Elderflower cordial.

Moth, my Mum made elderflower
' champagne ' happy memories and I agree it was delicious 😋!

Went for a long walk yesterday through the countryside and could not help stopping to sniff the elder flowers which are in full bloom at the moment. So beautiful.

Sounds delicious.
We used to make it occasionally.
My elderflower source disappeared under rubble about two years ago.
The house was bought and renovated and the garden has disappeared.
And no one is living there.

I have a large rural garden and there are elder trees (definitely not ground elder) in the hedges on every side. None planted deliberately, all spread by pigeons eating elderberries along the lane and excreting the seeds. I do use a few flowers, and berries, but I hate the wretched trees, and the mess when the berries drop, they certainly count as weeds in my eyes.

Flowers need to be in the sun, those facing north and shaded all day smell of cat pee!

Well Primrose53 I had no idea it wasn't on the baking shelf.
I do buy it occasionally so thought it was still there!
Pharmacy now then!

I made elderflower champagne and it tasted nice but wasn’t fizzy. I think it was because I didn’t leave enough air at the top of the bottles. Or it could be because I left too much? I can’t remember. I absolutely love seeing elderflower growing in the countryside. A beautiful native tree.

Moth62

Where would I buy citric acid, please?

A pharmacy or Amazon

I buy citric acid on Amazon - can’t get it anywhere locally now. I make elderflower cordial in the summer, elderberry cordial in the autumn and also sloe gin. Last year was a bumper year for sloes. Our elderflowers are not quite ready here yet.

NotSpaghetti

You can find citric acid in the baking section of many supermarkets.

That’s interesting. Last time I tried to buy citric acid none of the supermarkets sold it. I went to a pharmacy and was asked why I wanted it. I was surprised as I had no trouble getting it for years. I said it was for making elderflower cordial and the assistant went out the back, spoke to the pharmacist and then said I could buy some.

I asked what the problem was and was told it was because junkies use it to enlarge their veins before injecting. I was shocked.

Just as an aside Elder is absolutely no use if you want a decent hedge by layering, because it doesn’t respond to cutting like other trees/shrubs. It neither gets bushy or twiggy - just gets wider and shades its neighbouring hedgefellows.

Bit of useless information😄😄

Sarnia - foraging is back in fashion among young people. I have 2 sons who forage for mushrooms, seaweed, shellfish, elderflowers as well as blackberries etc. There are courses available involving foraging and then cooking and eating the produce.

You can find citric acid in the baking section of many supermarkets.

Elders do grow like weeds in some areas it seems to me.

A lot of sugar, but no different from home-made lemonade. It's diluted a lot before drinking and probably better than all tge artificial sweeteners in bought soft drinks.

Citric acid is often available in pharmacies.

I made elderflower cordial for many years and only stopped a few years ago because the amount of sugar needed is horrifying. It is delicious though! I used to add juice of fresh grapefruit to my recipe and picked all the elderflowers from our horse field. I sometimes buy a bottle of cordial but none of them are as good as mine or so my family and visitors tell me.

Whitewavemark2

Elders grow like weeds around here. I have a few that need digging up in the garden. They obviously like chalky soil.

But I love elderflower cordial. To me it is a summer drink.

Sounds like you are talking about ground elder in your garden. Entirely different family to the elder shrub or tree which you use the flowers from to make elderflower cordial.

Elders grow like weeds around here. I have a few that need digging up in the garden. They obviously like chalky soil.

But I love elderflower cordial. To me it is a summer drink.

Sarnia

I wonder if the younger generations forage as I can remember doing as a child in the 50's? My Granny made sloe gin and I can remember picking the berries with her. We would sit at her kitchen table and she would top and tail the berries with a small pair of scissors then I would prick the berries all over with a large needle.
I love elderflower cordial. I might just have a go at this. Thank you.

Yes I regularly meet people round here foraging sloes, elderflower, elderberries & off course, blackberrying.

Moth62

Where would I buy citric acid, please?

I bought some from the whole food chain The Grape Tree, but that was a while ago now.

Just be sure to buy food grade, not the readily available coarser grade used for cleaning.

A few years ago a friend sent me a hamper from Bettys Tea Rooms.
Among many lovely items it contained a delicious elderflower cake.
As it's now the season I will check if they still make it.

I remember Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall making elderflower champagne. The recipe might still be available online somewhere. It seemed a very acceptable drink.

Where would I buy citric acid, please?

I used to forage, sloes, blackberries, wild garlic and sweet chestnuts, my daughter still does, she’s found damsons too.

I don’t know where any elder flowers grow
I never did any foraging as a child apart from blackberry picking I expect it’s whether you have a town or country childhood really