After a busy season of stirring from long slumbers, the arrival of new life, and the thawing of frozen ground, the elderflower joyfully tells us that summer is approaching. As the sun comes, we’re once again prompted to find mindful moments in our days to slow and appreciate the beauty that surrounds us – to stop and smell the flowers.
Consider this article a call to go one further than admiring the elderflower’s delicate white flowers or complex citrusy aroma. We propose a yearly ritual of procurement and fermentation, with the end to making an elderflower cordial and an elderflower champagne. Not that you needed an extra reason to look forward to summer, of course.
Foraging for elderflower
Where to look
Elderflowers grow on the elder tree, and blossom from late May through June, though they’re best foraged in early June. You’ll find them in woodlands, parks, along hedgerows, and near riverbanks in the UK. As they absorb pollution, it’s best not to harvest them if you’re in a busy city or if the tree is by a road. Gather the flowers on a day when the sun is shining as they’ll have a richer scent and more concentrated amounts of pollen, translating to a bolder, brighter flavour.
How to identify elderflower
Elderflower leaves are a feathered shape, and their edges are lightly toothed. Some varieties also have slight hairs on the undersides along their main veins. The flowers themselves are flat-topped clusters of tiny creamy-white flowers, with five petals on each bud. Their aroma is bright, sweet, and citrusy – summery if you will.
They can be confused with hogweed, but there are three easy ways to tell the difference between hogweed and elderflower. First, hogweed flowers don’t have five rounded petals, instead they are somewhat ragged. Secondly, hogweed flowers don’t have the elderflowers’ white stamens and yellow anthers. Finally, hogweed, like cow parsley (another commonly mistaken plant), grows on stalks from the ground, instead of from the woody branches of the elder tree.
How to pick elderflower
We recommend a gentle and sustainable approach to harvesting. Use a pair of sharp kitchen scissors to clip the flower bunches from the tops of the stems, leaving ample blossoms on each bunch to transform into berries. Be sure to take only what you need, there’s never a reason to strip an entire tree. If you need more, find another tree, there will certainly be one close by.
A recipe for Elderflower Cordial
It works wonders in vinaigrettes; add it to soda for a deliciously refreshing soft drink; combine it with gin, apple juice, mint, and lime, and you’ve quite literally got a garden party.
Ingredients for 2 litres:
- 1 orange (zest and juice)
- 2 lemons (zest and juice)
- 30 elderflower heads (clusters, not individual flowers)
- 2.5 kg sugar
- 1.5 L water
- ½ tbsp citric acid
Equipment you'll need:
- Kitchen scissors
- Stockpot
- Muslin
- 2 sterilised glass bottles (1 L)
- A funnel
Method
Inspect the heads and remove any insects. Then, with your kitchen scissors, remove the stems from the flowers, cutting the flowers into your stockpot. Zest the orange and lemons into the pot. Bring 1.5 litres of water to a boil and pour into the pot. Cover and leave overnight to infuse.
Remove the solids by straining the mixture through a muslin. In the stockpot, bring the liquid to a gentle simmer, add the sugar, the juice of the orange and lemon, and the citric acid. After the sugar is dissolved, turn off the heat and pour the liquid into your sterilised glass bottles. Store in the fridge and enjoy for up to four months.
A recipe for Elderflower Champagne
Two of the finest words to ever meet in the English language. Although not strictly champagne, it is a brightly effervescent alternative, with an ABV of around 11% (similar to that of a vinho verde). The fermenting equipment required is inexpensive and makes the process far less of a faff, so we wholeheartedly recommend the investment.
Ingredients for 10 litres:
- 10 L water
- 1400 g sugar
- 35 elderflower heads
- 5 lemons (zest and juice)
- 5 g champagne yeast
Equipment you'll need:
- Sterilised fermentation bucket (>10 L)
- 10 sterilised glass carbonated drinks-safe bottles (1 L)
- Muslin cloth
Method
Pour the sugar and four litres of hot water into the fermentation bucket and stir until the sugar dissolves. Top up with the remaining cold water and add the elderflower florets, as well as the lemon and orange juice and zest. Activate the champagne yeast by stirring it into a cup of warm water and leave it for five minutes before adding it to the fermentation bucket. Stir the pot well, then place the lid on and leave it to ferment for two weeks. Remove the lid and stir the mixture every two days.
After two weeks, strain the solids out of the mixture by passing it through a muslin cloth, then leave the liquid to ferment for a further week before pouring it into your sterilised glass bottles. If the liquid isn’t fizzy, add 5 ml of simple syrup into each bottle before sealing and storing them in a cool, dark place for two final days. To stop the fermentation, place the bottles in the fridge.
A final cautionary note: the process of fermentation produces carbon dioxide, the build-up of which can cause glass bottles to explode. In the final bottling stage, before moving them to the fridge, we recommend storing the filled bottles away from children and underneath a covering like a cardboard box.