I am a huge fan of anything elderflower, with its delicious smell and sweet taste. When I recently discovered several bushes near my house I knew it was time to try my hand at making my own cordial.

What you will Need

15-20 Elderflower heads

3 Lemons

2.5 Litres of cold water

600g Granulated sugar

50g Citric acid

Bunch of mint

How to Make

If you look around you can quite easily spot elderflower trees, with their creamy white flowers and sweet scent. I have walked past a tree near my house for 8 years not realising it was an elderflower. Snip the flower head off the tree, be careful not to lose the pollen. Try not to take too many elderflower heads from the same tree as the flowers grow into berries so will become food for the birds.

Once home, do not wash the flowers, just give them a gentle shake, remove any brown flowers and check them for bugs, as a natural product straight from the tree, there will be little bugs but these can easily be removed. Trim off as much of the green stem as possible.

In a large pan add the water, elderflower heads & citric acid. Use a potato peeler to zest the lemon, slice the lemons, and add it to the mixture. Turn on the heat and bring to a boil.

Turn off the heat, add the mint to the pan, stir, then cover the pan with a tea towel, leave to sit for 24 hours.

Prepare your glass bottles by popping them in the dishwasher or wash them with warm soapy water.

Over a large bowl, place a muslin cloth in a sieve and strain the mixture into the bowl. Squeeze the muslin to get out the extra juice then discard the contents of the muslin cloth.

Bring the mixture to the boil again and add the sugar, stir till dissolved, turn off the heat and leave to cool. Take your glass bottles and fill with boiling water for a few minutes, empty out the water, then use a funnel to fill your bottles before sealing closed.

This elderflower, lemon, and mint cordial will keep for a month and is best kept in the fridge so it is nice and cool. When ready to drink, dilute it 1 part cordial to 5 parts water. You can mix it up by using sparkling water or soda.

I really enjoyed making my own cordial, it was really easy and made 5 bottles so I gifted some to friends. I added some of the cordial to a glass of prosecco which was a lovely addition. June is the best time for elderflower picking, you still have some time but it doesn’t hang around for long so make sure you get out there picking!

Thanks for taking the time to check out my Elderflower, lemon, and mint cordial recipe, as always if you make them please tag me on @i_heart_maggie  for Instagram or @IHeart_Maggie on twitter.

Love

Claire X