This is a photo of the first flowering elderflower in the garden project for 2012. I love elderflower. Making elderflower cordial is one of my favorite things to do each year...batches and batches of it (slightly obsessively i think!) Its also quite expensive to buy in the shops so their is nothing better than being able to harvest the flowers and make it for yourself for next to nothing. I thought I would share a recipe with you...
Elderflower Cordial
250g elderflowers, cleaned1.1L
water 900g
caster sugar
50g citric acid
2 lemons
2 limes
Bring the water to the boil, pour the boiling water over the sugar. Stir to dissolve and let it cool completely.
Wash and cut the lemons and limes in quaters and add to the stock syrup.
Pick the elderflowers and remove any dead bits and leaves. Place the elderflowers in a colander and wash under cold running water.
Let the elder flowers drain while the stock syrup cools.
Once the stock syrup is cold add the elderflowers and the citric acid, mix and place the mixture in a deep container in the fridge, place a layer of clingfilm directly on top of the mixture.
Let the cordial infuse for 48 hours, stir a couple of times during this period.
Pass the cordial through a fine sieve and pour into sterilised bottles. Keep refrigerated.
Makes aproxiamtly 2 litres of elderflower cordial
Food Fanatics Tips
If you add the elderflowers to they syrup while it's still boiling hot you will scorch the flowers and it will change the taste of the cordial. I have made this mistake in the past and the end result is not pleasant. Instead of keeping the cordial in bottles you can pour the cordial into ice cube trays and freeze them, this saves space and it will keep slightly longer.
Read more: http://www.britishlarder.co.uk/elderflower-cordial/#ixzz1vhA1Zkfs
Oh.... and here is our giant fennel progress...its now very tall and spectacular!.....enjoy the sunshine everyone!
