MAKING ELDERFLOWER CORDIAL & 30 DAYS WILD May 31 2018
The hedgerows are full of elderflower blooms & I’m busy making fresh elderflower cordial - a true taste of summer.
If you’d like to give it a try, here’s the recipe & method:
You will need: a carrier bag of fresh elderflower blooms, 2kg sugar, 2 litres water, 2 unwaxed lemons, 85g citric acid
- Carefully rinse the elderflowers
- Make a sugar syrup by gently melting together the sugar & water together in a large pan
- Add the elderflowers, lemon slices & citric acid to the cooled sugar syrup
- Cover & leave to steep for 24 hours
- Strain the cordial though a muslin cloth & decant into sterilized bottles
- The cordial will keep in the fridge for up to 6 weeks - or it can be frozen
- Delicious served with iced fizzy water & a bunch of muddled fresh mint
I’m also trying my hand at making sugar-free elderflower cordial. I’ve simply adapted the recipe as above by omitting the sugar. The end result is an even sharper & brighter, natural flavour. Added to gin & tonic or sparkling wine - this is a real summer treat. Just remember that without the sugar, this version will only keep for a couple of days in the fridge - or it can be frozen.
On another note, I’ve just signed up to take part in 30 Days Wild the UK’s month-long nature challenge run by The Wildlife Trusts. Throughout the month of June I will be sketching, drawing & painting daily nature studies in the East Sussex countryside. If you’d like to take a look, I’ll be sharing my results here:
Instagram @kellyhalldesigns
Twitter @KellyHallDesign
30 Days Wild is open to everyone & invites participants to ‘Do something wild every day throughout June - 30 simple, fun & exciting Random Acts of Wildness’. If you’d like to find out more, further details can be found here:
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/30DaysWild/Random-Acts-Of-Wildness
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org
That’s all for this month.
Thank you for reading!