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What is Elderflower cordial drink?
Maybe some of you have never heard of Elderflower Cordial, or maybe you’ve heard of this drink but never had the chance to taste it. Indeed, this is a drink specific to Europeans, and here in Romania, it is a natural juice prepared especially in summer, when the elder flower blossom.
The elderflower blossom in the tree at the beginning of summer, and in Romania it is the basic ingredient for Elderflower Cordial, a fresh-tasting drink called βSocataβ or βSuc de socβ.
Elderflower has multiple benefits for our body, being also used for medicinal purposes, because it helps you fight colds and flu.
Elderflower cordial is an extremely refreshing drink on hot summer days that can be prepared at home very simply, using 5 ingredients: elder flower, sugar, citric acid (lemon salt), lemon and water. In addition, it can be stored in the refrigerator, in airtight bottles, for a long time, even several weeks. Thus, once prepared, elderflower cordial can be enjoyed during the summer season without any problems.
Essentially, is a drink that results from fermentation, combining in a jar or capacious bottle, elderflower with sugar, lemon and water.
Basically, the elder flower will give the drink taste and flavor, and the lemons will give the necessary acidity to get a refreshing drink. Lemon salt is used to help preserve the drink for a longer time, to prevent it from spoiling in the refrigerator. There are many recipes that use yeast instead of lemon salt, but I present to you the recipe as I learned it from my grandmother, because for me it represents the taste of childhood.
How to use Elder flower Cordial?
As I said before, for me, Elderflower Cordial is a suitable drink for the warm season, perfectly combining the acidity of lemons with the sweet taste and unique aroma of elderflower. But to be able to enjoy this drink also in the cold season, you can prepare Elderflower Syrup, which you can preserve for the winter, stored in hermetically sealed bottles, preferably in the cellar or in another cool place at your disposal.
The recipe for Elder flower Syrup is completely different to Elderflower Cordial, but by using a very small amount of Elder flower syrup, mixed with a generous amount of water, you will be able to enjoy a wonderful glass of Elderflower Cordial in winter season, as well.
Another way to enjoy the delicious Elderflower Cordial for longer time is to dry the elderflowers. So, once you have collected the fresh flowers from the tree, rinse them with a little cold water, then place them on a flat surface, preferably with a towel or tablecloth under them, then leave them like this in a warm and sunny place for a few days. During these days, to help the elderflowers dry evenly, it is recommended to turn them on all sides.
Once completely dry, you can store them in a paper bag for a long time in the pantry, cellar or any cool, dry place. If necessary, take out the amount of dried Elderflower you need and prepare the Elderflower Cordial according to the classic recipe, which you can find below.
It is possible that the Elderflower Cordial drink obtained using dried elderflowers has a slightly darker color than the one obtained from fresh elderflower blossoms, but I assure you that the taste is the same, sweet and refreshing.
How to make kidsfriendly Elderflower Cordial
Elderflower Cordial is an extremely healthy drink, made from natural ingredients. In addition to the refreshing and sweet taste, suitable for hot summer days, we have already stated that it has multiple benefits for our body and for our kids, as well.
For those of you who want to make elderflower cordial without using sugar, it is extremely simple to prepare this wonderful recipe in the kids friendly version.
Basically, all you have to do is replace the brown sugar, which I used for the Elder flower Cordial recipe below, with honey. In addition to the intense taste of honey, you will definitely get an extremely healthy drink, as it is well known that honey has extremely many therapeutic qualities .
Among these, we can mention that honey plays an important role as an antioxidant, it is a perfect substitute for sugar in the case of people who are prone to diabetes, or in the case of those who follow a diet. Also, like elder flower, honey plays an important role in reducing cold symptoms, helping to combat coughs in children.
Even though on the first day it will seem a little more difficult to integrate the honey into the water, as it is more difficult to dissolve the honey in a liquid at room temperature, you will see that after a few hours when the Elderflower Cordial is fermenting in a warm place, the temperature inside the jar/bottle increases and then it will be easier for you to mix and dissolve the honey homogeneously in the liquid.
Full Recipe – Eldeflower Cordial
Taking into account all the clarifications made so far and considering the fact that you have the freedom to prepare Elderflower Cordial using fresh or dried elder flower, then opting for the idea of using brown sugar or honey, please find in the lines that follow the recipe extremely simple to get a wonderful Elderflower cordial, refreshing and invigorating.
INGREDIENTS
This recipe is suitable using a 4L jar/bottle.
Homemade Elderflower Cordial Recipe β the European delicious summer drink
Equipment
- 1 Jar
Ingredients
- A hand full of Elderflower blossoms;
- 2 pcs Lemons;
- 1 tbsp Citric acid lemon salt;
- 300 g brown sugar or honey
- 4 L Water
Instructions
- First of all, if you choose to use fresh Elderflower blossoms, rinse them under cod water. Then, place them on the bottom of the jar/bottle. If you use dried elderflower, simply add it into the jar/bottle.
- Then, peel the lemons and slice the peeled lemons. Add the slices into the jar/bottle. It is not necessary to peel the lemons, but I prefer to use them this way.
- Add the citric acid (lemon salt);
- Using a different deep container, mix the sugar (honey) with some water, to dissolve the sugar (honey) into the liquid;
- Once you managed to dissolve the entire sugar (honey), pour the syrup that you obtained over the rest of the ingredients into the jar/bottle;
- Add water, so that you can fill the jar/bottle. Using a spatula or a wooden spoon, mix all the ingredients together, then place a lid or a small tea plate on top of the jar/bottle, just to cover the whole. You donβt need to hermetically close the jar/ bottle.
- Leave the elderflower cordial to ferment in a sunny warm place. After 24 hours, stir the elderflower cordial and then leave is to ferment one more day.
- After 48 hours, your elderflower cordial should be ready to be stored in glass or plastic bottles. In order to transfer the elderflower cordial from the jar into the bottles, use a sieve and the funnel to strain only the liquid. Place the bottles into the fridge and serve the delicious drink whenever to want. Keep in mind that you can store the elderflower into the frigde for several days if the bottles are hermetically closed. Once you open a bottles, enjoy the drink in the following 2-3 days.
Video
Nutrition
Enjoy!
Step-by-step Video – Elderflower Cordial Recipe
I hope you enjoyed this easy and delicious drink recipe. Until the next recipe, please feel free to express your thoughts, opinions and reviews in the comments section. I hope you will have a great day with your loved ones.
