Elderflower Lemon Cordial Recipes

Steps:

• Put the sugar and 1.5 litres/2¾ pints water into the largest saucepan you have. Gently heat, without boiling, until the sugar has dissolved. Give it a stir every now and again. Pare the zest from the lemons using a potato peeler, then slice the lemons into rounds.
• Once the sugar has dissolved, bring the pan of syrup to the boil, then turn off the heat. Fill a washing up bowl with cold water. Give the flowers a gentle swish around to loosen any dirt or bugs. Lift flowers out, gently shake and transfer to the syrup along with the lemons, zest and citric acid, then stir well. Cover the pan and leave to infuse for 24 hrs.
• Line a colander with a clean tea towel, then sit it over a large bowl or pan. Ladle in the syrup - let it drip slowly through. Discard the bits left in the towel. Use a funnel and a ladle to fill sterilised bottles (run glass bottles through the dishwasher, or wash well with soapy water. Rinse, then leave to dry in a low oven). The cordial is ready to drink straight away and will keep in the fridge for up to 6 weeks. Or freeze it in plastic containers or ice cube trays and defrost as needed.

Steps:

• Dissolve sugar in water over a gentle heat, then bring to a simmer. Pour over the elderflower heads with the zest from the lemons - use a potato peeler to get nice wide strips. Slice the rest of the lemons and add to the syrup with citric acid. Stir well, cover and leave for 24 hours in a cool place to infuse. Strain through muslin and pour into sterilised bottles. Once open, refrigerate.

Steps:

• Inspect the elderflower heads carefully and remove any insects. Place the flower heads in a large bowl together with the orange and lemon zest. Bring 6 1/2 cups of water to a boil and pour over the elderflowers and citrus zest. Cover and leave overnight to infuse.
• Strain the liquid through a jelly strainer bag or piece of cheesecloth (see p. 33) and pour into a saucepan. Add the sugar, the lemon and orange juice, and the citric acid, if using. Heat gently to dissolve the sugar, then bring to a simmer and cook for a couple of minutes.
• Use a funnel to pour the hot syrup into sterilized bottles (see p. 125). Seal the bottles with swing-top lids, sterilized screw-tops, or corks.

Steps:

• Fill a large pan with 2 litres water. Add the sugar, lemons, vanilla pod and powder, and bring slowly to the boil. Boil rapidly until the mixture has reduced by half, then remove from the heat.
• Add the elderflowers to the pan and stir gently. Leave to cool completely, then pass through a sieve lined with muslin into another clean pan. Whisk in the vanilla seeds and store the cordial in sterilised bottles with a strip of peel and the vanilla pod added (see tips below). To make a refreshing drink, use 1 part cordial to 5 parts iced water.