And it was easy! Whilst walking with my dog Gus in an area just outside of London (but not what I would call rural) I never thought I would come across so many lovely wild flowers and a huge variety of plants and trees. Whilst picking a few of these wildflowers to take home, I met a lovely lady who was picking elderflower to take home to make cordial. We ended up chatting for ages about this and that, but mostly about food, foraging and cooking.
So a few days later, I went back and picked some elderflower for myself. I was advised to use the River Cottage recipe so bought some unwaxed lemons, an orange, sugar and citric acid and cooked myself some cordial.
I had a couple of preserving bottles at home and bought a few more to fill and give to friends. This recipe makes about 2-3 litres of cordial so plenty go around.
It adds a gorgeous taste to my gin and tonics on these warm sunny evenings. It's also delicious added to sparkling water with fresh mint and plenty of ice.
Have you made cordial before and would you recommend other ones worth trying?
Freshly picked elderflower
After overnight soaking with lemon and orange peel
Final result :-)