I've been busy making my annual Elderflower cordial and as it's so easy to make and delicious to drink I thought I would share the recipe with you! I make loads and put it in the freezer and then in the depths of winter when you need a bit of a lift and a reminder of summer, I defrost a bottle or two and make some up. It's particularly nice to have around Christmas time (eek can't believe I've written that!) as it makes a great punch with some lemonade and a good splosh of Vodka!
Elderflower Cordial
Ingredients
25 Elderflower heads, picked with the sun on them ( I often use more to increase the flavour)
3lbs granulated sugar
3pts cold water
2oz citric acid ( available from your local chemist)
2 lemons and 4 oranges, washed and sliced
Method
Place water and sugar in a bucket with the sliced fruit. Use your hands or a wooden spoon to mix well, squeezing the fruit and helping to dissolve the sugar. Wash the flowers and remove the stalks, add to the liquid with the citric acid and stir. Leave to stand for 24 hours, stirring occasionally and squeezing the juice from the fruit with your hands. Finally strain and put into sterilised bottles. I usually freeze mine and sometimes I adjust the recipe and use equal oranges and lemons and slightly less sugar.
To serve - dilute to taste, delicious with sparkling water or lemonade and slices of lemon and lime.
You've beaten me to it! I make this every year and was going to do a blog on it! My recipe is exactly the same as yours and it really is delicious. You have to be careful to only use flowers which smell nice as one year I made it and it tasted horrid - the reason being that I had used flowers from a different tree and ones that smelled like 'cat's wee'!
Posted by: OhSoVintage | June 06, 2007 at 08:25 PM
I really must try this my husband has insisted on making elderflower wine these past couple of years and it has been awful smelling like cats pee. Yeuch. I have had this before and thought it lovely so off to pick my elderflowers but actually elderflower rob is my fav thing to make, you make it with the berries.
Posted by: carolyn | June 06, 2007 at 10:00 PM
Sounds lovely. Wonder if adding Champagne would be nice also...
Mari-Nanci
Posted by: Mari-Nanci | June 06, 2007 at 11:09 PM
Looks wonderful! I shall be on the lookout for elderflowers now. I always have a stock of shop-bought cordial in the house but this looks even yummier. It's not one of those home-made drinks that might explode is it?! I had that once with ginger beer that we made!
Posted by: blueberryhillblog | June 07, 2007 at 12:46 PM
Looks wonderful! I shall be on the lookout for elderflowers now. I always have a stock of shop-bought cordial in the house but this looks even yummier. It's not one of those home-made drinks that might explode is it?! I had that once with ginger beer that we made!
Posted by: blueberryhillblog | June 07, 2007 at 12:49 PM
I have never had a bottle explode on me yet thank goodness! I've found that it's best to freeze any that you want to keep long term though!
Posted by: Rose Vintage | June 07, 2007 at 01:40 PM
I loooooove elder flower cordial.
My mum use to make it for us as kids...that and ginger beer...what memories, I'll have to go and pick some elderflowers now :-)
Take care,
Alison x
Posted by: alison | June 08, 2007 at 07:25 AM
This looks sooo delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe - I am going to try to make this! Hubby and I never had "sparkling lemonade" until we went to England. Whenever we go to London, we go to The Seashell of Lisson Grove - they have the BEST sparkling lemonade (and fish&chips)!
Posted by: beachy | June 11, 2007 at 12:52 AM
I love elderflower cordial so made some last year which was gorgeous. My husband had a severe allergic reaction to it though and thought I was trying to finish him off! (This is the man that cannot eat Rowntree fruit pastilles though!)
Sandra.x.
Posted by: Sandra | June 12, 2007 at 12:26 PM
Sounds delicious! I don't have any elderflowers nearby, but will put this recipe somewhere safe for future use.
Marie x
Posted by: marie | June 12, 2007 at 07:15 PM
Hi Jane
Thanks for sharing your recipe with us, it's wonderful!
That's the second time I've heard someone mention Christmas this week!
Clare x
Posted by: Clare | June 13, 2007 at 05:47 PM
i make this too! and a freeze it in ice cubes and have it with gin and soda water. It's lovely! (It must be a Kent thing, I'm from Rochester)
Did you manage to get citric acid at the chemist? When I asked for it, the Chemist said sniffely "We don't sell it because the addicts mix it with heroin to shoot up."
I was standing there speechless looking the most unlikely heroin addict in my spotty dress and Cath Kidston bag slung over one shoulder! In the end I mananged to get some in Wilkinsons. What a weird world we live in!
Posted by: claire | June 17, 2007 at 07:10 PM
I love elderflower cordial, it is one of the nicest drinks. The photo of the flowers in the pan is delightful, the flowers look like sequins.
Posted by: Joy | July 05, 2007 at 09:26 AM
I've always wanted to make Elderflower cordial. It looks great. Can't get it where I'm from.
Posted by: Kathleen | July 26, 2007 at 04:04 PM