Elderflower Syrup is such a delight there's nothing quite like opening a bottle to add to sparkling or fresh water to quench your thirst on a hot summers day. The first time I tried elderflower syrup was in my early 20s at a festival in the UK. Some adorable entreprenureal kids were pulling along a cart and selling cups of Elderflower fiz for 50p a cup and when we moved to rural NSW and found a eldertree to forage I started making it every year without fail.
Below is the method I use to make syrup but experiment and see what works for you.
Pick as many elderflowers as you like the more you pick the stronger the flavor.
- Wash your elderflowers to remove bugs and then pop in your bowl remove stems if you wish as they can be a little bitter ( I use a 5 litre food grade bucket but I like to make large amounts) pour boiling water over the flowers and leave overnight.
- Using a muslin cloth over a colander strain the liquid to remove the flowers plus any bugs you might have missed washing.
- Measure the Liquid and place in a saucepan for very cup of liquid add a cup of sugar.
- Over medium heat stir to dissolve sugar and bring to boil to desired consistency the longer you simmer the thicker the syrup but sometimes the thicker syrups loose a bit of flavor
- Once boiling add 1 teaspoon Tantaric acid and boil for another 2 minutes.
- Bottle in sterilized bottles preferred preserving method for long term storage or store in the fridge.
Easy!!
You can follow these instructions for basically any herb syrup so get out in the garden and get experimenting!!!