Refreshing Elderflower Cordial Recipe – this is a lovely drink on a summer’s day. Elderflowers are in bloom in May and July – depending on what part of the country you are in. This is a delicious non-alcoholic drink. If you wanted, you could go a step further and make it into an Elderflower Champagne.
Ingredients for Elderflower Cordial
24 heads of elderflower
3kg Sugar
3 lemons – unwaxed for zesting and juice
100g citric acid (you can buy this online)
Very large pan
Bottles (I like these pretty swing top bottles from Kilner, but anything will do)
How to Make Elderflower Cordial
- Pick around 24 elderflower heads from the hedgerow. Choose open blooms and avoid with brown flowers if possible.
- Add your sugar to a large pan with 2 litres of water, stirring until fully dissolved.
- When the sugar has dissolved, bring the pan to the boil before turning off the heat.
- Clean up the elderflower with a good shake, removing any brown flowers, leaves or insects. Then, using a fork, strip the flowerheads from the stems.
- Add the citric acid, lemon juice and zest, as well as the elderflowers.
- Stir the mixture, put on the pan lid and leave for 24 hours.
- Sieve the mixture through a muslin or clean tea towel. Throw the mix away (perhaps into the compost bin?)
- Decant into sterilised bottles using a funnel. I bought lots of lovely Kilner swing top bottles for this, which is perfect. Feels a bit extravagant when you first purchase but they will last many years.
- The cordial can be drunk straight away and should keep in the fridge for up to six weeks. Or you can freeze it to keep it for longer!
Elderflower Cordial Recipe
Ingredients
- 24 heads of elderflower
- 3kg Sugar
- 3 lemons - unwaxed for zesting and juice
- 100g citric acid (you can buy this online)
- Very large pan
- Bottles (I like these pretty swing top bottles from Kilner, but anything will do)
Instructions
- Pick around 24 elderflower heads from the hedgerow. Choose open blooms and avoid
with brown flowers if possible. - Add your sugar to a large pan with 2 litres of water, stirring until fully dissolved.
- When the sugar has dissolved, bring the pan to the boil before turning off the heat.
- Clean up the elderflower with a good shake, removing any brown flowers, leaves or
insects. Then, using a fork, strip the flowerheads from the stems. - Add the citric acid, lemon juice and zest, as well as the elderflowers.
- Stir the mixture, put on the pan lid and leave for 24 hours.
- Sieve the mixture through a muslin or clean tea towel. Throw the mix away (perhaps into the compost bin?)
- Decant into sterilised bottles using a funnel. I bought lots of lovely Kilner swing top bottles for this, which is perfect. Feels a bit extravagant when you first purchase but they will last many years.
- The cordial can be drunk straight away and should keep in the fridge for up to six weeks. Or you can freeze it to keep it for longer!