*Edited- Silly WordPress lost my final draft and uploaded an old draft.
I love elderflowers, it has one of the most refreshing tastes. Whether it’s elderflower champaign, elderflower sorbet or elderflower cordial to me it is the most refreshing spring drink. I almost screwed up this year and missed out on the season. Life had gotten busy and I just hadn’t made it to go foraging for them. So last week I panicked and my husband and I went driving around to find that last flowers of the season. We were in luck thanks to the determination of my husband. I love making homemade cordials so simple and a lovely way to use unique ingredients that you can forage for making it cheap option as well.
Elderflower Cordial
800g (4 c.) granulated sugar, or caster sugar
600mL (2 1/2 c.) water
1 unwaxed lemons
38g (1.2 oz) citric acid
Shake the elderflowers to expel any lingering insects, and then place in a large bowl.
Put the sugar into a pan with the water and bring up to the boil, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved.
While the sugar syrup is heating, pare the zest of the lemons off in wide strips.
Slice the lemons, discard the ends, and add the slices and zest into the bowl.
Pour over the boiling syrup, and then stir in the citric acid. Cover with a cloth and then leave at room temperature for 24 hours.
Next day, strain the cordial into a container
. For this I loosely tied a muslin to a plastic jug.
Pour the cordial slowly through the muslin. Once you are done you should have all of the ingredients nicely captured in the muslin and a clean cordial.
With a funnel carefully pour cordial into plastic or glass bottles with a tight fitting lid.
Store in the cupboard ready to use.
To serve Elderflower Cordial dilute the elderflower cordial to taste with fizzy water, and serve over ice with a slice or two of lemon, or a sprig of mint floating on top.
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Laura, this looks wonderful! Refreshing and delicious!
I love homemade drinks with local ingredients… something just so much more special! Where do you get your bottles? I made a crabapple liqueur last year and had a heck of a time finding bottles to put them in! Finally, I got lucky at Michaels.
Hope you’ll stop by my newly launched blog and enter my giveaway.
Crabapple Liqueur sounds amazing! My husband and I have been planning on arranging a foraging weekend later on in the summer and I think I might have to give that a try when we collect our crabapples. As for where I got the bottles we bought some soda from a local farm shop and that is what they came in. I have seen them online but they are tough to find. But I just find that they are so useful to have on hand.
I love elderflower drinks. They have such a unique and beautiful flavor, but I don’t think they have the flowers around here. Beautiful post though.
Excellent choice of flavors! Love elderflower desserts!