Summer is officially here which means long days of sunshine (hopefully!), days out with the family and infinite hours spent outside. So what could be better then combining two ultimate tastes of Summer to create a sweet and refreshing cordial for you to sip on during those hot days?
For me Elderflower marks the start of Summer and the scent is one of my favourites, so combining that with another favourite Summer crop of strawberries seemed to be a match made in heaven. And believe me… the smell of this cordial is amazing! I headed up to the little purple potting shed to get the kettle on and to start making, so there should be a corresponding video on Youtube very soon too! Cordial’s are one of the easiest and most satisfying drinks to make, they not only taste great with lemonade and water but you can add them to so many more recipes like cake mixtures and jam’s etc. So if you have any elderflower still in bloom where you are head on out to pick some, you’ll soon be addicted!
Strawberry and Elderflower Cordial:
To make approximately 4 x 500ml bottles
Ingredients:
- 800g strawberries
- 25 elderflower heads
- 2 lemons
- 2 limes
- 1.8kg caster sugar
- 50g citric acid
- 1 litre of water
Equipment needed:
- Large bowl
- Funnel
- Bottles
- Muslin cloth
Instructions:
- Hull and halve the strawberries and slice the lemons and limes, place in a large bowl with the sugar and citric acid.
- Bring the water to the boil and pour into the bowl, stir until the sugar has dissolved.
- Leave to cool then add the elderflower heads, store and cover with a clean cloth before placing in the fridge for a day or two.
- Strain through a muslin cloth, squeezing the fruit and flowers as you do to release more flavour.
- Using a funnel transfer the mixture into bottles, it will keep for 2 weeks.
