[DANSK] Hyldeblomstsaft - It's too late now...

... to make anymore elderflower cordial. At least around here. A mere glimpse is the period when the elderflowers are in bloom. That's how it seems, at least. (okay, so you get peas, and cucumbers and tomatoes, but they don't make elderflower cordial, now do they?)

I only got to make one batch. My first batch, ever, even.

It is so, so good. So if there are still flowers on the trees around where you are, I urge you to make some. I don't care how you get to them - but do get them. Personally, I was found on quiet neighbourhood streets, smuggling a pair of scissors and a large plastic bag around - very discret, as always. And if you didn't make it in time either REMEMBER it next year. Put it in your calender already.

Make the largest batch you can imagine. Then double it. You know you want to. And I'm telling you, you'll regret it if you don't.

Here's the recipe I used, again from Camilla Plum:
-makes about 3 liters which is entirely too little...
40 elderflower bunches
50 g. citric acid
3 lemons
2 kg. cane sugar
2 liters water

Peel the lemons thinly. Cut of the white stuff left on the lemons off, then slice them up. Remove all the seeds (I guess 'cause they'd make the cordial bitter?) Toss the white stuff, keep the zest and the lemon slices.

Cut the flowers from the stalks. Put flowers, lemon, lemon zest and citric acid in a big container - plastic, ceramic - as long as it isn't aluminium and can stand a little heat.

In a large pot bring the sugar and the water to a boil. Pour this mixture over the flowers and lemon.

Leave to steep for at least 3 days and a maximum of 5. Strain (I strained through some cheese cloth as well as a strainer - me no like little bugs) and decant into scalded bottles. I've been told it's smart to use plastic bottles so you can freeze your cordial, as it may ferment if you haven't been religious about your sterilizing (which I for one am not very good at being).

So I now know what I want for Christmas: I want a chest freezer to store elderflower cordial in.

A (perhaps useful link for buying citric acid is here - I gathered from a couple of online searches that it may be hard to find in the US.