Elderflower Cordial
Elderflower cordial is a fragrant non-alcoholic syrup made with foraged elderflower heads, sugar, lemon, and citric acid. Mix it into seltzer, lemonade, or summer cocktails. It's ready in about 24 hours.
Servings: 64 servings, makes about 8 cups
Equipment
- Funnel
Ingredients
- 25 large fresh elderflower heads or dried, see notes
- 6 cups sugar
- 6 cups water
- 2 tbsp citric acid
- 3 large lemons unwaxed, sliced thin, including zest
Instructions
- Snip the individual elderflower blossoms off the stems into a large heatproof bowl or half-gallon mason jar, pulling off as much of the green stem as you can. Discard the stems.
- Combine sugar and water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar fully dissolves and the syrup is clear, then bring to a brief simmer and remove from heat.
- Let the syrup cool for about 15 minutes off the heat. You want it warm but not boiling when it hits the flowers.
- Add the sliced lemons and citric acid to the bowl with the elderflowers. Pour the warm syrup over and stir gently, pressing flowers and lemons down so everything is submerged.
- Cover loosely and steep at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, for 24 hours. For stronger flavor, extend up to 48 hours, but no longer.
- Strain through a fine mesh strainer, pressing gently on the solids to extract every drop of syrup. For a clearer cordial, run a second pass through cheesecloth.
- Bottle in clean glass bottles and refrigerate. Use within 4 to 6 weeks.
Notes
Citric acid: The 2 tablespoons give the cordial its sharp tartness, help pull flavor from the flowers, and push the refrigerator shelf life from about 1 to 2 weeks to 4 to 6 weeks. Without it, use the juice of 2 more lemons (5 total) and expect more lemon flavor and a shorter shelf life.
The 48-hour limit: Don't steep longer than 48 hours at room temperature. If you can't strain on time, move the whole jar to the fridge until you can. If a flat white film forms on top, skim it off. If you see fuzzy or colored mold, throw out the whole batch.
Foraging safety: The flowers are the only part of the elder that goes into this cordial. The leaves, stems, bark, and unripe berries carry more cyanogenic glycosides than the flowers and can cause nausea and stomach upset, so snip the blossoms off the stems and pull off as much of the green stem as you can. Forage Sambucus canadensis or Sambucus nigra; don't use red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa). Forage from unsprayed plants well away from busy roads.
Picking: Pick on a sunny morning when the heads are creamy white, fully open, and visibly dusted with pollen. Don't wash; just shake gently to dislodge insects. Washing strips pollen, which carries most of the flavor.
Storage: Refrigerator only, 4 to 6 weeks with citric acid (1 to 2 weeks without). There's no tested canning process for flower syrups, so it isn't shelf stable. To keep longer, freeze in plastic bottles (with headspace for expansion) or in ice cube trays.
Dried flowers: Use 1 cup dried elderflowers in place of the 25 fresh heads. The cordial comes out less aromatic.
To use: Stir 1 to 2 tablespoons into a glass of seltzer, or splash into lemonade, iced tea, or cocktails.
Nutrition
Serving: 2tbsp | Calories: 74kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 0.03g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.001g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.002g | Sodium: 0.2mg | Potassium: 4mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 0.03mg