Monday 9 June 2008

Elderflower Cordial

Finally a hot, dry day to collect elderflowers, I was beginning to think it would never happen!
Collect 10 elderflower heads during the middle of a sunny day. Remove any insects, being careful not to lose the pollen and place flowers in a bowl with the zest of a lemon.
Pour over 0.5 litre of boiling water, cover with a clean tea towel and leave for 24 hours.Strain through a net into a saucepan and add 500g of caster sugar. Bring to the boil, stirring occassionally to dissolve the sugar. Add the juice of the lemon and simmer for 5 minutes.
Pour into sterilised glass bottles and keep in the fridge for up to a month. To keep longer freeze, hence the ice cube tray*. (I don't know why I froze some - we manage to drink it rather quickly!) Dilute with sparkling mineral water ... cheers!

*Amendment - it looked as though it had frozen in the ice cube tray, but the sugar content was too high and it stayed soft.

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