Homemade elderflower cordial

We are luck to be surrounded by elderflower trees where we live, all along our lane and at the bottom of the garden we are gifted an abundance of flowers & berries each year. Last year I never got around to doing anything with them which seems like such a wasted resource so this year I found the simplest recipe I could ‘elderflower cordial’ , it may be simple but its delicious. The recipe below makes lots of cordial! more then we’d ever get through so half the mixture if its for personal use, We made a big batch as it makes the perfect summer time gift x

Ingredients

2½ kg white sugar, either granulated or caster
2 unwaxed lemons
20-30 fresh elderflower heads, stalks trimmed
50g citric acid (from chemists)

Method

Place the sugar and 1.5 litres of water into a large saucepan. Gently heat, without boiling, until the sugar has dissolved. Grate the zest from the lemons, then slice the lemons and mix it all into the sugar and water syrup.
Once the sugar has dissolved, bring the pan of syrup to the boil, then turn off the heat.

Give the flowers a gentle wash to get rid of any dirt or bugs. Lift flowers out, gently shake and transfer to the syrup. Add in the citric acid, then stir well. Cover the pan and leave to infuse for 24 hours.
After 24 hours taste the cordial, if it has a string enough elderflower taste, continue begin to filter, however if you wanted it to taste stronger you can leave it to infuse for another 24h.

To filter line a colander with a clean tea towel, then sit it over a large bowl or pan. Ladle in the syrup – let it drip slowly through. Discard the bits left in the towel. Use a funnel to fill sterilised bottles.

The cordial is ready to drink straight away and will keep in the fridge for up to 6 weeks. It really is delicious and well worth the effort, the most refreshing summer drink 🙂