Elderflower Cordial

What You Will Need

I got this recipe from my friend Caroline Jamieson. My 14 year old daughter, Lydia, and I made it in 2010 and wow our tastebuds dribble at the thought.

4 pint container. A colander and 4 pint collector container.

40 Elderflower heads (not to be confused with cow parsley or giant hog weed which is irritant)

2 lemons

2 Ibs sugar

2 oz citric acid    (from chemist. Supermarkets will not sell due to cutting with heroin).

3 pints of boiled water

Warnings

Preparation

Collect the flower heads in a polythene bag within hours of when you are going to use them. Keep them cool and not in the back of your car. Avoid those by main roads due to pollution.

Select a container that has a capacity of at least 4 pints as the volume of the heads and the ingredients will be about 1 pint.

Put the kettle on and boil the water to remove chlorine etc in it. The adult must pour the water into the container carefully and allow it to start cooling while the rest of the ingredients are made ready.

Measure and add the sugar to make a saturated solution. It will dissolve quicker the hotter the water. Keep eyes clear.

When the water is merely hand hot add the juice of the lemons otherwise the Vitamin C will be destroyed. Add the citric acid which is a common natural additive to fizzy drinks and acts as a preservative by preventing oxidation of the fruit.

Hopefully you haven’t rushed in your excitement and the water is now luke warm. Now add the flower heads and push them down with a clean wooden spoon (better that it hasn’t got any tomato or gravy on it otherwise mould will attack this). Place the container out of the way and cover with a clean tea towel to prevent dust.

Enjoy the aroma in your kitchen. Your nose has cells just the same as your tastebuds so savour what you will be tasting in two days !

As this recipe is suitable for children I’ll mention:

ADULTS MUST POUR THE BOILING WATER

Wash hands before each stage.

Clean all utensils thoroughly before starting.

Avoid squirting lemon juice in the eye. A twister juicer is best (and fun).

Avoid touching near eyes when hands have touched lemon juice or citric acid.

Adults should manage the use of knife to cut lemons. Use a chopping board to avoid slips.

Soaking

Stir the mixture gently every half day for 2 days. Although in very hot weather I’ve left it only just over a day and it was perfectly delicious

Instructions

Straining (after approx 2 days)

Now is your moment of truth. Put kitchen towel into the inside of your colander which should be on it’s receiver container.

Pour your mixture into the middle of your colander to strain it. Do this slowly to avoid spilling your tasty solution on your worktop.

Discard the flower heads and kitchen towel into your compost.

Transfer the whole mixture into a container to put in your fridge eg 2L lemonade bottle.

Storage

Kept cool in a refrigerator below 4ºC the cordial will keep 2 weeks.

But if the bottle is left out in the warm it will go mouldy a day !

It may be frozen and will keep 6 months.

Serving

Add chilled water in 5:1 proportion to make the most aromatic drink.

Protect from older brothers scoffing the lot

Cleanliness =Longer Storage

When you’ve made and tasted your first batch you’ll revel in it. However, if you’re like me, you’ll also rue that you’ve only got it for a couple of weeks in June. How does one improve longevity ?

From experience I’ve found that putting the cordial in 4-5 500ml lemonade bottles in the refrigerator reduces the amount of air that the whole lot gets exposed to as one slowly uses it up. It is less tart towards the end.

Production is a bit like brewing: it will use a lot of water for rinsing but if you give a couple of squirts of your favourite, least perfumed, anti-bacterial cleaner in each container then rinse them out then each bottle tastes better longer.


These are just a few ideas that might give you a weeks or so longer in a normal refrigerator or a month or two longer in the freezer. Good hunting for the right combination.