I always love May. It’s the time when the weather is warming up here in the UK, the mornings and evenings are lighter and the elderflower starts blossoming along the canal. I’m lucky to have a pink elderflower tree in my garden and so I don’t have to go far to collect the blossoms.
In my opinion, fresh homemade elderflower cordial tastes far better than shop-bought and when it’s so easy to make why wouldn’t you give it a go? The following recipe is originally from the River Cottage website and it makes 2 litres. If the bottles are well sterilised and it’s stored in the fridge, it will last for months!
What you need: 2 x 1 litre sterilised glass bottles, a muslin/cheese cloth for straining, a bowl
Ingredients: (Makes 2 x 1 litre bottles)
- 25 elderflower heads (white or pink)
- 3 lemons
- 1 orange
- 500g-1kg white sugar (depending on how sweet you’d like your cordial!)
Method:
- Pick 25 elderflower heads and gently shake them before putting them in a bowl. (This will remove any insects)
- Grate the rind of the lemons and the orange and place in the bowl with the elderflower heads
- Pour 1.5 litres of boiling water on top of the heads and then cover the bowl with cling film. Leave to infuse overnight (12-24 hours)
- Pick out the elderflower heads squeezing as you go so that you don’t waste any of the liquid. Squeeze the juice of the lemons and orange into the bowl.
- Place a muslin cloth over the top of a medium/large saucepan and carefully tip the liquid into the saucepan over the cloth so it catches the lemon peel etc. To make this easier I use a cup to scoop out the liquid bit by bit.
- Place the saucepan on medium heat and add the sugar. The original recipe calls for 1kg of sugar but I have made it with 500g and it’s still very sweet! It’s completely up to you depending on taste. Cook for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved and the cordial is hot.
- Meanwhile make sure the bottles are sterilised. I pour boiling water into bottles and let them sit for 10 minutes. You can always sterilise bottles in the dishwasher or in the oven.
- Once the sugar has dissolved, pour the cordial into the bottles. Allow them to cool before placing them in the fridge.
To Serve: Add a splash of cordial to a glass of sparkling or still water. You could even add a dash to lemonade for a refreshing twist!
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