My Grandma’s Elderflower Cordial Recipe (+ How to Forage for Elderflowers)

From late May, the elder trees start flowering with beautiful little pearly sprays. Walking by them, you’ll be hit by the sweet and musky scent of the flowers, delicate and beautiful. It’s the smell of the start of summer.

Elderflowers can be used for all sorts, but the most popular option is to make elderflower cordial, the perfect summery drink. Today I’d love to share how to forage elderflowers, and make it using my grandma’s cordial recipe.

How to forage elderflowers

It’s really important to forage safely and responsibly. I’m new to it, but I’ve been trying to be careful and following guidelines to protect the areas we forage in. The Woodland Trust has some really helpful guidelines:

Don’t forage in protected areas, which are usually indicated by signage.
Know what you’re picking. Don’t consume a plant unless you’re completely sure of its identification.
Only collect where the plant is abundant. Try to spread your picking across multiple plants and take a fraction of what is available.
Only collect for personal use. Be reasonable about what you’ll need, and leave plenty for others, and more importantly, wildlife.
Be gentle. Try not to damage the plant when you pick.

Elderflowers are one of the easiest plants to start foraging. They’re pretty easy to identify, and they’re abundant. They grow on elder trees, which are shrubs or small trees of around five to ten metres. The flowers are very small and creamy white, and grow in clusters that shoot up off the tree.

It’s best to pick them when the buds are just opening, so go for the heads where the flowers are nearly all open. Pick on a dry, warm day. You’ll want to make sure you shake off any insects, but don’t rinse the flowers, because it will wash away the pollen that adds to the flavour.

How to make elderflower cordial

You will need:

20-30 elderflower heads
Zest of 2 lemons and 1 orange
200ml lemon juice (that’s about 3 lemons)
Up to 1.5kg sugar
Citric or tartaric acid

Prepare the flowers by snipping off any large stems and checking for bugs.
Place the flowers, lemon and orange zest and lemon juice (I sometimes use limes and they work fine too!) in a pan and cover with water. Bring it gently to the boil, then take off the heat and leave to soak overnight.
The next day, strain through a muslin and add for every 500ml of liquid:
350g sugar (up to 1.5kg)
1 heaped tsp of citric or tartaric acid
Heat gently to boiling and then simmer for a couple of minutes. Skim off any scum and remove from the heat.
Strain again, and pour into sterilised bottles.