Top Tips
Choose or find your shrub and one away from a road.
Get Bottles washed and buy citric acid before you pick.
Freeze as ice cubes for an easy to serve way of storing into the summer.
This will make about 2 litres which will serve 20 to 25.
1.1 litres cold water or from a Quooker Tap
900g caster sugar
2 x lemons
2 x limes
250g freshly picked elderflowers (about 15-20 heads)
50g citric acid (try Asian supermarkets or online if you struggle to find it)
1. Pour the water into a large saucepan and bring it to the boil over a high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and pour the boiling water over the sugar in a mixing bowl. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Wash the lemons and limes and cut into quarter, then add them to the hot syrup. Set aside and leave to cool completely.
2. Meanwhile, pick over the elderflowers and remove any dead bits and leaves . Place the elderflowers in a colander and wash under cold running water. Let the elderflowers drain while the syrup cools. Set aside a few extra nice flowers to serve or to add to ice cubes if you are planning on freezing the cordial.
3. Make sure the syrup mixture is cool otherwise you will scorch the flowers. Double check again that the mixture is cool. This is really important!
4. Add the elderflowers and citric acid to the cooled syrup mixture and stir to mix. Place a piece of cling film directly on the surface of the mixture and place in the fridge. Leave the cordial to infuse in the fridge for 48 hours stirring a couple of times during this period.
4. Pass the cordial though a fine sieve and pour into sterilised bottles and seal. Keep refrigerated and use within 6 weeks alternatively freeze as an ice cube.
5. Serve with ice diluted with water or sparkling water, with plenty of ice.
If you have extra elderflower left over after your forage, it is also easy to make a refreshing liqueur. You will need about 200 grams left over and wash as per step 2.
Push into an empty vodka bottle or Kilner jar and add 100 grams of sugar. Add the zest and juice of a small lemon and then fill up with vodka until completely full.
Shake over the next 48 hours before pouring through a sieve and decanting into sterilised bottles. This will keep for a month.
