Elder Flower Cordial

I talk all the time how I have a love/hate for online writing and sharing. Like currently while I’m writing this, it’s 3:30 in the morning, and I’m sharing photos that don’t match my current state. Heck, I won’t even share this post for a couple more weeks. At one point, these photos were real and I drank them with my gentleband. We talked about putting alcohol in them and then he downed the bottle of pelligrino. I love sharing here, and I know that people don’t often come here because people are more interested in social media photos than my actual written words. But, these recipes are here!

I had been wanting to do something special with elder flower. I didn’t know what, but I knew that it was growing all over the place. The only time I’ve really had elder flower was in a drink. I figured I should just make my own drink, something simple just to see if I’d enjoy it.  We did enjoy it, and it was a very easy drink to make. We ended up making a simple syrup with the elder flower mixed it with crushed ice, San Pelligrino, and long slices of cucumber. This recipe makes a lot of simple syrup, so we got creative the rest of the week. I made an orange loaf that I soaked in the syrup. I’d easily make another batch of this syrup and gift it to friends. Elder flower is growing all over the place where I am.

I’ve also been working on my photography and editing. I’ve been watching a ton of videos. I think I’m getting better, but I do know I need to work on how to edit to what I want my style to look like. Man, if I would have known that food photography was a real deal I would have been learning that 7 years ago. 

When researching this recipe, I didn’t quite understand the difference between a cordial and a simple syrup. Every time I’d look up cordial it was always alcohol. But then when I added Elder Flower in front of it the recipes had zero alcohol. I found one blog explain it beautifully. “The only difference (simple syrup and cordial) is the places where each term is used. My compatriots are more likely to say syrup, while our friends across the pond and down under are partial to the cordial. Regardless of what you call it, it is sugar dissolved in water and seeped with these aromatic elder flowers.”  

This cordial is so easy to make and with elder flowers all over the place; I don’t see why you shouldn’t make it! I think my next drink choice would be a fizzy elder flower lemonade.

10 Elder Flower heads

2 Lemons

1 Liter Boiling water

1/3 Cup honey (I used a wildflower honey)

What you need to do!

∙trim any excess stems off the flower and clean. There are some fun bugs in them. These flowers are super delicate so I gently soaked them in water then sprayed them off.

∙Peel the lemon rind into long strips and add to bowl along with the juice of the lemon

∙Boil water and pour of flowers and lemon

∙Cover with a cheese cloth or linen and let steep over night

∙In the morning strain flowers and lemons out.

∙Add to pot with honey till honey is dissolved

∙tada