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Homemade Elderflower Cordial

June 25, 2014 By All That I'm Eating 17 Comments

If you’ve been reading my blog over the years you’ll know I love anything elderflower. This year I was invited to go foraging in the grounds at Audley Inglewood, home to restaurant The Walmesley, and to knock up a batch of homemade elderflower cordial with their head chef Gert Pienaar. It was great to go out to the fields, pick the elderflowers and have a good old chat about food at the same time. I’ve not made elderflower cordial before; syrup and sugar yes but this was my first cordial attempt.
picking wild elderflower

Ingredients

The recipe we used was written down in Gert’s secret black book but it was very similar to this one on the BBC Good Food site. Apart from the added ingredients below.

You will need (for around 1.5 litres of finished cordial):

  • 20 elderflower heads
  • Sugar – all the recipes I’ve seen vary so much in sugar quantity so it’s how sweet you like it
  • 1.5 litres boiling water
  • 2 lemons, zest and juice
  • 50g citric acid
  • 1 stalk lemongrass
fresh elderflowers infusing elderflower and lemongrass

Method

Tap the elderflower heads on the side of a bowl to get rid of any insects then put them into a bowl with the sugar, lemon zest and juice and citric acid. 

Pour over the boiling water and whisk everything together well.

Add everything to a sterilised jar, whack the lemongrass with a knife and add this to the jar too.

Put the lid onto the jar and leave to steep overnight.

The next day strain the cordial through a muslin into a sterilised container and enjoy. You should end up with around two litres.

homemade elderflower and lemongrass cordial

I even got to wear a chefs’ jacket and apron while making this in the kitchen. Being a professional kitchen meant there were endless supplies of bowls, scales, whisks and all sorts available so it was really quick and easy to make. There was even an oven set up to ‘steam’ so sterilising the jars was fuss free. If I’d made it at home it would have made much more mess!
homemade elderflower cordial

The smell at every stage is just fantastic; fresh elderflowers, lemon zest and juice, the steam that comes off when it’s hot is full of flavour. I have a healthy amount of cordial to use in every varying ways so keep your eyes peeled for recipe and drink ideas coming up! There are all sorts of flowers you can use to make different syrups and drinks, including dandelion tea!
If you’ve not been foraging before, check out my quick guide here.
Thank you to Gert and Inglewood for letting me come and pilfer your hedgerows and for making the cordial with me!

Other posts you might like

  • Elderflower and Lemon Ice Lollies
    Elderflower and Lemon Ice Lollies
  • Iced elderflower cupcakes
    Miniature Elderflower Cakes made with Elderflower Sugar
  • Elderflower and Blackcurrant Gin and Tonic bird's eye
    Elderflower and Blackcurrant Gin and Tonic

Filed Under: Cocktails, Drinks, Elderflower, Foraging, Fruit, June, Lemon, Recipes By Month, Seasons, Summer Tagged With: drinks, elderflower, foraging, recipe

« A Trip to Madrid
Elderflower and Blueberry Jelly »

Comments

  1. anna @ annamayeveryday says

    June 25, 2014 at 19:38

    How funny, I made elderflower cordial on Sunday, so delicious and so satisfying. Am going to see if there are anymore elderflowers in their prime so I can make another batch, like the sound of yours with lemongrass….

    Reply
  2. Kitchen Riffs says

    June 25, 2014 at 21:51

    Gosh, this looks so good! What a fun experience being able to make this in a professional kitchen! Really interesting recipe — thanks.

    Reply
  3. rusty duck says

    June 25, 2014 at 22:42

    That sounds sublime.

    Reply
  4. Navaneetham Krishnan says

    June 26, 2014 at 03:10

    I love the flowers too and I’ve been following all your posts related to them. Wish I can find over and yes please, the cordial is simply divine.

    Reply
  5. Bam's Kitchen says

    June 26, 2014 at 05:40

    Perfect drink for this time of the year. We have a very small flower here in China that is part of the mum family that is very fragrant and floral and would also be delicious in this cordial.

    Reply
  6. Medeja says

    June 26, 2014 at 09:13

    Sounds so intriguing! Can’t imagine the taste 🙂

    Reply
  7. grace says

    June 26, 2014 at 11:39

    it’s interesting to note that when i see anything elderflower (which is rare in my state), i think of you!!! this sounds amazing. 🙂

    Reply
  8. Emma @ Fork and Good says

    June 26, 2014 at 13:25

    I just walked past an explosion of elderflower in the field I walk the dog in, I was so tempted to pick some but didn’t know what I’d do with it…. Then this pops up in my feed! WOO!

    Reply
  9. Elzbieta Hester says

    June 26, 2014 at 14:43

    I love the idea of cooking/eating flowers, never tried it though… Your idea just sounds beautiful!

    ela h.
    Gray Apron

    Reply
  10. Shu Han says

    June 27, 2014 at 12:15

    Oh nice! You got down to some elderflower foraging with an expert yourself then huh! And yes elderflower ftw. It’s going out of season just about now, so grab all you can!

    Reply
  11. Jenny @ BAKE says

    June 27, 2014 at 15:14

    that sounds like such a fun day! I love the addition of lemongrass too!

    Reply
  12. Emma @ Bake Then Eat says

    June 27, 2014 at 23:36

    Oh yummy I love the addition of lemongrass in this, nothing beats fresh elderflowers and I bet that kitchen was fun to work in 😀

    Reply
  13. Lucy says

    June 28, 2014 at 10:19

    Elderflower is an absolute favouirte and perfect for summer. I recently went to lush spa that served candy floss in a glass and poured over elderflower cordial yummy Lucy

    Reply
  14. stilblume says

    June 29, 2014 at 13:50

    This is really interesting. Would really love to give it a try. Thanks for sharing 🙂

    Julia

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Elderflower and Lemon Ice Lollies - All That Im Eating says:
    September 8, 2014 at 18:36

    […] will need:Ice lolly mouldElderflower cordial (recipe here but the season is over now so you could use shop bought)Zest of 1 lemonMake up the elderflower […]

    Reply
  2. Elderflower and Blueberry Jelly - All That Im Eating says:
    September 8, 2014 at 18:37

    […] for great entertainment when trying to serve it into smaller bowls. You might have seen I made some elderflower cordial recently and other than trying it with sparkling water in the evenings this elderflower and […]

    Reply
  3. Elderflower and Blackcurrant Gin and Tonic - All That I'm Eating says:
    January 20, 2017 at 13:00

    […] in a gin and tonic. You will need (per drink): 50ml gin 6-7 fresh ripe blackcurrants 15ml elderflower cordial Ice cubes Slice of lemon Tonic […]

    Reply

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Hello I’m Caroline

Welcome to my site All That I’m Eating. You will find inventive recipes using seasonal and foraged ingredients as well as everyday easy meals and a few indulgent recipes too.

I believe humble food doesn’t have to be hum drum so whether you’ve oodles of onions, superfluous sausages or apples aplenty I hope you enjoy having a look around.

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