Elderflower cordial is a soft drink made largely from a

refined sugar White sugar, also called table sugar, granulated sugar, or regular sugar, is a commonly used type of sugar, made either of beet sugar or cane sugar, which has undergone a refining process. Description The refining process completely removes ...

and water solution and uses the flowers of the European elder (''Sambucus nigra'' L.). Historically, the cordial was popular in Northwestern Europe where it has a Victorian heritage. However, versions of an elderflower cordial recipe can be traced to

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

times. In the 21st century, it is consumed in many countries of Europe where people still make it in the traditional way. In some countries, the drink can be found as an aromatic

syrup In cooking, a syrup (less commonly sirup; from ar, شراب; , beverage, wine and la, sirupus) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars ...

, sold as a concentrated

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

that is mixed with still or

sparkling water Carbonated water (also known as soda water, sparkling water, fizzy water, club soda, water with gas, in many places as mineral water, or especially in the United States as seltzer or seltzer water) is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, ...

. Elderflower pressé is a premixed form of this.

Production

In the northern hemisphere, elderflowers are in season from the end of May to the beginning of June or later and grow in most of Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia. They grow in a variety of conditions including both wet and dry fertile soils, though they primarily prefer sunny locations. The elder's hermaphrodite flowers are borne in large

corymbs Corymb is a botanical term for an inflorescence with the flowers growing in such a fashion that the outermost are borne on longer pedicels than the inner, bringing all flowers up to a common level. A corymb has a flattish top with a superficial re ...

, 10–25 cm in diameter, where the individual flowers are white with five petals, 5–6 mm in diameter, and pollinated by flies. The cream-coloured flowerheads are honey-scented blossoms that are crisp and somewhat juicy, with a highly aromatic smell and flavour. The leaves are bitter-smelling. Elderflower cordial can be made relatively easily at home, though it is also produced and sold commercially. The flowerheads are best collected fresh and new when the tiny buds have just opened and come to bloom before the fragrance is tainted with bitterness. The cordial is made by

steeping Steeping is the soaking of an organic solid, such as leaves, in a liquid (usually water) to extract flavours or to soften it. The specific process of teas being prepared for drinking by leaving the leaves in heated water to release the flavour ...

the elderflower heads in a concentrated sugar solution so the flavour is infused into the syrup. A source of citric acid and

lemon juice The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culina ...

is added to help preserve the cordial and add tartness. The mixture is then covered and left to infuse before being strained to release as much juice as possible. For drinking the cordial is typically diluted with either water or

though tonic,

soda Soda or SODA may refer to: Chemistry * Some chemical compounds containing sodium ** Sodium carbonate, washing soda or soda ash ** Sodium bicarbonate, baking soda ** Sodium hydroxide, caustic soda ** Sodium oxide, an alkali metal oxide * Sod ...

or gin are also used. Commercial production of elderflower cordial uses a scaled-up version of the process described. Commercially produced cordials are generally sold as a concentrated

and are usually diluted by one part cordial and ten parts water, thus a 500 ml bottle of cordial would be enough for 5.5 litres diluted. The high concentration of sugar in elderflower cordial gives it a long shelf life. There are many commercial producers of elderflower cordial, and cheaper canned fizzy "elderflower drinks" and "elderflower sodas" often use a synthetic cheap elderflower flavouring to save money and labour, as well as a real elderflower extract.

References

{{reflist

External links

BBC GoodFood Recipe
Retrieved 2011-06-23. Soft drinks Drink mixers Non-alcoholic drinks

Production

See also

References

External links