Elderflowerz

Elderflowers are out - end May through June.

They're delicious, so here's a picture of what to pick :

Yellowhammer's Cauldron Cordial Recipe (for about 1.5l)

20-30 heads of elderflower - depends on size.

1.5 litre water

1kg sugar

1 spoon citric acid

coupla lemons and an orange

Melt the sugar in water, cool slightly and pour over the flowers, chopped and zested lemons and sliced orange.

Add citric acid, stir.

leave for 24+ hours, strain and bottle.

How easy is that ? 

Lots of recipes out there, all slightly varied, but the principle is the same - mix it all up and leave it to infuse the lemony floral sugary goodness.  Citric Acid is from the chemist and means you can preserve it for 6 months, if you cant get any then make sure you drink it before it goes off. It also adds to the lemony vibe.

I would advise not pouring boiling syrup on delicate flowers as they all scold and go brown, be gentle but not too precise about all the measurements.

If you are having guests use the cordial and some gelatine to concoct a fruit laden elderflower jelly - it looks classy and is max taste for min effort.

 

For Elderflower champagne we want the sugar to turn to alcohol, so add a sachet of wine or champagne yeast to the main mix - with more water (again various recipes and order of adding ingredients are out there, you can get away with no yeast if you do not heat the flowers, as they have natural yeast). 

This requires time to ferment, and can be pretty explosive. No one wants sugar syrup on every surface of the kitchen during the insect season, so use plastic water bottles that expand slightly, you can then see when to loosen the top to release excess gas, and avoid glass shards. 

It is still wise to put the bottles in the shed or in a carrier bag.

You could use a demijohn w/airlock, but I think the idea is to contain the bubbles, so if you do this bottle it after a few days when you are confident its not going to go mental.