Summer in a glass. This Elderflower Cordial is a lemony floral, refreshing drink with hidden health benefits. You can enjoy it as a spritzer or straight up with lots of ice cubes. 

Elderflower Cordial. This home-made syrupy goodness is the drink that my grandmothers used to make while growing up. It was more like tradition. I knew for sure that every summer, I would drink this syrup from the big jar sitting on my grandmother's porch or my other grandmother's window seal. I was always fascinated by the intense aroma of these flowers. 

So what are Elderflowers? These flowers are the blossoms of the Elder tree known scientifically as Sambucus. The blooms look like one of a kind and smell flowery and fresh. Some say they smell like "summer," and I agree with them. It's what I felt as I smelled them growing up. We had Elder trees growing around the people's homes, or in the back yard, they were so popular. 

Recently I had the massive joy of being reintroduced to these beautiful flowers again and never knew that there is an Elderberry Farm just an hour drive away from my city. Elderflowers can be harvested during the early summer months, usually. I didn't think twice at the news that I could go and pick them up myself. The experience of picking them was fun, and it's always a treat to be outside in nature. A part of me has always wanted to live at a farm. :)

Back to making the delicious cordial, I'm sure there are many ways of making this. First off, my recipe doesn't include refined sugar. Yes, it's a sugary drink, but I've kept my ratio on the safe side. I recommend that you use unrefined sugar as well.

One important tip that I can give you is – do not wash the flowers. The elderflowers are very sensitive. Their pollen is in the tiny blossoms, and even shaking them would remove the precious pollen. Once I've cut my elderflower blossoms from the tree, I placed them carefully with their heads down, and then carefully removed them from the pick-up bin into a wooden box I've carried with me at the farm. 

If you're concerned with the tiny creatures stuck in the flower heads or living on the small stems, don't be. 

 Do not worry! These creatures will leave the flower heads if you place them on your porch to air out for up to one hour (hopefully not on a windy day). Simply lay down a couple of parchment paper sheets, or clean kitchen towels, place the flower heads again carefully face sideways, and then collect them after an hour. Lots of insects would have crawled out of the blossoms. And, even if some would be left on the flowers, the straining process would remove them altogether. 

The second important tip is - do not boil the flower heads. The infusing method is what my grandmothers used to do all the time, and of course that back then, I didn't know anything about it. However, the boiling process is needed in some instances, but when it comes to herbs, you need to keep the nutrients alive as much as possible. The boiling process doesn't help if you're trying to trap the goodness and benefits of the elderflowers. The infusing process if the best thing for these flowers. Leaving them to infuse for up to 48 hours will release their aroma and the amazing anti-inflammatory health benefits. 

Third and final tip, once you're ready to add your flowers to the infusing pot or jar (or whatever you have available – but please stay away from using plastic containers), make sure to snip the tip of the blossoms as close to the flowers as possible. The stems are bitter to the taste, so you want to avoid adding them to your cordial. 

This Elderflower Cordial is so worth making my friends. If you didn't get a chance to make it this summer, don't miss out on the next. In my recipe card, I've done my best to describe the process step by step, and I can tell you that my cordial came out so delicious. The six litres won't last long in our house. My choice was to keep them in the fridge, stored in tall one-litre glass bottles, so I can enjoy them cold.

Making a summer looking spritzer with this cordial is the best. It's so refreshing, and on any hot day, it will quench your thirst guaranteed. It's certainly a different type of drink to enjoy during the long hot summer days. 

Head on to the recipe, and check it out. And here's the link I've promised in my recipe that will explain more of the process of sterilizing bottles.

Leave me a comment if you're also in love with the Elderflower Cordial as much as I am. :)

Until next time!

T