Elderflowers...champagne, wine and cordial

May and June sees the Elder  trees around us in Charente in full blossom. The blossoms are  beautiful delicate little bunches of flowers. They are known for probably having more uses than any other single species of blossom.

Its useful that the Elder tree is very prolific so its very easy to find a plentiful supply of the blossom....the flowers are best picked on a sunny morning.
Try not to strip the tree and leave some blossom to become the elderberries...the fruits are later in July and August.

It has been said that the elderflowers can be eaten straight from the tree...mmm...not fancied or tried that one so I can't comment.

The flowers can be put in the base of a glass and pour over white wine or lemonade. The flowers will fragrance the drink.
You can also just flavour some water with them.....pour boiling water over the flowers and leave to cool. Then remove the flowers and filter the liquid. Serve cold with ice cubes.

DEEP FRIED ELDERFLOWERS

Deep fried flower bunches are delicious and easy. All that is needed is a thin batter of 4 tablespoons of plain flour, one egg and water to mix. Make sure your elderflower heads are clean of bugs....just give them a shake. Never wash them as this removes the fragrance.
Dip the flower heads by their stalks into the batter...strain off any excess ..and then plunge into the hot oil and deep fry till golden. Eat immediately! You will want to anyway!!!!


ELDERFLOWER CHAMPAGNE

The most popular use for the flowers is to make champagne, sparkling wine or cordial.
There are may different recipes for the champagne but the one I have tried is from the Jonathan Wallace....Self sufficient in Suburbia site. This one needs to be left for ten weeks before it is ready to drink...it uses a lot more elderflowers than some and a lot less sugar.
It seems the ones that are ready to drink quicker have more sugar. I have not tried any others...and it will now be another 6 weeks before mine is ready so I can't yet comment on the quality..

I am really hoping this lives up to its reputation!!!!

you will need....

a 20 litre bucket with a lid
a carrier bag of elderflower bunches
juice and grated rind of 8 lemons
3 kgs of sugar
2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar.

Grolsch style bottles

Fill the bucket with cold water
Add the sugar and stir till dissolved.
Add all the other ingredients.
Stir well and leave with the lid on for 2 days

Strain well through a clean  muslin cloth or jelly bag.
Pour into sterilised jars and securely cap.

You may need to release the lid every so often as the champagne fizzes up......the bottles need to be strong glass or they may explode!!!

Leave for 10 weeks......I will let you know how this works out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


ELDERFLOWER CORDIAL

you will need

1.5kg of sugar
20 elderflower heads
4 sliced lemons
1.8 litres of water
60 g of citric acid

Bring the water and sugar to boil in a large lidded pan
When it is cool add all the other ingredients and leave for 36 to 48 hours
Strain the liquid then heat it in a pan for about 5 minutes.
Pour into sterilised bottles

As this is a fresh mixture with no added preservatives it will only keep 2 to 3 weeks once the bottle is open(keep in the fridge). It may be wiser to use smaller bottles to prevent waste...depending on how quickly you think you would use it..
Some people actually put it into small plastic bottles and freeze it......however I avoid using plastic bottles wherever possible.



So that's the flowers...now we have the wait for the berries!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!