A sticky end to a sweet time!

After a lovely jaunt with the ever so sweet Ragged Roses a few weeks ago, a plan was hatched to go hunting and a making of the popular Elderflower Cordial!
Buckets and secateurs in hand we escaped to our favourite hunting ground. May I point out that wearing short cropped trousers was NOT a sensible idea, elderflowers like to grow in the centre of stinging nettle circles! Really! A stick and a pair of ladders would have been a good idea too, but where there's a will there's a way! ouch......


With blossom in our buckets and on our noses we settled down to the familiar Bakery treat and a taste of what we anticipated to be the nectar of our rewards!


Do you know, people like to take strolls around our land! Tut tut, really we shouldn't allow it! If only this glorious place was ours, we have already moved into the grand house at the bottom of the hill and planted our lavender farm. With a striding struggle back up the hill, past the orchids and peacocks! (sorry Kim!) saving the national park mending gates, we headed back to base.


With all the nattering, picking and giggling we realised we had to make this heavenly drink! Thank goodness we had the help of this recipe. With doubling quantities here and replacing ingredients there we did get a little confused.



Shaking the blossom in the garden desired a bit more brain cells, was that 20 flower heads...21.... no 30? Oh lets say 50!




Kim did a fantastic job of stirring the HUGE amount of sugar and water in the preserving pan that my mother so kindly has given me! (I can see a lot of Jam and Chutney making on the horizon).





Lemons zested and chopped! Oh what a lovely scent. Had we picked the right blossom or were we going to get Cat pee?

Wafts here and there were chased around the kitchen, ''yes I can smell elderflower..... just here.....no, no, er, over here!?''
The magic ingredient 'CITRIC ACID' oh my, talk about gold dust, was added! That Kim is a canny lady, if you want your citric acid, she's ya lady, nudge nudge, say no more!



Any way, I night was spent fingers crossed waiting for the filtering and bottling! Did we have Elderflower cordial?..........................................
OH YES WE DO!
With added sparkling water and a few ice cubes we giggled and giggled drunk on the spirit of a summer to come!


As we have made vast amounts, Kim and I would love to hear your uses for Elderflower cordial that we could try and in return a lucky person will receive some summery goodies to help us celebrate!
Chin chin me dears......
just need to go and clean all the sticky sweet residue that 2 bloggers ave left in my kitchen!








Comments

Hmm, hmm, hmmmmmm... you might have to come over with some :) x
Ragged Roses said…
Oh dear I'd forgotten all about the peacocks and the blossom on our noses we had so much fun there is just too much to remember!!!!! Thank you thank you Mapp dear for such a wonderful couple of days, and for coping with all my giggling in the kitchen. Hope too all the stickiness has disappeared. I'm planning rows and rows of elderflower bushes on our farm now too ...
Kimxxxx
Unknown said…
Can I come round and have some...with my usual beer? Hey, an elderflower shandy!!!
ATELIER said…
Yum yum - made blackberry cordial last year which was fab. Mmmm may have to go hunting for elderflower now ... will remember to wear long trousers and take a big stick!
meplusmolly said…
oooo lovely! haven't ever tried to make elderflower cordial, always been surrounded by plenty of the trees though! ;0 x
Sarah said…
haven't made cordial, but did make some gooseberry and elderflower jam last weekend and that is heaven. I've never used Elderflowers before and didn't realise how fragrant and strong they were!
Hatastic! said…
What a lovely blog! Heres a suggestion - try your yummy cordial in a saucy cocktail called Elderflower Fizz! 2 shots brandy, half shot cordial and then top up with lemonade...mmmmm! xx
Sounds fab! I keep looking at flowers I think may be elderflower and wondering what would happen if I used them and they weren't . . . !
treaclezoo said…
elderflower jelly, with summer fruits!!! yummy yum yum ...!
Aleximo said…
I made some cordial last week too. It's really nice if you use it to make icing for vanilla cupcakes. You can even sprinkle a few of the delicate flowers on top to make it a really summery treat! xXx
P.S. I'm going to attempted Elderflower Champagne next year.
meplusmolly said…
Hello again! Just to let you know that I've awarded the 'Love Ya' award on my blog ;0
Tracy x said…
sounds as if you had a wonderful time!
i love elderflower cordial poured over a fruit salad with a few elderflower head fritters on the side - yummy x
t x
Tina Peacock said…
You can use it with honey, wine, mustard & garlic to glaze Roast Lamb! x
You have to watch that Lucia... she is a little minx when it comes to anything in a bottle!!
Sounds like a great day out and with the added bonus of some sublime syrup at the end of it..

I made some elderflower champagne this week.. it remains to be seen if it resembles champagne in any way.. or in fact, if it is quaffable..

I'll keep you posted.

Michele xx
That looks absolutely delightful, thanks for a little peek into your elderflower enterprises!

I've totally learnt my lesson with stinging nettle after a particularly bad experience in Normandy when I insisted we stop the car so I could pick wildflowers by the side of the road! xx
Sandie said…
Just found your blog, love your work.
Sandie at Rag Rescue.
Wonderful recipe, I love elderflower and am lucky enough to have several growing around the house.
Isabelle x
the homely year said…
Noreen makes elder flower cordial too. It just tastes of summer. And there's been loads of blossom this year, hasn't there?
Margaret and Noreen
Two weeks on.. my elderflower champagne is highly explosive and very quaffable indeed. It is a miracle how a bucket of cold water, 12 elderflower heads, 1kg of sugar, some wine vinegar and lemon juice can turn so quickly in to a very fizzy refreshing drink.. problem is it has nearly all gone!

Elderflower cordial is wonderful as a Spritzer with a big tumbler of ice cold soda water, crushed ice and a dash of lemon..

Michele x

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