Elderflower Syrup

Elderberry trees are prolific here and flowering in the first couple of weeks of June so might as well take advantage and make some tasty elderflower syrup to use for cakes later on during the winter months if not earlier.

Ingredients:

• elderflowers
• water
• sugar - the better the sugar you use the better the taste will be

Method:

• wash the flowers with cold water, not in high pressure stream otherwise you will lose most of the tasty delicate flowers
• put flowers in a pan and submerge in cold water - for best results limit the water up to a level where the flowers are just submerged
• put on medium heat until the water is simmering
• boil for a couple of minutes, turn the burner off and leave to steep in the water for about 5 minutes - test the flower tea if it is turning bitter remove the flowers and leave to cool down
• using a sieve with a muslin towel transfer the flower tea from one pan into another and remove and visible residues from the flowers
• add sugar circa 200 grams of sugar for every 1 litre of syrup and bring to
• the boil until all sugar has melted, do a taste check… if you want to make it more syrupy or sugary add more sugar

bottling:

• sterilize the bottles you want to use with boiling water this will decrease the chances of moulding
• using a funnel transfer the syrup into the bottle
• label the bottle with the name of the syrup and the date of production
• store in a cool and dry place