We have several elderflower bushes on the edge of the backyard near "Veggie World" here at Struan Farm, grown from cuttings. I hack them back radically at the end of each season so they don't get out of control, but I've been keen to use the flowers for cordial and other natural things. You will know me by now.
This was my first attempt making elderflower cordial. I used this Jamie Oliver recipe. There are others out there with slight variations in ingredients, but I chose the simplest for this initial experiment. Flower heads, sugar, water, honey, lemon.
After gathering and washing the flower heads a sugar syrup is made on the stovetop with the water, sugar and honey, into which lemon zest and lemon juice and slices are put, along with the flowers. This concoction then infuses for 24 hours before the cordial is strained through cheese cloth and poured into sterilised bottles.
While I like the idea of this, and it was easy to make, I'm not so sure about the taste. Sugar and lemon predominate; I find myself wondering what elderflower actually tastes like. Perhaps I should have waited for more mature flower heads, or steeped the liquid longer. Or it just may be that I don't like cordials, they're too sweet. Elderflower cordial can be put into sparkling water or sparkling wine, and used in baking/icing. I was prompted to try to make this after discovering a lemon syrup cake with elderflower mascarpone icing. That was rather special, but I didn't want to have to purchase cordial when I made it again.
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