Elderflower cordial

Today we took a walk in the woods and picked the last few elderflowers. Most had already turned to berries, earlier than usual, probably because of the warm weather.

I used these to have my first go at making elderflower cordial. There are plenty of recipes around; this is the one my mother-in-law uses.

Ingredients:
15 large elderflower heads
1kg sugar
900ml boiling water
2 sliced lemons
40g citric acid

First, checking each elderflower head is free of insects, snip off the flowers, trying to leave out as much of the stalk as possible. (This was the timeconsuming part for me, particualrly as I made triple quantities! The rest took no time at all.)

Then dissolve the sugar into the boiling water in a 2 litre bowl. Once the sugar has dissolved, add in the citric acid. Finally, add the sliced lemons and elderflowers and stir. Cover and put aside, stirring once a day for a week.

After a week , strain through some muslin and pour into some sterilised bottles. It will keep in the fridge for up to 1 year. Alternatively, put in plastic bottles in the freezer,  leaving some room for expansion. I'll update next week,  once I know what quantity this makes.

Update: The quantity given in the recipe makes around 1.5 litres. As I was making triple quantities, we now have 4.5 litres of cordial at cost of around £6 . At Glastonbury last week, there was a homemade elderflower coridal stand selling it at £2 / glass. At that price, I didn't taste theirs, but I can tell you that ours tastes great!