A sticky time steeping this lovely lot… now feet making that creak noise on the floor as they stick temporarily on pools of cooled sugar splashes 😀. Wish this blog had aromas for you as the scent from the elderflower is quite magnificent.
The cordial is quite strong in aroma zing and sweetness, but that just means you need less of it in each drink. It is gorgeous with sparkling water, or tip a bit into prosecco or gin and tonic for an aromatic treat. Or tipped on vanilla icecream, or frozen into ice lollies (recipe coming soon).
Recipe
2kg of white sugar
20-25 or so heads of elderflower (the steeping time is more important than exact quantity of flowers)
1.5kg water
2 lemons (peel them with a potato peeler, and cut the flesh into circles) – all of the lemon goes into the brew
80g of citric acid
Method
Put the sugar and water in a large pan and heat, but don’t boil. Stir to help the sugar dissolve. Once the sugar has dissolved, bring it to the boil, and then turn the heat off. Meanwhile, remove the stalks from the elderflowers and swish them in a large basin of cold water briefly to clean. Add the flowers, lemons and citric acid to the pan, and leave to steep for at least 24 hours, preferably 48 hours. I did half the mixture for 24 hours and the rest for 48 hours, and difference in strength of flavour was really notable. It is good after 24 hours, but stronger after 48 hours.
When you are ready to bottle the elderflower cordial, ensure you have some sterilised bottles – either wash them in the dishwasher, or in hot soapy water, and dry them in the oven on a very low heat. Then strain the liquid through a muslin to get rid of the flowers etc, and pour into the bottles.
I put one bottle in the fridge where it keeps for up to two months, and then put some in small plastic bottles, or freezer bags, and freeze small batches of the cordial so we can drink it later in the year.
This year I have frozen some into ice cube trays, which once frozen, I will empty out into freezer bags and keep in the freezer until needed.
