20+ Elderflower Recipes: cordial, liqueur, tea, jelly, cake + more! (2024)

FAQs

Is homemade elderflower cordial good for you? ›

This cordial is packed full of Vitamin C which helps boost the immune system. Sugar is needed to sweeten the cordial but you can replace it with raw honey and experiment with natural unrefined sugars making it much healthier than shop bought cordials.

Elderflower has a woodsy and floral taste, and their sweetness comes out when elderflower is cooked. Photo courtesy of Shadi via Unsplash. Compared to elderflower, elderberry has a more intense taste: woodsy and floral, with a dark flavor that can be bitter and earthy when the fruit is consumed raw.

With a little tasting and tweaking, it'll work in place of elderflower liqueur in concoctions as diverse as the Yellow Jacket or Watermelon Crawl. Elderflower cordial is a natural companion for sparkling wine—add a little cordial to your bubbly along with some gin and a lemon slice for a twist on the French 75.

HOMEMADE ELDERFLOWER CORDIAL

Finely grate in the lemon zest and add the elderflower upside down, making sure the flowers are completely submerged. Squeeze in the juice from one of the lemons, then slice the other and add it to the pan, too. Pop the lid on and leave to one side to infuse for 24 hours.

Elderflower is POSSIBLY UNSAFE when used in excessive amounts. Some parts of the elderflower plant contain a cyanide-producing chemical which can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Cooking removes this chemical. Not enough is known about the safety of applying elderflower directly to the skin.

As with all things Elderflower, I advise removing the thick stems from the flowers and as many of the little stems as you can be bothered to remove. The more stem left in whatever you're making, the greener the final result will be. And the greener it is, the more bitter it may become.

Special Precautions and Warnings

The combination product can cause digestive system upset and sometimes allergic skin rash. Elderflower is POSSIBLY UNSAFE when used in excessive amounts. Some parts of the elder tree contain a cyanide-producing chemical which can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

This quarantees the easy mixability with sparkling wine/Champagne, or enjoyed chilled by itself!

Elderflower tends to mix better with light-coloured fruits such as pear, apple and white grapes. Strong berry flavours such as raspberry, blackberry and blackcurrant can overwhelm elderflower liqueurs with only its honeyed sweetness contributing to such drinks, its floral flavours smothered by these dark fruits.

Why use citric acid in elderflower cordial? The addition of citric acid simply prevents the cordial from fermenting and acts as a preservative. You can buy citric acid for cordial online in a number of sizes depending on how you choose to use this versatile product.

Why has my elderflower cordial gone fizzy? ›

There is enough yeast in the flowers of the elderflower to cause it to ferment, go fizzy and become (very slightly) alcoholic. The solution is to freeze your cordial in small batches, and defrost as and when you need it.

St‑Germain is a French liqueur made with fresh elderflowers, hand-picked once a year in the late spring.

Elderflower has antibacterial and antiviral properties and may also help alleviate some allergies and boost the functioning of the immune system. Topically, elderflower might help reduce pain and swelling in joints due to some forms of arthritis and is used to stop bleeding.

Exploding bottles

Essentially elderflower champagne is still fermenting. The bubbles are formed when the yeast “eats” the sugar forming alcohol and carbon dioxide. This gas can build up in the bottle and as it has nowhere to go the build-up of pressure can cause an explosion.

It's worth noting that ready-mixed sparkling elderflower cordial (AKA elderflower pressé) mostly comes in at more than 150 per cent the sugar level of its sister brand of cordial, so Belvoir and Bottle Green have 18.5g sugar per glass of pressé, but only 10.5g for a glass of cordial.

So, while a fruit cordial makes water more enjoyable thanks to the fruity flavour and sugar, fermented cordials like JIN JIN have wonderful health benefits. They're not only healthier because they create low-sugar drinks, but they also have a positive impact on your digestive system.

Add a dash of cordial to your water A small amount of cordial in your water is a healthier alternative to drinking a sugar-sweetened soft drink or fruit juice. Diet cordials have less added sugar again.