Anyone gearing up to make elderflower cordial atm?

[Stanleysaysyes]

If so, do you have any tips for a first timer please or is it relatively easy?

Ooh yes, thanks for the reminder. Though I haven’t seen any yet. Been a while since I made any but think you need to include glycerine - but don’t know why that is.

I made it last year. Not seen any flowers yet. I found a glycerin free recipe. I'll see if I can find it and post a link. It was dead easy!

Or was it citric acid free? Anyway....

BBC recipe is just elderflowers (rinsed), water, sugar, lemon and citric acid I think. I keep a stash of bottles in the basement for elderflower cordial time (and aloe gin too tbf)

www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2020/06/elderflower-cordial-without-citric-acid/

Think this was the one we used but there are dozens

I use citric acid which stops it going cloudy. You can get it very cheaply on ebay if you can't find find it in the shops.

I'm not sure whether it's a kindness or an act of cruelty to tell you that you can use the elderflowers to make Turkish Delight. It's bloody lovely but very very hard not to eat it in massive quantities.
www.rivercottage.net/recipes/elderflower-delight

Thank you everyone!

Elderflower Turkish delight sounds delicious! And there's a recipe for elderflower gin in this www.countryfile.com/how-to/elderflower-guide-where-to-find-it-how-to-identify-and-recipe-ideas/ helpful article.

I seem to recall Mary Berry adding some sort of tablet that you use in beer and wine making to it so that it keeps for longer but can't remember what they are called.

Is it right that you wait for them to be in full bloom before picking?

I made elderflower cordial for the first time last year, I think it was the BBC recipe. It turned out quite nice, could have done with a bit more citric acid I think but I added some lime juice when making drinks and it was fine.

It was sweeter than the tears of Jesus though! Oh and everything in my kitchen was sticky for weeks afterwards.

Mary Berry used Campden tablets. I was really surprised by that, as it's not very traditional and a bit of an overkill. They're sodium or potassium metabisulphite, which some people are quite sensitive to. There's really no need for that in elderflower cordial!

Thanks TheSpottedZebra I'll pass on them in that case!

Mooselaurels ach I was hoping for a bit more than "fine"? Is it worth the bother do you think?

I use Campden tablets as they kill the yeast and bacteria so the cordial keeps for months. I usually make 6 litres and we drink it right through the year. But if you’re only going to make a small batch leave them out. I bought a tub of 50 tabs a few years ago in Wilko’s home brewing section, and the citric acid from Amazon

@Stanleysaysyes
I really recommend buying some cheesecloth muslin from Amazon as it makes straining the finished product so much easier than faffing with tea towels or the like. You’ll be surprised at the amount of tiny insects hidden in the bloom.

Sorry for the instalments but yes it is worth it, the smell is intoxicating and for me it just means Summer is here, it’s also incredibly easy and if you usually buy elderflower cordial it’s good value. Just remember to save your next couple of screw cap wine bottles, (wash them out and sterilise them by putting in a hot oven for 5 minutes before use) so you’re got something to keep it in.

That is great advice, thank you Passthepepper!

Thank you! I've added cheesecloth to my citric acid order!

I make large batches of elderflower and freeze it. Just don't fill the bottles too much so it has room to expand. Also don't go overboard with the Citric acid as even a pinch too much can ruin it. I often use recipes without it as have screwed up amazing tasting cordial by adding it. Some recipes just use lemon. Am glad you posted this as thought I'd missed it! Haven't seen any flowers yet though.

Is this elderflower? Please?

Looks like it.

Sniff it - does it smell like heaven and innocence?

'Smell like heaven and innocence.' I love that.

I used the River Cottage recipe last year, but I think i halved the amount of sugar and let it steep overnight.

@Mooselaurels

Looks like it.

Sniff it - does it smell like heaven and innocence?

With faint notes of cats' wee?