very similar to Sloe Gin and is simple to make. The taste is vary "moreish" and it was a popular Christmas gift to family and friends. We had made a couple of litres of this nectar made from local fruit. We even had enough to reward the local butcher with a quarter bottle for his excellent service during the year.

The process of making the Bullace Gin is straight forward. You simply fill one or more large wide necked bottles half full with the fruit, add some demerara sugar using a funnel then top up the bottle with Gin. Seal the bottles.  Leave them in a cool dark room for a few months, agitating the bottles a couple of times a week. Just before Christmas decant the liquid contents into smaller clean bottles and voilà you have a great drink to share with other adults. It is a deceptively strongly alcoholic drink, so remember to warn people who might be driving afterwards. 

Wild Plum (Bullace) jelly from the Turnditch orchard

Bullace

We cooked the Bullace mentioned earlier to make a delicious jelly.  It will also go well with the turkey at Christmas. It is quite fragrant,  apparently this year has been a vintage for wild fruit.  We also made some "Sloe Gin" with a proportion of the wild plums (Bullace), this will no doubt be a welcome sight on the sideboard during Christmas evenings as the guests arrive.