Every summer I collect elderflowers to make cordial for my summer drinks. I especially like the cordial with gin and some fresh mint from the garden. To make elderflower cordial is easy…
40 elderflower clusters
4 lemons, sliced
2 kg (just about 4 1/2 lb) sugar
2 liter (8 1/4 cup) water
30 gram citric acid
Pick the flowers. Wash the Elderflowers carefully and separate the tiny flowers from the stalk using a fork or a pair of scissors (optionally if you are lazy you may keep the stalks on). Place the flowers in a bucket together with the sliced lemons. Boil the water and pour in the sugar. When the sugar is dissolved add the citric acid to the water. Pour the sugar mixture over the flowers. Let stand covered for 3-4 days in a cool place. Strain and pour into clean glass bottles. Keep the bottles in a cold place. To store longer I recommend freezing the cordial. Dilute the cordial with still or sparkling water to your own taste.
Another successful treat I make, is to add the flowers or even the cordial as a flavor while curing trout. Its the same method and ratio as when you make gravlax.
Get my Elderflower Cured Trout recipe and read the whole article over at Honest Cooking (published 14 June 2011).
Love the idea of using elderflower cordial to cure gravad lax or trout. Super idea. And lovely drawings as ever.
Thanks Jonathan,
Its really good. It have become a tradition to serve it as a welcoming starter for my midsummer guests. Its lovely with some bubbly.
saw the tweet by saveur magazine and came here! Am i glad i found your site or what??!! Absolutely a delight to go through all those illustrations. Really beautiful! You’ve got a new fan in me 🙂
Thanks Manju,
Great to hear!
I’m looking forward to check your site out! 🙂
So glad to find your blog. It’s so unique and different from all the other blogs I visit. I spent like an hour on your site .. admiring those art of yours. Very talented 🙂
Thanks Kankana!
Waow! I’m deeply flattered! 🙂
So here’s the thing: I totally want to do this…BUT I’m at a loss for where to find Elderflowers. Are they usually found in fields? I have a great farm field a few miles away. Could I find them there? Is there any risk with mistaking them for something else? Thanks…
As always, you’re awesome!
The Food Adventurer: I’m not sure where you are in the world? Elderflower is a bush that grows like a weed. Here in Sweden you often see them at the edges of farmers fields. There are flowers that are very similar and dangerous to eat… but they don’t have the specific smell that the elderflowers have. The smell is very specific and very close to how the cordial taste. I suggest you try to go elderflower hunting with somebody who have done it before. But after your first time you will never forget… (I have done it since i was 7)
Love it! Someday we’ll have to compare. 🙂
Fun to see all your new fans. Hooray!
Best,
Kate
Thanks Kate! We should definitively compare 🙂
I’m sad I can’t go to Sweden this summer, but I’m so happy I can live it through your beautiful site! I’m obsessed with elderflower liqueurs and cordials, so it’s nice to see how it’s used in a savory treatment.
Hope you are having a wonderful summer! I think you should consider opening an Etsy shop for all your wonderful prints. 🙂
Hana
Hi
I LOVE elderflower cordial and I can’t wait to try your recipe out. Just a question: where do you get your citric acid from? Do you squeeze it from the lemons, or?
Thanks!
Adeline
Style fare:
I planing to make some elderflower liqueurs next week. I have never done it so I’m quite excited. I wish you a great summer too (I will probably open my own online shop one day).
Adeline: Very good question! Unfortunate I have no idea. In Sweden you find Citric Acid by the spices. Its a powder in a small bag. I think Citric Acid balance the taste of the cordial with its sourness. Maybe its OK to add more lemons even if they are not as sour.
first time reader. i have to say…I LOVE YOUR BLOG! i try and incorporate drawings in my food blog as well (just started).
i wanted to know if you had any tips or advice you can give a budding artist/food blogger. 🙂
most definitely a big fan now!
This is just perfect Johanna! I’m loving winter here in Sydney, but this makes me miss the Scandinavian summer!
Mat! My best advise is to just keep drawing and cooking :). Looking forward to see how your blog develops!
Hi Maria,
I totally understand that you can miss the Scandinavian summers and elderflower. I just mixed some cordial with Tonic Water and some lemon & mint. Oboy!
I have to say, you guys have the coolest blog ever. Light, fun, fresh, a total joy and surprise to come across yesterday from EcoSalon. I’m sure you’ve been swarmed with visitors in the past 24 hours, but sincerely, I’m super inspired by the creativity. Love this Cordial recipe, but interested in the trout too!
And by “you guys” I mean you, Johanna. Faux-pas much?
Thanks Kelsey! I’m deeply flattered! The cordial is fantastic and I also made some elderflower liquor this summer. It was super!
Dear Johanna,
I love the pictures in the book.
I’m curious are these have copyright protection?
I would like to use the elder flower picture, if I’m loud. 🙂
Hi Veronica, yes all my drawings are copyright protected!