Make Elderflower Cordial
Come June the countryside should be a wash with Elderflowers. Now's the time to harvest the blooms and make a delicious summer cordial.
Ingredients
- 20 elderflower heads
- 1.6 kg of sugar
- 1.2 litres of boiling water
- 2 lemons - zest and juice (unwaxed)
- 2 teaspoons of citric acid (you can get this at your local chemists)
When picking your flowers make sure you select fully opened buds and avoid flowers that are starting to go brown or loose their petals when shaken. It's also best to keep as much green stalk out of the mix as it can be quite bitter. Before you make your cordial shake free any insects or other nature related debris - this is Elderflower Cordial not green fly cooler! Try not to take too many flowers from one tree - you may want to come back for the berries later in the year.
Add the water and sugar to a pan and bring to a boil making sure all sugar has been dissolved. Pour this into a clean bowl.
Take the lemon zest and lemon juice add to the water and sugar. You can put the rest of the lemon in too. Mix in your insect free flower heads and citric acid. Now give it a good stir.
Leave for 24 hours. Using a piece of muslin cloth or a sieve, strain your cordial into clean plastic bottles. Plastic bottles enable you to freeze if you fancy some Elderflower Cordial on Christmas day. If not glass bottle are fine.
That's it! Enjoy!
