Elderflower extravaganza

The weather's playing havoc with us at the moment. One minute there's gale force wind and torrential downpour and the next the sun has got its hat on. We were eating outside in our t-shirts in April and lapping up those early rays, and come June the brollies are being held over the barbie whilst we dash inside to escape the chill! One thing the early heat did bring on, which the rainy weather of late can't destroy, was an early glut of elderflowers and there are still plenty around to forage for. The lace of creamy, white blossoms is covering almost every hedgerow around and they make for the perfect culinary ingredient.

So, last weekend I took to the garden, frollicking around the hedgerows plucking as many blossoms as I could find. A little recipe researching reveals an endless list of elderflower-infused creations and ideas of how to use these little floral wonders throughout the year. And even better, although the flowering period is relatively brief (some already starting to brown)- you can pop as many elderflowers as you can forage for in a plastic bag and into the freezer for a constant supply.

The first port of call is, perhaps evidently, elderflower cordial. Satisfyingly simple, deliciously tasty and so versatile:

- Pluck 25 elderflower heads, de-bug and give a good rinse/shake under the tap.
- Meanwhile, in a pan stir 1.5kg of caster sugar into 1.5 litres of water and pop onto a medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.
- Slice 3 lemons and place in a suitable container, I use a large tupperware box and add the elderflower heads and 50g of citric acid (available in all chemists).
- Once the sugar syrup has cooled, pour over the lemon and elderflowers.
- Leave this to macerate overnight, before straining through a muslin, into sterilised bottles.

Another elderflower-based culinary venture this weekend came in the form of elderflower lemon curd, which is great used in puddings. I combined the lemon curd with whipped cream for the filling for a pavlova, topped with blueberries and then drizzled the remaining lemon curd over. Yum!
Another elderflower venture this weekend was elderflower vodka- and it couldn't be simpler, 25 plucked elderflower heads, snipped into a large kilner jar and doused in a litre of vodka, leave in a cool dark place for around a month, strain and voila! Next on the list in this elderflower extravaganza is elderflower sorbet, I will keep you posted.