How to Make Elderflower Cordial from Hedgerow Flowers

The Shortest, Sweetest Season in the Countryside

There is a fortnight in late May and early June when every lane around the yard smells faintly of muscat and cat, and that is your signal. Elderflower is one of the great free harvests of rural Britain, and a batch of cordial is the easiest way to bottle the smell of a summer evening hack. If you keep horses, you almost certainly ride past dozens of elder bushes without noticing them — they favour hedgerows, field edges, railway embankments and the scrubby corners of land that machinery cannot reach.

The window is short. Blossom that is creamy and flat-headed today will be turning brown and dropping by the weekend, so it pays to be ready with a basket in the tack room and a clean pillowcase in the boot of the car. Pick on a dry, sunny morning once the dew has lifted, and you will have cordial that tastes of the hedgerow rather than of damp grass.

Forage Responsibly: Where Not to Pick

Elder is generous, but it is not indestructible, and a little judgement keeps both you and the hedgerow in good order. The general rule is simple: the further from traffic and sprays, the better the flavour and the safer the pick.

• Avoid busy roadsides. Verges beside fast A-roads and any road with heavy lorry traffic carry exhaust residue and brake dust. Pick at least thirty metres back if you possibly can.
• Avoid sprayed ground. Field margins, pony paddocks and set-aside strips are often treated with herbicide. If the grass underneath looks unnaturally tidy and weed-free, walk on.
• Avoid waist height and below. Everything at dog height has been visited by dogs, foxes and worse. Reach up to head height and above.
• Avoid private land without permission. Ask the farmer or landowner. Most are happy if you take a few heads and shut the gate behind you.

Leave plenty behind. Take no more than a quarter of the heads from any one bush, never strip a branch bare, and remember those flowers become elderberries in autumn — food for thrushes, blackbirds and dormice. Follow the Countryside Code, keep dogs under control near livestock, and take your litter home.

Choosing the Right Blossom

You want the flat, saucer-shaped heads that are fully open, with tiny cream-white flowers and a scattering of unopened buds still visible. Press your nose close: the scent should be sweet, heady and slightly citrusy. If it smells of nothing, it is past its best.

Snip the heads off with scissors, leaving a short stalk, and lay them in a shallow basket or a pillowcase rather than a plastic bag, which sweats and turns them to mush. Shake each head gently over the hedge to dislodge beetles, ladybirds and the occasional earwig, then pick over the harvest at the kitchen table. Small green insects are inevitable; a gentle rinse in cold water and a spin in a salad spinner sorts them out.

Use the flowers the same day if you can. If not, freeze the heads in a bag and they will keep their fragrance for months.

A Classic Elderflower Cordial Recipe

This makes roughly two litres of cordial, enough to see a family through the summer and a few bottles left over to give away.

• 25 large elderflower heads, lightly shaken and picked over
• 1.5kg granulated sugar
• 1.5 litres water
• 2 unwaxed lemons, zest pared in strips and juice reserved
• 50g citric acid (optional, but it helps the cordial keep)

Put the sugar and water in a large pan and heat gently, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved. Bring just to the boil, then take it off the heat and let it cool to lukewarm — pouring boiling syrup over the flowers cooks away the delicate scent.

Add the elderflower heads, the lemon zest and juice, and the citric acid if using. Stir, cover with a clean cloth and leave somewhere cool for twenty-four to forty-eight hours, stirring twice a day. The longer it steeps, the stronger the flavour, but beyond two days it starts to taste green and stewed.

Strain through a double layer of muslin or a clean tea towel into a jug, then funnel into sterilised bottles. Do not squeeze the muslin — it makes the cordial cloudy and bitter.

Bottling, Storing and Serving

Sterilise your bottles properly by washing them in hot soapy water, rinsing, then drying them in a low oven for ten minutes. Fill while the cordial is cool, seal, and label with the date. It keeps in the fridge for around six weeks, or freeze it in plastic bottles for up to a year — leave a good gap at the top, as it expands.

To serve, dilute roughly one part cordial to five parts water, or to taste. It is wonderful with sparkling water and a sprig of mint, over plenty of ice after a hot afternoon in the school, or as a long drink with gin and a slice of lemon. Drizzle it undiluted over yoghurt, fruit salad or a sponge pudding.

Yard Safety and Kitchen Notes

Keep cordial well away from the horses. It is a human drink, and the sugar content alone makes it unsuitable for ponies, particularly native breeds prone to laminitis. Store bottles on a high shelf in a locked feed room or, better still, in the house, and never decant it into a feed bucket or a drinks bottle that might be mistaken for a horse's water.

Finally, a word on identification. Elder is a shrub or small tree with corky, fissured bark and opposite, pinnate leaves, which makes it reasonably distinctive, but never pick from a plant you are not completely certain about. Dwarf elder and red-berried elder are different plants and best avoided, and the berries of common elder must always be cooked before eating. If in doubt, leave it — there will be another hedge, and another June.