England: Elderflower Cordial

/ June 13, 2014

Tonight is England’s first appearance at this world cup, and like always it is accompanied here in England with a mix of defiant optimism and hysteria. We could do it, is the message, as long as we don’t get to a penalty shoot out or have to play Germany.

In their defence they can leave quite and impact. Only that it is usually more off the pitch than on it. They won the World Cup once, in 1966, but a much bigger impact had their appearance at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, at least linguistically: the players’ wives and girlfriends, short ‘WAGs’, descended on the sleepy town of Baden-Baden and spent a whopping £60,000 in one glorious shopping spree and in turn got the acronym ‘WAG’ into the Oxford English Dictionary. Anything to get away from the dismal performance of their other halves, I suppose.

To see England play is often a sobering experience, so the following recipe for an elderflower cordial seems an apt choice. It’s particularly refreshing in the summer, sitting in the garden and enjoying the rare sunshine. You can also use it for delicious ice creams or desserts.

DSC_6435

Getting the elderflower heads just in time can be tricky

Elderflower Cordial (makes ca. 2.3 litres)

  • 1.5 kg caster sugar
  • 2 lemons
  • 25-30 elderflower heads, with open flowers and no berries
  • 50g citric acid

You will need to get your timing right: the elderflowers need to be in flower, fully opened, and without any berries forming. Ideally you pick them in the morning of a sunny day to ensure their scent is at their best.

In a large pan, bring the sugar and 1.5 l of water to boil, stirring regularly to ensure the sugar is dissolving. Then remove the pan from the hob and leave the mix to cool.
Boiling the sugar

Boiling the sugar

Shake out the heads of the elderflowers lightly to get rid of insects (obviously if you’re not a vegetarian you might keep them as an additional source of protein…just kidding!) and put them in a big enough jar or container. Add the thinly sliced lemons and the citric acid before pouring over the sugar syrup. Cover and leave for around 3 days.
Elderflower cordial, slightly darker than you might have expected it as I used golden caster sugar

This elderflower cordial is probably slightly darker than you might expect it as I used golden caster sugar

If you want to use glass bottles, you need to sterilise them: wash them with dishwashing liquid, rinse them with very hot water before drying them in a preheated oven at 190C  for about 15 minutes.
Sieve the liquid through a muslin into the bottles – in the fridge they’ll keep fresh for 4-6 weeks.
If you want to keep it for longer, simply pour the liquid into a large pan and bring to boil. Pour it into the heated sterilised bottles and close them quickly. Stored in a cool and dark place, the cordial will keep for up to a year. I don’t think the final boiling affects the taste, but after giving away a few of the bottles as gifts we’ve only got a litre left and that’ll be gone before the end of the month, so I’m not sure whether we needed to go through this last bit.
To serve, mix with sparkling water. Or with sparking wine, to celebrate a victory!

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10 thoughts on “England: Elderflower Cordial”

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  3. I wasn’t sure about picking up the elder flowers and try this recipe, but I did it last Sunday and I followed the instructions so I drank it today. What a beautiful surprise, It is refreshing and tasty, we loved it! Thank you Ginger

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