Pimms angst...

[MerryMarigold]

How do I make a classic Pimms and lemonade? I know. Sad. I am nearly 40 and I don't know this. So, I think it's cucumber, mint, strawberries and lemon.

Looked up recipes. Some have apple, orange, lime. Would you?

And how do I cut them. I assume slices halved for the lemon and strawberries sliced or in half? Cucumber - small chunks or slices, half slices?

Arhhhh

slices ,

Do not peel the cucumber(bad as cucumber eaten without the peel give people bad tummies, as the enzyme needed to digest cucumber is contained in the peel) ,

Anything goes, but do not forget the Egyptian mint, garden mint isn't as good, egyptian mint is the type you make tea with.

Soft fruit whole, or sliced if large.

I have a pimms bed, next to where we sit, which other than the citrus, grows all the ingredients for a good pimms. It made sense at the time.

Thankyou. Wow, am impressed with the Pimms bed.

I though the Pimms bed was where you lay after imbibing too plentifully.

I didnt know about the cucumber peel thing.

Pimms bed idea is genius!

Anyone tried the Sainsburys version-Pitcher- I think its called? I need to keep 100 people topped up with Pimms all afternoon soon and at half price its a little tempting but it cant possibly taste as good.Can it?

Try a Pimms Bentley - use sparkling wine/champagne instead of lemonade. 2 glasses and you won't care about the fruit

Spacegirl. Costco have the Blackberry Pimms for 11.00 which is significantly cheaper. Or do it Micky's way and no-one will taste the difference.

at the Pimms bed to crash out on...you can see it, lemon shaped pillows and mint fragranced sheets.

I think I had to get English mint, whatever Tesco's had. My friend gave me a Moroccan mint cutting, but it's not grown enough to use yet.

It looks impressive if you know someone with borage in the garden and you steal the flowers to put in .

Mmmmm pimms , and yes to champagne / cava added
And if you are feeling reckless then added vodka is a plan too .

I though the Pimms bed was where you lay after imbibing too plentifully

It is, you end up falling into it when you go to get refills, and think fuck it I will stay here it has everything I need.

it's a raised bed with sides you can sit on, it can also be reached from the hammock, and has room for ice buckets,

it a good way to get into gardening, almost everything in it can be divided , or pass the seeds on, so you encourage your friends to put one in, which makes it far more likely to get a proper pimms when you go to their house,

I like lots of edible flowers in them.

Once your pimms bed is established, you can give out presents basket or trugs, with the plant and some home filled seed packets, and instructions looks brilliant,

cost nearly nothing and I have found eight out of ten then throw a pimms party, the following summer, I've been doing this for years, so rarely get served an inferior pimms, as people really get into their pimms crop,

I grow my cucumbers at the back of the bed, in a purpose built lean to frame, with 1930s reclaimed metal framed windows making a sort of green house, so you open the window to grab one, it dismantles for winter.

Warning you will get weirdly obsessed with finding the perfect jugs, wide long necked and fat.

freeze excess fruit, mint and flowers in silicon trays (ikea), the long stirrer ones work well, then you can have instant pimms in a flask when you go to the beach.

look up mixing your own pimms, and have fun making it to your taste,

drinks.seriouseats.com/2012/03/diy-how-to-make-your-own-pimms-no-1-cocktails.html

www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/03/diy-pimms-homemade-pimms-no-1-recipe.html

www.taste.com.au/recipes/26292/pimms+cocktails

have a look at the recipes, it is really easy to make and much cheaper ,and much nicer.

No no no - avoid the blackberry and elderflower pimms - a BIG disappointment

I was speaking to someone about this recently and swore by the aldi version which is called something like austins as tasting identical and costing about £6. Haven't tried it myself but might be worth a shot as it gets good reviews.

My dad always used to get complimented on his Pimms - he used to use half lemonade, half ginger beer (the stronger stuff rather than the sweeter stuff).

but do pick elderflowers and blackberries, to put into the mix.

zipzap, the aldi version, think it is called austins summer punch tastes amazing, just as good as pimms.
All we need is the weather to improve for a pimms, currently raining here!

Yum. I want a Pimms now but nobody in the family likes them except me so I end up drinking the whole pitcher by myself AND and eating all the fruit. Oops.

I made a mint faux pas at my BIL's house.

He asked me to cut up the cucumber/fruit etc and full of enthusiasm I chopped up the mint. Wrong. Mint leaves need to remain whole, otherwise they catch in the back of your throat.

Who can tell me about Aperol?

I like it made with cloudy lemonade, but I'm far from a Pimms purist!

Thanks. I got complimented on my 'punch' many times . Don't think I needed to worry. I loved the fact that by the third refill the mint has been bashed about and adds an amazing flavour.

I consider myself a bit of a Pimms expert and now love ginger ale instead of the traditional lemonade.

A Pimm's garden. My life is complete. Thank you.

I love ginger beer. Which one do you use, Ragwort?

I covet a Pimm's garden!!

If you give it an extra shot of gin the first couple of times round, they won't notice wherever it is. Cheaper than champagne.

For the borage, the flowers are pretty but it is the crushed leaves you need.

I like it with ginger beer too, but most don't.

If you want to change from pimms, then sainsbury and Tesco do bucks fuzz and another fruit equivalent for about 4 pound per bottle.

Aldi version is almost identical. Tesco version isn't bad. Sains one is nothing like (not as sweet) but I actually prefer it.
You need 1 part Pimms to 4 parts lemonade plus orange, strawbs, cucumber and mint. Garden mint is fine. Ice is a must.

Well I outed myself with this thread,

Borage is brilliant, you can use it in salads, the flowers are edible, the bees love it (so does black fly, so they leave all your other plants alone., the flowers look amazing in ice cubes,

and it really good for females, as it sorts out your hormones, which is why every woman should have a pimms patch.

You only need a couple of borage (starflower) plants, as they seed well,so you can collect the seeds easily and the following year have loads, I end up with so much, I tend to use them in guerrilla gardening seeds bombs.

You can grow it in pots, so good to add to a basket if you are making up a pimms plot present for someone.