Elderflower Cordial Recipe

~ Non alcoholic Elderflower Cordial Recipe  ~
The Elderflowers are in flower in NZ from November-December, the perfect time to collect & make Elderflower Cordial or Champagne in time for Xmas day celebrations, or to giveaway as a Xmas gift.

I make the Elderflower cordial for the whole family to enjoy (without the alchoholic content). This cordial can then be diluted with water or sparkling water to make a refreshing drink on a hot day - remembering that medicinally Elderflower has cooling properties.

I prefer to use local honey rather than sugar in my preserving, I've given instructions for both below.

Here's a very simple & traditional Elderflower Cordial recipe:
~ Bring 600mls of filtered water to the boil
~ Stir in 600 g of sugar or honey and stir until dissolved ***
~ Tip the hot liquid over 12-15 large elderflower heads in a large heatproof glass jar (if you don't have a large enough or heatproof jar, just leave in the pot).
Add a finely sliced lemon + 2 tbsp citric acid
~ Stir well
~ Cover and leave to stand for 24-48 hours
~ After infusion, strain through a fine mesh sieve or muslin cloth into a clean bowl or jar. If there's any floaties, strain again.
~ Bottle in sterilised bottles or glass jars.
~ Store in a cool dark place for upto 3 months or in the fridge. Keep in fridge once open.
~ Drink diluted with water to taste.

Variation ~ feel free to add different herbs for extra flavor, like mint or lemon balm etc.
(note that cordials contain a lot of sugar/honey, which is what preserves the ingredients. To be honest Elderflower doesn't taste very nice on it's own, and I believe it's the sweetness that brings out the beauty of it's flavor).

Because this recipe isn't commercially preserved, keep it refrigerated and use clean utensils when serving.

A note on foraging: always positively identify Elder before harvesting. Avoid gathering from roadsides exposed to traffic pollution, sprayed areas or contaminated sites. Use only the correctly identified flowers, removing all green stems and stalks.

Want to learn more about Elderflower?

My Tree Food & Medicine Foraging Guidebook includes Elderflower. You'll learn how to identify the plants, distinguish them from lookalikes, explore their traditional food and medicinal uses, and make your own recipes.

My Grassroots Herbalism Guide, goes further into making your own herbal preparations and building a home apothecary.