Elderflower cordial recipe

Making elderflower cordial is easy! With a bit of patience and just 4 ingredients you can make your own.

Each year around June, elderflower graces us with bountiful blossom in parks and woodland edges. You won't have to search far to find a tree near you.

Ingredients

I've specified the ingredients for 1 kg of sugar, so it's easy to scale up. I usually make cordial with 3 kg sugar at a time. From this recipe, you'll end up with about 2 litres of the finished product.

1 kg granulated sugar
1 l water
10 or more heads of elderflower, picked in the midday sun when fully open
35g citric acid (try Asian food stores. in Luton, Bhavin's Cash & Carry is a reliable place to get it)
1 unwaxed lemon

Materials

A large pot, glass or earthenware is great, stainless steel works, too
Something to cover the pot (a plate will do)
A wooden spoon
A colander or large sieve
A muslin cloth
A large heatproof pot
Clean, sterilised bottles, ideally with pop-up lids

Method

Day 1

Harvest your elderflower before lunchtime, so the blooms are freshly opened. Pick the cleanest clusters, where all the buds have opened. Watch out for aphids who sometimes sit below the blossom. Best pick from at least 1m above ground, do avoid any 'dog vinaigrette' on the blooms.
Take your elderflower home and set it in a dry colander for a while, so that any creepy crawleys have a chance to scupper off.
In the large glass or earthenware put, dissolve the sugar and citric acid in the water. This can take a while.
Now gently immerse the blossom into the sugary solution and stir a little.
Cut a lemon into round slices and use these to cover the elderflower.
Cover the pot with a lid and keep somewhere cool, eg on the floor in your larder.

Day 2

Stir a few times during the day, ensuring that the elderflower is submerged as much as possible and covered with the lemon slices.

Day 3

Your cordial should be ready now.

Strain it straight into a cooking pot through a fine sieve or a colander with a muslin cloth over.
Heat it to just below boiling, around 80C.
Fill it into sterilised bottles.
Enjoy! Mix this flavourful fluid to your tast with sparking or still water. Elderflower cordial also tastes nice with lager beer or sparkling wine, drizzled over yoghurt or why not try making an elderflower drizzle cake? Your imagination is the limit!