The Good Life - Elderflower Cordial

Before June slides gently into July it is worth knowing that it is still possible to collect the elderflower heads from the elder tree and make a refreshing cordial. Unfortunately my forays into the hedges and ditches have brought about a few bouts of hay fever which have left my nose streaming and my eyes stinging during the long sunny evenings. I am looking forward to a little light rain as a result!

Elderflowers snipped from the heads ready to be plunged into the warm water

The native Irish Elder tree is called an trom in the Irish language and has a long association with native folklore and old medicinal and herbalist traditions. The Irish Triads, derived from a 14th century manuscript known as the Yellow Book of Lucan, is a record of observations and proverbs and record as follows: three signs of a cursed site are nettles, the corncrake and the elder tree. This is possible a reference to the fact that the elder colonises land quite rapidly and is very visible and recognisable at this time of year by its large bunched heads of simple white flowers with yellow stamens. By now some of the flowers have been pollinated and already small berries are beginning to form.

The ingredients for my cordial are as follows: 25 heads of elderflowers, 1.8 litres of water, 1.3 kilos of sugar, 4 lemons, 50 grams citric acid.

To make the cordial shake any bugs from the heads of the flowers and snip the flowers from the stalks. This may take a little time but your patience will be rewarded! Boil the water and dissolve the sugar into the boiling water. Then add the elderflowers, citric acid and the sliced lemons. I also zest the lemons to get a little more impact from the lemons. If you are not too enthusiastic about the lemon flavour you can use a combination of oranges and lemons. Citric acid can be difficult to find but most eastern food stores stock it under the East End brand name.

This Cordial is good fun to make and also leaves a relaxing scent in your living area. To ensure a long life you should refrigerate the cordial or freeze it. Two jars of cordial I produced, and did not refrigerate, have started to ferment, and I am leaving them to do their thing for a few weeks to see how this experiment develops!