Elderflower and Lemon Cordial - Recipe by Westerly Isbaih

Ingredients

15–20 fresh elderflower heads
60mL (1/4 cup) good-quality wildflower honey
500 g (2 1/2 cups) caster sugar
2 lemons (preferably Meyer and unwaxed)

Method

Carefully snip the elderflowers into a bowl, leaving as much of the stem behind as possible. The pollen of the flowers is very fragrant so you want to capture that along with the flowers.

Place the honey, sugar and 1 litre of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat.

Squeeze the juice from one of the lemons into the pan, then roughly chop the squeezed lemon and add to the pan.

Using a paring knife or vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the other lemon in long strips and add to the pan with the elderflowers and any pollen, ensuring all ingredients are submerged. Cover with a lid and leave in a cool dark place to infuse for 24 hours.

Strain the cordial through a sieve lined with muslin into a clean jug ready to pour into sterilised glass bottles or jars.

To serve, pour some of the cordial into a glass and top with sparkling or soda water and a slice of lemon. For a delicious alcoholic beverage, top with Prosecco or sparkling wine, or add to a gin and tonic.

Tip:

When choosing elderflower heads, make sure they are young, fresh and not browned. If you can’t find any in your area, use lemon myrtle, wild fennel, verbena or even rosemary, thyme andbay leaves to add a wonderful savoury note to your cordial.

Credits: Two Good Co

Photo Credits: Two Good Co