The herald of summertime, elderflower cordial will never get boring. Not only can we drink it but it’s great to flavour ice creams, cakes and other sweet treats.
Try making snazzy ice cubes by pouring diluted cordial in to the tray and adding edible petals such as calendula, cornflower, borage and violas then freezing. You’ll be amazed at how happy these simple creations make you and your guests.
You can also add a handful of raspberries to the flower heads whilst steeping as not only do the flavours go super well, you’ll get a very pretty pink drink. I’ve also suggested an optional bay leaf, simply because I’m a little in love with the perfume and depth they bring to not just savoury but sweet dishes too.
Read more about how to garden forage from Beth.
How to make elderflower cordial
- 1134
- Total time 24 hours 30 minutes
- Difficulty Easy
Ingredients
- Granulated sugar 2kg
- Fresh elderflower heads 20, stalks removed
- Citric acid 85g, Available from chemists and online
- Lemons, sliced 2
- Bay leaves 2
Method
-
Step 1
Pop the flower heads in a sieve and place in a bowl of cold water and leave for a few minutes, encouraging any little bugs to climb out. Lift out of the water and allow to drain.
Step 2
In to a large saucepan, pour the sugar and 1.5 litres of water. Slowly heat up, letting the sugar dissolve then bring up to the boil and take off the heat. Add in your flowers, lemon, citric acid and bay leaves, stir, cover and leave for 24 hours.
Step 3
Place a colander over a large clean bowl and line with cheese cloth. Pour the syrup through the cheese cloth in the colander and allow to drain through in to the bowl. Decant cordial in to a large jug and pour syrup in to large sterilised bottles. Keep in the fridge and use within a couple of months.