Homemade Elderflower Cordial

For me, elderflower cordial is the taste of childhood summers – holidays that seemed like they would never end, the feel of sun-warmed grass on your bare feet, barbecues and picnics and going to the beach after school. I couldn’t possibly imagine a summer without it. These days, you can buy plenty of good versions in the supermarket, but nothing quite beats the homemade stuff – and if you haven’t made it before, you’ll be pleased to know it’s really easy. The only tricky part can be tracking down the citric acid, but if you have a good independent pharmacist in your town, that’s a pretty good bet.

A quick note on picking the flowers – make sure you don’t pick any below waist-height, to avoid any doggy business, and go for flowers that are large and without too many brown patches. And finally, please make sure that what you’re picking is in fact elderflower – cow parsley looks quite like it, but grows on a stalk rather than a bush or a tree, and really doesn’t taste as good. Keep it smart, people!

PS Apologies for the fact that the ingredients are in old money – it’s a very old family recipe…