To be quite honest, I would not have come up with the idea of picking elderflowers to make elderflower cordial after, but was fascinated both by the idea, which a good friend of mine came up with last week, of escaping the city centre of London for a day and trying something new.
We met up a few days later to visit Wanstead Flats, where my friend had spotted elderflower trees before, and picked some of the season’s last blossoms. It only requires a few ingredients to make the cordial after, and, stored in the fridge, each bottle can be kept a few weeks. Try a glass of sparkling wine with some cordial, stir it into some (sparkling) water, use it to sweeten and glaze cakes, or make a delicious dessert with the sweet syrup.
I hope you enjoy the little explorer video I have made, and find the full recipe for elderflower cordial below!
Love,
Lea Lou
Elderflower cordial
For 2,5 liters.
4 liters of water
2 kg fructose
3 organic lemons, peeled and sliced
1 vanilla bean, deseeded
40 elderflowers
Add water, fructose, lemon zest and slices and vanilla bean to a large pot, bring to a boil. Allow mixture to reduce by a quarter or a half, depending how thick you like your cordial to be. We found that 30 minutes of cooking was enough for the cordial to have the perfect texture.
In the meantime, wash and drain the elderflowers. Pour syrup over the flowers, add the vanilla pulp and allow to soak and cool.
Drain the cordial through a sieve, then drain it through a kitchen towel.
Fill cordial in bottles, and chill until used. The cordial can be kept up to a week or two in the fridge.
