Most elderflower recipes use elderflower cordial as a quick and easy way of introducing the flower's distinctive flavour. Homemade cordials taste very different to shop-bought varieties and it is definitely worth making your own.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- 25 sprigs of fresh elderflower
- 3l water
- 2 lemons, rinds and juice
- 1kg sugar
- 10g of citric acid
1
Place the elderflower heads and lemon rinds in a large bowl
2
Boil the water and pour over the elderflower, cover and infuse overnight
3
Strain the liquid through a fine sieve or preferably a piece of muslin
4
Bring the liquid to the boil with the sugar, citric acid and lemon juice and boil for 2 minutes
5
Allow to cool before decanting into sterilised bottles
Uses
The cordial will keep for up to a month in the fridge and freezes well. It can be used for a variety of desserts such as Geoffrey Smeddle's summer fruits in elderflower jelly or Dominic Chapman's strawberry jelly with elderflower cream and strawberry sorbet. Elderflower cordial is also great in summer cocktails – try Adam Gray's From Russia with love.
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