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Elderflower cordial

Stefan Gates from Food Uncut
Stefan Gates uses a glut of freshly picked elderflowers to make a richly perfumed floral cordial that's bound to refresh you on a hot summer's day

Elderflower cordial

Method

1. Sift through the elderflowers and discard anything too scraggy or greenfly-ridden. Strip off any extraneous leaves or twigs.

2. Put them in a large pan or bucket and squeeze the juice of the lemons over them. Throw the skins of the lemon into the bucket for good measure.

3. Pour in 3 litres of cold water (or enough to cover the flowers), put a lid on the pan and leave somewhere cool for 3 days. Give it a stir just once or twice a day.

4. Strain the water through a clean muslin or tea towel into a pan and roughly measure it. Add a tablespoon of citric acid and 750g sugar for each litre.

5. Heat the pan gently and stir the mixture to dissolve the sugar. Let it boil for 1 minute, then leave to cool.

6. Pour the liquid into sterilized bottles - it will keep in them for up to a month. If you want to freeze your cordial, use plastic bottles.

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Serves: makes 5 litres

Prep: 20 min, plus 3 days to infuse
Cook: 5 min

Ingredients
1 large carrier bag Elderflowers
2 Lemons
3 litres water
2x1/4kg Sugar
3 tbsp citric acid, (if you cannot find citric acid, simply double the amount of lemons)