Top five autumn recipes

We're well into autumn now and although the sun can still provide some warmth when it shines, we're all really dying to light the fire and curl up with a good book. But before winter really sets in, some of the most wonderful things about autumn are the raw ingredients to be found in the hedgerows and weighing down trees, and which can be turned into delicious jams, jellies and spirits to be enjoyed throughout the winter months.

Here we present some of the best, and most popular, autumn recipes from our country food archives including our much loved sloe gin recipe, our guide to making elderberry jelly and making rowan jelly, plus our guide to foraging for and cooking with mushrooms, and our delightful plum jam recipe secrets.

All easy to make, and a pleasure to procure the ingredients for, these autumn recipes let everyone have a shot at making the most of the fruits and vegetables which grow naturally in the countryside at this time of year.

* Elderberry jelly recipe * How to forage for mushrooms and cook the results

* Rowan Jelly recipe

* Plum jam recipe

* How to make sloe gin

There are many more recipes and country food ideas in our Countryside section, and every week in the magazine.