Elderflower Cordial Recipe 2024

I made a pact with myself that i was going to pick and use elderflower from the word go this year!

Too many years have have gone by where i leave it until last minute frantically collecting the last of the flowers before they turn into elderberries. 

So here is my elderflower cordial recipe made from the first of the seasons fragrant pollen rich flowers!

Recipe:

* for every 500ml elderflower tea you need 350g of sugar or something sweet.

50-60 heads of elderflower's

3 Litres boiling hot water

1 orange, sliced

5 strips lemon peel and its juice

unrefined granulated sugar

Method:

Place the elderflowers, lemon peel and orange slices in a bowl. Pour over the boiling water and mix well. 

Place a plate on top to act as a weight and help keep the flowers beneath the water. Leave the elderflower tea to cool and infuse for a minimum of 4 hours or ideally overnight.

Strain the elderflower tea through a muslin cloth into a bowl being sure to squeeze as much out as possible.

Weigh the tea to give you the quantity of sugar needed. Place the elderflower tea and sugar in a sauce pan along with the lemon juice. 

Place the pan on the stove and bring to the boil skimming off any impurities that rise to the top. Boil until the sugar is dissolved and remove from the heat.

Whilst the cordial is still hot decant it into sterilised bottles and seal the tops. Leave to cool at room temperature before storing either in the fridge or a cool, dark place.

The elderflower cordial will keep for a month. If you want it to last longer then a teaspoon of citric acid can be added to the recipe at the boiling stage. Store it in the same same way for up to 6 months. 

Note

I like to dilute 1 part cordial to 5 parts water.

The cordial is not only for drinking over ice on a warm summers day! its delicious to macerate fruits with (strawberries especially)

Its super tasty when diluted with sparkling wine or champagne or try using it in replace of honey in a salad dressing recipe.