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It’s that time of year again that the elderflower bushes are blooming all over the place. The perfect time to make your own elderflower syrup recipe is usually in late spring and early summer, which is the perfect elderflower season. Nothing better than homemade elderflower syrup! And you only need a few simple ingredients to make it. Once made the syrup is delicious on ice cream, in baked goods or as a elderflower lemonade.
How to make elderflower syrup
Elder trees are not very hard to find. At least not where I live and having just come back from Scandinavia I’ve seen plenty of them there too. When the elderflower blossoms, it’s a great look too. The flowers are quite fragrant and making elderflower cordial is super simple. Of course the first thing you need is fresh flowers. A couple of things to keep in mind there. You want to pick flowers that are not too close to a busy road. Those might be too polluted to use. I like to pick mine in a park across my street but take a walk in nature and you’re likely to find the beautiful blooms everywhere.
Table of contents
Give it a gentle shake
For making the delicious syrup you need roughly 25 elderflower heads. Make sure the elderberry flowers are not in their buds still. You want the full bloom. Now shake the flowers gently to remove any little bugs that might be hiding in the flowers. You’ll also see some of the pollen come out if you do.
I then trim the stalks of the flowers. That means you need less water and you’re syrup will be more concentrated.
Next to that you need some lemon slices. Take a large bowl or large pot and place the flowers into cold water. Add your lemon slices and weigh it down slightly with a small saucer. You will need to let the flowers soak for about 24 hours. You can leave it at room temperature. If the weather is really hot leave it in a cool place.
Next step
The next day you’re ready to finish your elderflower syrup. First pour the flowers with the water through a sieve and collect the liquid. Discard the blossom and the pieces of lemon. You don’t need those anymore. Now sieve the liquid again through a clean tea towel or a cheesecloth to make sure you remove any leftovers from the plants. The syrup will be slightly cloudy. That’s ok as this is due to the pollen.
Pour the liquid into a sauce pan (make sure to measure the total amount of liquid you have) and add the sugar to the pan. You need a lot of sugar as you’re basically making sugar water out of it. Remember you don’t drink or use the syrup as is. It will be diluted with other things so yes there’s a lot of sugar in it but stick with it for best results.
For every liter of water you need roughly 750 gr of sugar. You can also do a 1 on 1 ratio if you like things a little sweeter. I went with the 750 gr to 1 liter. You can add a squeeze of lemon juice as well to the pan. Now heat the syrup on medium heat and gently let the sugar dissolve. It doesn’t need to be heated any further. Once the sugar is dissolved the syrup is ready. You can store the elderflower syrup in clean glass bottles in the fridge.
Questions asked about elderflower syrup
If used as is, you can store the elderflower syrup for up to a month in the fridge. Alternatively you can freeze the syrup in cubes and add it to drinks this way . It’s also a great addition to cocktails and it’s a delightful syrup using it in summer drinks. If you want to use the syrup for longer, bring the liquid to the boil and keep in sterilized jars like you would do with jam. If properly sterilized you can keep it for up to a year.
As mentioned it is delicious over ice cream, as a regular summer drink or add an ice cube with elderflower syrup to your white wine. It also works really well with other citrus fruits or mix some into salad dressings. I love using it when I bake cakes. The subtle flavor of the elderflower syrup works perfect! Or try it in this easy beer cocktail.
Elderflower syrup
Ingredients
- 25 heads elderflowers
- 1 liter water
- 750 g sugar or one kilo for slightly sweeter syrup
- 1 lemon cut into pieces
How to make elderflower syrup
- To make the elderflower syrup, pick about 20-25 blossom heads. Make sure the blossoms have fully bloomed.
- Gently shake the heads back and forth for a while to remove bugs. You will also see some pollen disappear when you do so.
- Then cut the flowers off the stems. This means you need less water and the syrup ends up being more concentrated.
- Cut the lemon into pieces.
- Now put the florets in a pan and put just under water. Add the lemon pieces. You can use a saucer to weigh it down slightly. Let this soak for 24 hours.
- The next day, first pour the blossom with water through a sieve. You collect the liquid, of course. Discard the blossom and the pieces of lemon.
- You repeat this one more time but this time through a cheesecloth or clean tea towel so that all the leftovers from the plant are left behind. The syrup will be cloudy. This is fine and is due to the pollen.
- Now put the liquid back in the pan and add about 750 g of sugar to 1 litre of water. That is a huge amount, but remember it is a syrup so you drink it diluted with water.
- Now heat the syrup gently and let the sugar dissolve. It doesn’t need to boil any further. So when the sugar has dissolved, your syrup is ready. Store in clean bottles in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition Information per portion:
Disclaimer:
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
