Elderflower Champagne... Best Recipe??

Chimera

I've been doing a bit a research this year, and every site seems to have a different recipe. Anyone any opinions on this? What has worked for you? and what hasn't? Want to make a trial batch this year as hoping to making some for wedding

tru

We're using THIS one, smells lovely

We had to add yeast because it wouldn't ferment on it's own. Straining day is tomorrow, then we'll have to wait a week. I'll let you know what it's like.

We were told to pick the flowers on a sunny day, apparently they're sweeter then. I have no idea if that's true but we did it anyway

nuttywoman

We used to make this, used recipe from an old book by C W Berry , think his name was , a brilliant book but don`t know whether its still in print.
It is true about picking elderberry`s on a sunny day,also try & pick them when they just come out, otherwise they smell of cat pee for some reason.

Optimisticpair

I made a batch in the 70's, the snobby Mother-in-law howled and scowled at my temerity in giving her son inferior stuff (ie her idea was stuff wasn't proper if it wasn't from a shop). It was a rustic recipe complete with the folklore - I lost the recipe but it was similar to modern recipes.

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 plastic fizzy pop bottles.

I did mine indoors but I didn't have enough pop bottles so I also used an orange juice container. It swelled up like a football! I think I left it a week in the bottles before trying the first one. It came out very drinkable and fizzy but only slightly alcoholic.

I would alter the recipe by zesting and juicing the unwaxed lemons to avoid pith and what I'll do this time is sterilise everything with baby steriliser fluid too. I'm starting a batch this weekend.

I think I'll play safe and let some gas out of the bottles every day.

Gigervamp

Yes, make sure you use fizzy drinks bottles as glass ones can explode. The plastic ones explode too, (as I discovered when I'd forgotten to release the gas one day) but you don't get shards of glass shooting out.
My elderflower champagne was VERY alcoholic! (I made the Hugh F-W recipe)

beckiem

i made the hugh f-w recipe it was on his river cottage site last year, it came out brilliant and very fizzy we had bottle lids popping constantly

Chimera

that's brilliant guys, will definately be making!!

Can I just ask a silly question? what yeast will I need? I have dried yeast for baking, but would I need a special type?

SmlSave

I just used baking yeast Chimera - it worked fine DH is also using bakign yeast for makign cider too.

I used the h-w receipe and its lovoely

Chimera

Also, I haven't got any muslin, so you think I could cover with a sheet?

Oh, and do you strip the flowers off the little stalks? or put the whole lot in?

Sorry for all the questions..

Chimera

SmlSave wrote: »

I just used baking yeast Chimera - it worked fine DH is also using bakign yeast for makign cider too.

I used the h-w receipe and its lovoely

thank you :j

tru

We didn't strip the flowers off, and we used an old shirt instead of muslin.

We strained and bottled it about an hour ago. 5 bottles are in the cupboard, one has been left out to drink - I had a taste (couldn't resist) and it was lovely

We picked some more flowers and now have elderflower cordial on the go