Cherryade recipe

Do you remember fizzy cherryade as a child? This one's tangy, refreshing, tastes much better than a shop-bought cherry drink and doesn't contain any nasties.

Ingredients

• 225g (8oz) fresh, ripe cherries
• 600ml (1pt) boiling water
• 1 lime (or try an orange or mandarin, but not lemon, which is too sharp), peeled and 1/4 juiced
• 50g (1 ¾oz) caster sugar
• Sparkling water, to dilute

Method

1. Wash the cherries carefully and remove all stalks. Chop each one in half and remove the stones. Put the fruit in a big bowl and bruise them slightly with the back of a metal spoon to get the juices flowing.
2. Pour the boiling water over the cherries and stir.
3. Peel the lime, and quarter it. Add a couple of strips of peel and the juice of 1/4 to the cherries.
4. Add the sugar and stir until it is dissolved. Cover and leave for 2 hours.
5. Strain.
6. Add cold sparkling water to dilute to your own taste.
7. The cherry base may be made up to 2 days in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to use.
8. Fancy an alcoholic long cherry cocktail? Add a splash of good cognac to each glass of the cherry base before topping up with just a little sparkling water and garnish with a twist of lime peel (not suitable for people under 18 years old).