How to make your own Elderflower cordial

Did you know that it’s currently Elderflower season? I didn’t until Belvoir invited me to an event over half term and I learned a little more about elderflower and how they make their delicious cordial. The elderflower season is quite short and if you live near the Belvoir factory they encourage you to pick wild elderflower! You can drop it off and get paid and you also get the satisfaction knowing that you have helped contribute to their delicious Elderflower Cordial!

Sadly we don’t live anywhere near Belvoir but I really wanted to try making our own cordial. Our last garden had a pretty elderflower tree and every year we said we’d try. We never did but when the lovely people at Belvoir gave me a recipe I just had to try it.

So yesterday we went foraging for elderflower in our local park.

Once you know what you’re looking for you’ll realise that it’s everywhere! It’s a beautiful white flower and you just pick off the entire head. Take a bag and gather at least 10 heads. It smells gorgeous!

Then comes the fun part. You really need to make elderflower cordial with the freshest flowers so make sure you have everything you need to start.

To make Elderflower Cordial you will need:

A large mixing bowl
10 large elderflower heads
1 litre boiling water which has cooled
800g granulated sugar
1 lemon, sliced
25g Tartaric Acid

How to make your own Elderflower cordial

Place the sugar in a bowl and pour the boiling water over it, stir until the sugar has dissolved. I couldn’t get hold of any Tartaric Acid so substituted Cream of Tartar but I think you can miss this out completely if you are going to drink the cordial in a few days.

When the mixture has cooled add the sliced lemon and elderflower heads.

Cover with a tea towel and leave for 24 hours, stirring occasionally.

After 24 hours strain the mixture – we used a clean muslin.

The cordial can be stored in a cool, dark place for a few days. Alternatively freeze into ice cubes and use when needed.