Elderflower Cordial

I always feel the preserving season is really underway when the elderflower come out & I make Cordial.  I use this same recipe, below, every year.  I am afraid I don’t know it’s original source as it was given to me but it is a good recipe and makes a fragrant and delectable syrup which you dilute to drink or that you can pour over ice cream for a wonderful summer treat.  It keeps for months and months as long as your bottles are well sterilised but can also be frozen.  This recipe makes about 1.5litres.

You will need…

20 large elderflower heads

1.8kg Granulated sugar

1 Litre of water

75g Citric acid (you will need to buy this from a chemist – tell them you want it for cordial)

2 lemons

Place the elderflowers in a large bowl.  In a pan mix the sugar and water and bring to a gentle boil, stir until all the sugar is dissolved.  Pour this mixture over the elderflower and stir in the citric acid.  Grate in the zest of both lemons and then slice the lemons and add the slices to the bowl.  Cover and leave for 24 hours before straining through a double muslin.  Decant into sterilised bottles and store in a cool dark place.

You can drink this cordial almost instantly once it has been decanted however after a couple of weeks the flavour develops a little more.  I can never resist a little taste when it’s first made – it has a lovely freshness at this stage.

Please be careful Elderflower is a tree or large shrub with sprays of white flowers that later turn to deep purple berries, it has a distinctive smell.  Be certain that what you are picking is Elderflower!  Some people have mistakenly picked cow parsley as the flowers are similar but this grows up from the ground on tall stems.  Cow parsley is poisonous!  However, after a little familiarisation elderflower is very easy to identify so don’t be put off, give it a go!

Advertisement

Flower Arranging

June for me is the month of flower.  If you didn’t already know I LOVE flowers and more often than not there are some on my table.  Rarely are they bought flowers more often than not they are cuttings from the garden, something we’ve plucked from a hedgerow on the way too or from school or carefully selected gathering to remind us of a lovely weekend walk.

I don’t claim to be an expert on arranging flowers (I am rather anxious to be joining the church flower arranging rota soon) but I’ve had a little practice so I thought I would share what I do know.

• Firstly the shorter you cut the stems of your flowers the longer they will last because the water won’t have to travel so far, using less of the plants energy.  Consider using a smaller vase, a jam jar, tea-cup or decorative bowl for your flowers.
• Bacteria kills flowers so change the water regularly and add a tablespoon of household bleach to the water. Don’t panic the bleach will not kill the flowers, quite the opposite. Then add a tsp of sugar to feed your flowers.
• Tulips stems will continue to grow after they are cut, that’s why they look floppy after a few days.  Don’t be afraid to trim the stems of your cut flowers every few days.  Cut at an angle to give greater surface area so your flowers can absorb as much water as possible.
• Remove any leaves that will be below the water line they will just make the water disgusting and reduce the life span of your flowers.
• Flowers like cool temperatures.  If you have bought flowers for a special occasion keep them in water in a cool place (like your garage or shed) until you need them.

I hope you have found these tips useful in extending the life of those precious blooms that grace your home.  I’ll leave you with a picture of our May-day posies.  This year we chose to revive the ancient tradition of giving May-day Posies of wild flowers to our neighbors & I hung a little jar of flowers on our front door in honor of the day. You can read more about this tradition here.