Putting the gin in your kitchen

The unique juniper notes of gin add a little something to every kind of dish.

Elderflower gin sponge with mascarpone cream and strawberries Source: Alan Benson

Everything you love about a refreshing gin and tonic can also be added to your favourite recipes. The fresh, piney flavours of juniper cut through any dish to add spark. Not to mention any other botanicals your fave tipple is infused with (maybe ants?).

Start with these recipes, but don't hesitate to use gin in any recipe that calls for wine or other spirits. After all, a splash or two of gin helps most things along, don't you think?

Fire tonic

A caramelised prawn, mustard green and a black garlic salad is given a juniper top note. Source: The Chefs' Line Series 2

Gin is used to flambé caramelised king prawns before dousing them in melted prawn butter. The bitter notes of the gin perfectly complement the other buttery, briny bold flavours.

Turn it up

Finished with a generous splash of gin, of course. Source: Royal Gardens on a Plate

Curing turnips and swede in a salt and spice mixture creates a few small miracles. It extracts the water, which changes both the texture and the flavour, and it creates an extraordinary canvas of sour, sweet, acidity and spice.

Gin cures

When fresh is best. Source: Peter Kuruvita's Coastal Kitchen

Fish is cured in alcohol across many cultures, with versions of gravlax and ceviche being two of them. This recipe gives trout the gin-soaked treatment and the result is the easiest dinner party entrée you'll probably ever make.

For the best result, try to find a gin that has zesty, citrusy botanicals. Source: Benito Martin

Gin pairs so beautifully with oysters that after tasting this dish you'll be loathed to enjoy them any other way. There simply couldn't be a more wonderful way to pass an evening than sharing this with friends.

Hot indeed

This renowned Menorcan stew is fit for kings. Source: Rochelle Eagle

It's not just oysters that revel in the gin treatment - any shellfish tastes divine in gin. This Spanish lobster hotpot showcases how the juniper notes of gin float above other flavours to add intriguing interest to the dish.

Pop over

This recipe will have your friends popping over in no time. Source: Rhys McGowan

Surprise your mates with a g&t in popcorn form. It tastes remarkably like the cocktail favourite, only with added caramel and crunch.

Afternoon bliss

If you adore lemon and lime with gin you'll find any excuse to knock up this cake. Source: Alan Benson

What goes perfectly with gin? Lemon and lime, of course. And cake! Mix it all together and you have a certain kind of sublime.

Well-soaked

Kersttulband is the fruitcake made for those who say they don't like fruitcake. Source: Alan Benson

Raisins are often soaked in rum for a fruitcake, but the Dutch know that gin works just as well. The result is a lighter-tasting fruitcake with plenty of punch.

Gin high

What a way to enjoy a gin tipple! Source: Alan Benson

If there ever was a cake that epitomised the flavours of England this would be it! The combination of elderflower, strawberries and gin not only makes this chic sponge cake uniquely special but also incredibly lust-worthy.