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You are here: Home / Beverages / Juices & Lemonades / Elderflower Cordial with Lemon Zest

Elderflower Cordial with Lemon Zest

June 7, 2015 By Gloria 10 Comments

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Please note that this post contains affiliate links of products that I love and use. This rewards me with a small commission if you choose to buy through the links and none of this will cost you anything – but it does help me pay the bills and deliver you quality content. – Love, Gloria.

Early summer always means happy days in my book. Late afternoons in the garden, long walks in the park and foraging for flowers. Elderflowers to be precise. They smell intensely fragrant and serve as far more than just a lovely room scent. To be fair their smell alone is a reason to pick them but for me the reasons are more of a culinary nature. The time to pick elderflowers is now, so get out there!

Elderflower Cordial

I love making liqueur and jellies out of them but let’s start with the most traditional use: the elderflower cordial. There are dozens of variations and recipes out there but over the years I made my own. One of the biggest differences is that I actually take the time to cut the flowers off the stems. Most people just use the entire flower heads but I prefer to remove as much stem as possible. It gives a much nicer flavour and reduces the chance of any aftertaste. 

Elderflower Cordial

You might feel tempted to reduce the sugar, trust me I tired. This is as low as you can take it without ruining the flavour. It might sound like a very excessive amount but it is needed. The taste clings to the sugar, not the water. Without it you will have an immensely disappointing cordial. There are recipes which call for almost the double amount I used so you will just have to try and see what works for you and always keep in mind that this is not consumed in a pure form. It is diluted in water and should never be used to hydrate yourself during the day but rather as a treat with lots of ice in whatever drink you might fancy.

Elderflower Cordial

If you’re more of the adventurous type you could try pouring it over strawberries or adding it to baked goods or ice cream or try it as extra ingredient in various drinks. Kids love it in lemonade but you can just as well serve it as very sophisticated drink with gin on ice.

Elderflower Cordial

 

Elderflower Cordial with Lemon Zest

Course: Cordial
Cuisine: Vegan
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 2 l (9 cups)
Author: The Greedy Vegan
A deliciously fragrant elderflower cordial recipe that makes a great drink and goes well with fruit salads or can be used as ice pop flavour. Ingredients are listed as: metric ( imperial )
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • Yields 2 L of cordial
  • 1 1/2 L 6 cups of water
  • 150 g 5 1/2 oz of elderflowers without stems, about 35 heads
  • 1 kg 5 cups of golden sugar
  • 6 lemons
  • 1 orange

Instructions

  • Collect only fresh flower heads and make sure the tiny buds have just opened and use them the same day. This is important because the lovely fragrance will turn into bitterness if you wait too long. Also do not wash the flower heads because you will lose too much flavour. I dedicated an entire post to picking these since you can confuse them with other plants. If you are new to elderflowers go have a look here.

  • Make sure to look through them carefully and remove any insects. While doing so make sure to remove unopened buds and any flowers that are not perfectly fresh. They will otherwise spoil the taste. When you are done with this the most labour intense task is done. Zest the lemons and the orange and squeeze them out.

  • Bring the water and sugar to a boil and remove from the hot stove top. Add the flowers, zest and juice from the lemons and oranges and give it a stir. Cover with a tight fitting lid or plate and leave to steep over night.

  • Strain through a fine mesh sieve and pour into bottles or mason jars. It keeps in the fridge for about 4-6 weeks. For later use you can also freeze it in containers or freeze it in ice cube trays. The season for elderflowers is from May through June, so it is best to be quick with collecting them.

 

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Filed Under: All Recipes, Beverages, Juices & Lemonades

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. veggie.mom says

    June 8, 2015 at 9:54 pm

    I know you already wrote you can not use less sugar and I have seen those other recipes you talk about. The amount of sugar is sheer madness. Do you think the sugar can be replaced with agave or anything similar? And if so in which quantities? Also how long does it last when you freeze it?

    Reply
    • Gloria says

      June 8, 2015 at 9:57 pm

      I know it seems like a lot of sugar. Just keep in mind that you water it down a lot. It is a tablespoon on a regular tall glass (2cups). I think you could replace the sugar with agave but I have not tried it myself yet so can’t give you any quantities. I can tell you it does not work with artificial sweeteners or stevia. I tried it. I will be collecting more flowers next week though so could give the agave version a go and keep you posted. =)

      Reply
  2. Tamara says

    July 19, 2015 at 9:47 pm

    I never made this myself and the season for flowers is over. I feel so gutted now. Can I make this out of the berries as well or do I need to wait for next year? =(

    Reply
    • Gloria says

      July 22, 2015 at 11:27 am

      For the flower cordial yes. Sadly. You will have to wait. You can make cordial out of the berries but it will be dark red, almost purple. And won’t taste anything like it. Set an alarm in your phone for next year. You’d laugh if you saw my yearly notifications. They range from picking flowers to mushrooms and I even have reminders for planting flower bulbs and seeds. =)

      Reply
  3. Michaela says

    July 25, 2015 at 10:33 pm

    My grandmother used to make this and she always added cherries for colour. She loved pink drinks! =D

    Reply
  4. Abigail says

    July 26, 2015 at 12:31 pm

    I hate that I have to wait almost a year to try to make this. I definitely need to set a reminder!

    Reply
  5. DiabeticSam says

    May 18, 2016 at 3:31 pm

    5 stars
    Being a diabetic I found your recipe much better than others due to the lowered sugar content

    Reply
    • Gloria says

      May 18, 2016 at 3:33 pm

      Glad you liked it. – G

      Reply
  6. Peter Edenbridge says

    May 26, 2016 at 12:55 pm

    5 stars
    Had this with gin and tonic and I absolutely loved it

    Reply
    • Gloria says

      May 26, 2016 at 3:51 pm

      It is heaven with gin! I go as far as freezing cubes of the cordial just for that purpose. – Love, G.

      Reply

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