Elderflower Cordial

I told you that I would regale you about the Elderflower Cordial I made for drinks. In America, we generally think of cordials as a flavored alcoholic drink. However, in Europe, cordial simply refers to a syrup that can be mixed with sparkling water, lemonade, or made into cocktails. 

I decided to make Elderflower Cordial for my Midsummer's party because the elderberry figures heavily in folklore about fairies. From sleeping beneath the trees so you can see the fairy troop ride by, to washing your eyes in dew from the flowers to glimpse the beings of the other world, it seemed perfect for my party.

When looking up recipes I found one from Mary Berry. Now, anyone who has ever seen the BBC production of The British Baking Show on public TV knows who Mary Berry is. She is the very dignified elder judge who always tries to say something kind, even if your baking creation looks like a truck ran over it and tastes worse. She really is lovely. And not to say that the bakers don't do well! On the contrary, I am always in awe of their prowess. It is common for the bakers to be told to make a cake from scratch, fill it with jelly that they must make themselves, and then frost and decorate it. I always wonder how many Americans could make a cake from scratch, more or less make their own jelly. I think most of us would founder badly where these Brits shine. Don't get me started on the show or I will blabber all night! Onward and upward people...

I found Mary's recipe and used it, to the exclusion of the Campden tablets she suggested to help preserve it. It called for 25 heads of elderflowers, 3 pounds 5 oz sugar and an equal amount of water, 2 lemons (I had one lime instead), and 1 and 3/4 oz citric acid. You boil the water and sugar till clear and then pour over the flowers and add the citric acid and the sliced citrus fruit. You leave this out on the counter, covered with a cloth for one day.

After that you strain the mix through layers of cheesecloth. A sieve doesn't work well enough alone, because the flowers have such minute stamens that bits get through. I didn't have cheesecloth, but I did have my handy-dandy honey filter.

It did an excellent job and I had a lovely golden syrup all ready to decant into bottles and put in the fridge. I got two bottles and a small jar full from one batch.

Now for the bitter truth. I felt the recipe failed me. Sorry, Ms. Mary! She wrote in the recipe that the citric acid gave a slightly sour note to the cordial. That and the lime I added seemed to completely overpower the floral taste. Mixed with the sparkling water it was just a lovely lemony fizz. Several of my friends remarked they thought there was a subtle undertone of flower, but I suspect they were being kind. 

Stubborn person that I am, I decided to try again. If you look back to my post about making Elderflower Syrup HERE, the recipe is similar to this one in that you make a simple syrup of equal water to sugar. So I used the amount of flower heads and sugar and water that Mary suggested and left out all the other. I then steeped it for two days at room temperature. 

What a difference! When I removed the cloth on the second day I was overwhelmed with the sweet must of the flowers, not citrus. When I tasted it, there was nothing but the true essence of elderflower. If you have ever smelled one, this tastes on the tongue exactly like the scent. Success!  So much so that I raided the dirt roads and byways for enough flowers to make two and a half batches. You can see from above that I made a sheer vat of it. Enough to freeze and later jar to sell at a fair.

So, if you have enough flower heads, follow the above recipe of equal parts 3 pounds 5 ounces of water and sugar and forget all the extras. If you have less flowers or want less cordial, follow my recipe for ELDERFLOWER SYRUP. Same thing.

Get yourself a bottle of sparkling water. I found some that was really fizzy and had just two ingredients. (Since writing this, my son gifted me a SodaStream Machine. It carbonates water for me, at home! Pure, sparhly bliss!)

I just eyeballed the amounts before, but I tried to nail it down for you. Get a small, pretty glass. Put in about 3/4 cup sparkling water and 2 tbsp Elderflower Cordial. Taste this and you will know how to adjust it. If you use all glasses the same size you will be able to just look at them to measure out the amounts for them. It really is an unusual, festive flavor. Delicate, and maybe there is something just a touch magical about it...