Fiona’s traditional elderflower cordial recipe
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Cordials and Syrups | 181 comments
Photo: Elderflower blossoms in the sun - best picked for cordial
It’s elderflower cordial recipe season once again!
Yesterday afternoon I found myself up a tall ladder with a carrier bag, picking elderflower heads. I picked about fifty heads. They are best picked when the sun is on them. I climbed higher and higher to find exactly what I wanted. They had to be perfect with no trace of brown blossom. According to Joanna’s Food brown blossom can foul the cordial.
My sister brought a similar recipe back from France. Since I introduced Danny to elderflower and pink grapefruit cocktail, it seemed a good idea to make my own cordial tweaking the recipe to suit my taste.
There is a printable recipe card below the post!
There seem to be as many uses for elderflower cordial as recipes. Apart from adding a splash to fruit fools and pies, it can be added to a vinaigrette dressing, and apparently is delicious with chicken breasts. Determined to experiment I made double the quantity below. I poured my cordial into warm sterilised bottles and sealed them immediately with corks. They keep well in a cold area of the barn – we often are finishing the last bottle of cordial as the new flowers open on the trees. I also freeze some syrup, just in case.
Other elderflower recipes that my interest you:
Fiona’s Elderflower and Lemon cordial
Judy’s Elderflower and Lime Jellies
Fiona’s Elderflower and Raspberry Jellies
| Fiona’s traditional elderflower cordial recipe |
- 1.5 litres of boiling water
- 1 kilo of white granulated sugar
- 20 large elderflower heads (if they are small, pick more)
- 4 lemons
- 55g of citric acid
- In a Pyrex bowl (or deep saucepan) pour the boiling water onto the sugar and stir. Leave to cool, stirring every now and then to dissolve the sugar.
- When cool add the citric acid, the lemons (zested and sliced) and the elderflower heads.
- Leave to steep for 48 hours.
- Strain twice through sterilised muslin (how do I sterilise muslin? See Tips and tricks below)
- Using a jug and funnel carefully pour into hot sterilised bottles (how do I sterilise bottles? See Tips and tricks below)
Tips and tricks:
How do I sterilise a jelly bag or muslin square?
Both can be scalded with boiling water. If you are using a clean muslin bag or square you can iron them with a hot iron. This also works with tea cloths.
How do I sterilise bottles?
The sterilising method that we used is simple. Just before making the syrup, I quickly wash and rinse the bottles and place them upside down in a cold oven. Set the temperature to 160c (140c fan-assisted). When the oven has reached the right temperature I turn off the heat. The bottles will stay warm for quite a while. Sterilise the lids by boiling these for a few minutes in water.
Leave a reply
Brilliant thanks for that.
Do you have to pick them when they are whitey colour or can you wait untill they are purpley/black
Hi George
Leave them until they are purpley/black 🙂
Hi George
They are ripe in the autumn.
What time of year are the elderberries ready to be picked?
Do you dilute this cordial or drink it neat??
Hi Sheddite
You dilute it with water.
I make my Elderflower Cordial with sliced lemons, oranges (or satsumas) and limes – it adds an extra fruity tang to it.
Hi Judy,
I’ve been making elderflower cordial for years using a very similar recipe (the main difference being that I don’t zest the lemons) – so I thought I’d share something with you..
* Elderflower and Lemon Marmalade *
When I bottle the cordial I usually have a small amount of cordial left over and, of course, there is the lemon/flower mix left in the muslin bag. So, rather than waste anything I separate (as far as possible!) the lemons from the flowers and then chop them (can be done in a food processor).
Put lemons in a pan, together with 2 pints of liquid (I add water to the left over cordial to make 2 pints)
Boil till lemons are cooked (liquid reduced by about half is a good guide) and then add sugar. (The amount of sugar depends on the amount of cordial in the liquid mix – I find that 2 pints of water needs 2lb of sugar whereas 1 pint cordial 1 pint water only needs a pound of sugar.
Then you just boil it, as for any other jam, till the setting point is reached, bottle it and enjoy!
I was wondering if anyone knows a recipe for using dried flowers as it is now too late for fresh ones. I would love to try it
These comments are really brilliant. I got myself prepared and went to pick the elderflowers, there are heaps growing near where I live, but every single one smelt rank, in fact if I leave my bedroom window open the smell blows in and it smells like sweaty underwear! I didn’t really fancy making the cordial after that. However there are loads of linden/lime trees and the linden tree blossoms smell heavenly. Has anyone any experience of making linden/lime tree blossom cordial? If not I am going to try it anyway, using this receipe and substituting.
Really enjoyed reading these comments, lots of great advice – thanks
We have been making Elder Flower Champagne for a few years now and have our buckets brewing now – we are in Scotland so still have plenty of flowers. My only piece of advice is never never use plastic bottles – we had a nasty experience with exploding bottles one hot summer – champagne dripping from the ceiling and walls at 3AM – was not funny at the time 🙂 We now user screw top wine bottles – easy to sterilise and just the right size.
Going to make some cordial this weekend thanks to all of your helpful advice and yummy cocktail suggestions 🙂
Has anyone tried drying elderflowers or making cordial with dried flowers. I have a mushroom and fruit dryer that I’m sure could be put to good use to make up fresh batches later in the year when the weather is cooler. Had I known, I would have prepared mine in the fridge, our house is too warm at this time of year.
I spotted some dried flowers in the wine making shop today when I went in for some campden tablets as the recipe I used said to use them. Don’t know if there was much point as the brew was already beginning to fizz. I’m assuming it will still be drinkable, just alcoholic, although once watered down I can’t imagine it would be very strong.