Gone Foraging - Elder Flowers

Everywhere you look the hedgerows are laden with Elder flowers so, faced with the prospect of a drizzly day in Wivey, we headed for the coast and drier weather to do some foraging.

I love Elderflower drinks so I picked enough to make cordial. As with all foraging, pick only new, fresh flowers away from the roadside and take only a few from each tree (leaving plenty to form elderberries later in the year).

This is my friend Carol's recipe and is made over a period of two days.

Elderflower Cordial

• 30 Elderflower heads
• 1 kg sugar
• 4 lemons (or a mixture of lemons, limes and oranges)
• 4 pints of water
• 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar or a teaspoon of citric acid (optional)

Day one:

• Shake the Elderflower heads to remove any insects and cut off the stalks. Reserve a few sprigs for decoration.
• Grate the zest from a couple of the lemons and slice all the fruit.
• Put the sugar into a maslin pan or large saucepan and add the water.
• Add the zest and sliced fruit to the pan. Add the vinegar or citric acid if using. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
• Add the flower heads. Remove from the heat immediately, stir well, cover with a tea towel and leave to stand in a cool place for 24 hours.

Day two:

• Strain the mixture (through muslin is best) and pour into sterilised bottles. Add some of the reserved flowers to each as decoration. It will keep for several months in the fridge. Serve diluted with sparkling water and ice.

If you have plenty you can freeze it in plastic bottles or as ice cubes.

Submitted by Jane, plot 9