This week to mark the summer solstice, I’ve been preserving the taste of summer by making elderflower cordial. Usually I manage to be away at the peak elderflower season, but this year I’ve opted out of Glastonbury and used the time (and the ticket money) for other projects.
Why can I never find my favourite recipe when I want it?
A quick look on the Internet reveals a whole heap of elderflower recipes demanding citric acid or tartaric acid.
I’ve never put that in before and I don’t intend to either!
So wracking my brain and adapting the online instructions I have made my own version. I dissolved 2kg of sugar in 4 litres of water by heating. Threw in about 30 heads of open elderflowers and allowed to cool overnight.
Heated it back up the next morning and then strained it thorough a jelly bag, pouring the golden syrup into sterilised bottles.
That makes elderflower syrup, which I then dilute with water and add freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste. It’s delicious, easy to do and so much cheaper than what you buy in the supermarkets.
Take care to pick elderflowers away from roads and other sources of pollutants. I’m lucky I have a tree that has grown by the front door so I really have made homegrown cordial.
Give it a go, you won’t be disappointed.
