Elderflower

gillian62

Just made my first elderflower cordial. My sons says it tastes like the bottled stuff - so I guess that is sucess.
However, the costs add up for this, by the time you buy sugar and citric acid.
I think I'll make the champagne next time, as it will be more worth it, for about the same costs.

But I am enjoying my cordial and fizzy water tonight anyway!!

jenid

purpleheather2810 wrote: »

That recipe for Elderflower Champagne sounds great - I might try it - but if you want to make elderflower cordial then here's the recipe my mum always made and I now use:

Elderflower and Orange Cordial

25 heads of elderflower, washed gently
3lb sugar
3 pints water
2oz citric or tartaric acid
1 lemon, thinly sliced
4 oranges, thinly sliced

Put everything into a large pan and stir well. Leave for 24 hours, stirring occasionally.
Strain and bottle in sterilised bottles (pop or grolsch bottles).
Store in a cool dry place.
Enjoy!

I normally make double quantity because we love it so much

Thanks for this it looks great and I can't wait to give it a try. Can I just check, the cordial requires no heating to make? You just leave it in the pan overnight?

Many thanks for your help

soullessfire

CHeers for posting this, I'd forgotten about elderflowers and I really want to try stuff like this this year.

Went for a little reccy down the pathway used by dogowners at the bottom of the road and much to my surprise I noticed about 10 trees there. Was planning on just looking around to see if I had any nearby trees before I started but by the look of things I'm absolutely sorted.

Optimisticpair

I was told a recipe a long time ago for Elderflower Champagne -in the 70's. I just posted it on Old Style board, it is very similar to modern recipes but here it is as I remember it....

Equipment
1 clean teatowel, 1 clean 2 gallon (plastic) bucket, muslin cloth, plastic funnel, small pyrex or plastic jug, stirring spoon, plastic fizzy pop screw top bottles.

Ingredients
Heads, no stems, of fully open elderflowers facing the sun picked on a sunny June morning. (6 large or 10 small will do but they have to be white ones not going brown, you can use more if you want to). 2lbs of sugar, 2 or 3 sliced lemons and a dash (2 tbsp) of vinegar.

Lemons unwaxed and malt vinegar will do but cider or white wine vinegar is probably better for the colour of the end product which will be yellow.

This is roughly the method I was told..

Shake insects out of elderflowers, don't wash them. Dissolve the sugar in boiling water and pour into the bucket. Add cold water, squeezed sliced lemons, vinegar and the flower heads and top up with cold water. Cover with the teatowel and stir two or three times that day. It should start to ferment because it comes with it's own yeast. Mine did, but if it doesn't in a day or two you need to add yeast.

After it starts foaming leave it for a couple of days, remove the lemons and heads then strain through muslin. Decant with a small jug and funnel (or siphon) into the pop bottles.

I did mine indoors so not too warm or too cold and I think I left it a week in the bottles.

I would alter the recipe by zesting and juicing the lemons to avoid pith and use baby steriliser fluid too. I'm starting a batch this weekend.

My batch was fine, no explosions, but I think I'll let some excess gas out of the bottles every day this time.

tripod2000

Smoffi wrote: »

Also once you have left it in the container for 1 week.. then make sure every 2-3 days after bottling you release the pressure of the bottles!! otherwise you will have a sticky room and not much to drink (I had 4 explode last year) lol

Best to keep it in the bucket or in a demijohn under airlock until either it stops bubbling or you get three expected hydrometer readings in a row.

Bottle bombs are incredibly dangerous and the stages Hugh missed out on his show about making elderflower champagne have caused a lot of bottle bombs. I've lost a lot of respect for him because of this.

NoelleV

Having made elderflower wine and cordial as a kid, I'm quite excited about the prospect of making my own. Ive even had a look for local bushes, that I could go and prune in the sunshine on Saturday!

Two questions for the elderflower buffs!
Would you be able to put the champagne in plastic bottles ( ie tonic water) or do you need grolsch style bottles?

Also at the risk of sounding daft are there other plants to be found in hedges that look similar to elder flowers, as I don't fancy making poison berry champagne!

Thank you

NoelleV

Having made elderflower wine and cordial as a kid, I'm quite excited about the prospect of making my own. Ive even had a look for local bushes, that I could go and prune in the sunshine on Saturday!

Two questions for the elderflower buffs!
Would you be able to put the champagne in plastic bottles ( ie tonic water) or do you need grolsch style bottles?

Also at the risk of sounding daft are there other plants to be found in hedges that look similar to elder flowers, as I don't fancy making poison berry champagne!

Thank you

gillian62

Rowan trees have similar flower blossom but the leaves are different. Just look on internet for pictures of the leaves of elder bush/tree to compare, so you get the right one. My 11 year old spends each journey sayin 'elderflower' 'elderflower'. We are going to see if we can learn a tree a week, but think the interest in in the elderflower cordial we made. Would love to know what else I can use.

sareybox_2

I do that gillian, and I'm nearly triple his age! :rotfl:Think I might be driving my husband mad, he keeps threatening to drop me off with the elderflowers on the side of the road.

NoelleV

gillian62 wrote: »

Rowan trees have similar flower blossom but the leaves are different. Just look on internet for pictures of the leaves of elder bush/tree to compare, so you get the right one. My 11 year old spends each journey sayin 'elderflower' 'elderflower'. We are going to see if we can learn a tree a week, but think the interest in in the elderflower cordial we made. Would love to know what else I can use.

Thanks, I've printed a couple of pictures of the net, so hopefully I'll pic the right flowers!
Thanks for your help......

Anyone know if tonic bottles will sufice?