It's that time of year again. Everything's bursting at the seams and it's difficult to work out what to forage next! My allotment in particular, after years of me treading a careful line between hard graft and deliberate neglect, now offers up gorgeous bunches of wildflowers and oodles of delicious herbs every time I go down there for a spot of 'weeding'. The upshot is that every random receptacle in my house is having to be spontaneously repurposed to hold more unexpected summer delights. I do of course leave plenty still standing for all the insects and wildlife to enjoy (and yes, that includes the city pigeons pecking away at my redcurrants)!
When admiring the dog roses down there the other day, I appreciated for the first time the very distinct heart shape of their individual petals - making it easy to see where the folklore connection between roses and love comes from. A handful of petals got swiftly picked and made into a rose water spray by infusing the petals in distilled water overnight. This lives in my fridge for whenever I need a refreshing morning spritz - a simple yet exceedingly lovely way of setting you up for the day when it's a bit sweaty and muggy.
Anyway, I've already digressed from what I am here to talk about - elderflower cordial! A total classic, I've come back round to this simple yet effective way of bottling and preserving yourself a slice of spring and summer, after a brief foray into elderflower vodka, which I've decided can't actually hold a candle to the good old cordial! Don't get me wrong, there's a place for a lot of things in vodka (or gin), but elderflower doesn't turn out to be one of them.
This way of making the cordial is based on a recipe generously shared by a co-housing community in Eastern Germany where I stayed briefly many moons ago. Though I was only there for a week, I'll never forget the joys of making (and then imbibing at subsequent lunches) a massive batch of fragrant and sticky elderflower cordial together. Passing down recipes like this, simple as they might be, is becoming increasingly important to allow us to keep and strengthen our relationship with the land around us - and the community we may share these harvests with.
Here's what you need:
- 25(ish) elderflower heads
- 25g citric acid
- 1kg sugar
- 2 lemons (preferably untreated)
Wash and slice the lemons.
Shake out elderflower heads (make sure all the critters can escape).
Fill a saucepan with 1 litre of water, add the sugar and citric acid and bring to a rolling boil.
In a large bowl, layer the elderflower heads and lemon slices, then pour the sirup over them.
Cover with a clean dishtowel or muslin cloth and leave for three days - stir occasionally.
Use a sieve or muslin to strain off the liquid, bring to the boil again and decant the hot cordial into clean bottles. Seal and store in a cool and dark place.
Will keep unopened for about a year.
A year?! Ha. Fat chance!
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