Elderflower Cordial Recipe

I quadrupled the recipe below twice this year for our elderflower cordial so I have loads in the freezer.

It is a bit scary how much sugar goes into it though but I guess at least when you make it yourself you are aware of the amount of sugar! I have made it with two thirds of the sugar too and it turned out fine.

The recipe for one batch is

20-30 elderflower heads

1.5 kg of sugar

2 litres of boiling water

2-4 lemons and/or limes

50g of citric acid ( available in pharmacies)

Gather your flowers (not from roadside trees, too polluted). Gently shake them to remove tiny insects.

Make up a syrup by pouring the boiling water over the sugar in a large pan. Keep stirring until all the sugar has dissolved. Thickly slice the lemons and limes and add these to the pan (you can zest these first and add that too if preferred –  I used oranges and lemons as that was what I had).

Stir in the citric acid. Now add the elderflowers. I have to admit that as I quadrupled the recipe, I didn’t count the heads, just chucked a load in and hoped there weren’t any insects in it! Cover the huge saucepan with a lid and leave the mixture to steep for 24-48 hours. Give it an occasional stir and let the smell fill your kitchen –  it is gorgeous.

Strain the mixture through a fine sieve or muslin (I found muslin took too long so just used a sieve) to remove flowers and fruit. Bottle in very clean bottles using a funnel. Apparently it will keep for up to 2 years in a dark cupboard but I freeze it in plastic bottles. I brought our last bottle to the Country Living picnic this year (in March) and it was perfect.

Enjoy – is especially gorgeous with sparkling water and a slice of lime.