Add the berries and water to a large casserole. Let it boil (covered with a lid) until the berries are pale and have released most of their juices. Make sure the berries don't break, as this will make your cordial cloudy. Add a damp old kitchen towel or cheesecloth to a large colander and the colander over a new casserole or big bowl. Pour the berry water in. Let this drip overnight (or a few hours), do not help it as this will also make the cordial cloudy. As discussed in the high histamine foods list, most of the supposedly high histamine fruits are off-diet due to indirect histamine increases rather than directly containing histamine. In fruit much of this is due to the 'histamine liberator' effect, often discussed and rarely explained in the field of histamine intolerance.

Strain it through a sieve covered in a cheesecloth or damp old kitchen towel – remember to keep a bowl underneath. Combine with sugar. Pour into sterilized glass bottles. I hope this isn't too confusing. The amount of sugar is helping to preserve, and to make it taste good. I think as long as you keep at least half of the sugar content, you can adjust to your own sweetness preference. Source fresh, local fruits. It may sound obvious, but I don't mean the fruits from your local grocery store. Try to source all your fruits and vegetables from your local farmers when possible, to minimize the distance from farm to table (plus it supports the local community!). Store fruits properly. For most fruits, keeping them on the counter and eating them just under peak ripeness is fine, but when a fruit starts to ripen, you should eat it immediately or refrigerate it for a few more days. In short, the idea is that certain foods “release” histamine from other foods. The theory is based on chemical-isolating studies done in the 1950’s and ’60’s, which found that some participants experienced histamine release when they consumed specific foods (all of which were otherwise known to contain low levels of histamine).In the casserole that fits the cordial steamer snuggly, fill with water, leaving 2.5in (3cm) at the top. Top with the cordial steamer and pin the tube so the juice doesn’t come out. This will keep for up to 3 weeks in the fridge, but the best way to preserve it is to freeze it! To freeze: pour into smaller bottles, leaving some room as the liquid expands once frozen. This method retains the most amount of nutrients in the berries, but it is also the one that keeps the worst. It also needs more sugar to help preserve the cordial. This is super easy though! To avoid all the most common pitfalls, ones I've even fallen into, below are my top 5 tips for keeping fruits low histamine rather than losing them to time. Buy organic. If you can't buy local produce, at least try to buy organic when purchasing the infamous dirty dozen.

The difference between a squash and a cordial is the concentration of fruit juice. It's claimed that squash has at least 30% fruit, whereas cordial is normally around the 10 - 15% area. However, the terms are often used interchangeably. But this recipe actually has 45% fruit! You will dilute this in water of course, so it will be less, but the actual berry syrup is about 45%.

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This is because the longer a fruit sits around, the more bacteria it's exposed to, and many types of bacteria produce histamine as a by-product of their own digestion. For some people, the bacteria are already inside them over-producing histamine. Eat seasonally. This can be understandably hard in the winter, but try your best to eat the fruits that are in season in your area. Even if all the fruits at your local grocer's isn't from your region, they're more likely to come from nearby, and it may be easier to find a local, direct source. Storage instructions: Store upright, in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. Once opened, use within 1 month. As with most diets, there are many allowed fruits on the low histamine diet. I generally recommend people start with just blueberries, and work up to apples, raspberries, and kiwis before reintroducing other fruits.

Ingredients: Water 20%, Cherries and Berries Fruit Juice from Concentrate (Apple, Cherry, Raspberry, Strawberry), Looking for a different flavour of squash to drink, I spotted the Lindhouse Cherries & Berries in Lidl. This is a double strength squash, which means you need half the water to make it into a cold drink. So I thought I’d give it a go. Saft is the Scandinavian term for cordial or squash. We drink a lot of saft in Norway, and it's a common drink for kids that don't want to drink water. S ugar free saft, is also very popular, using artificial sweeteners. A Scandinavian saft typically has high fruit concentration (before diluting in water), but it will also depend on the type of berries. Either way - it is delicious! You can use less sugar, but the cordial will keep for a shorter amount of time. Start with little and taste as you go, stop when you think it's sweet enough but just remember it won't keep that well. The label’s full of information you’d not normally read, but it says some encouraging things: Concentrated, no added sugar, cherries and berries fruit drink with sweeteners. Contains naturally occurring sugars.

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How long it will steam depends on your berries, but my red currant cordial needs about 80-90 minutes. It’s usually not less than an hour, although raspberries, plums and pears need less, about 45 minutes.

Pin the tube so the juice doesn't come out. Place the lid on the steamer and do not take it off at any time during the steaming process. If the pressure lifts the lid, place something heavy on top.

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It can be disheartening to buy a fruit you know you tolerate, and suddenly have a reaction. Could it be the pesticides used on the farm? Poor storage conditions? Oral allergy syndrome?