Made with the delicate lacy blooms of the elder and the best of citrus, elderflower cordial is a heroic tradition in English parlours, and is in fact so loved by the nation as to evoke misty eyes when it is mentioned.
A celebration of all that's good about summer
Boating on the river, picnics on a chartreuse forest floor, and summer garden parties are all perfect occasions to bring this out, and any such occasion will be the better for it.
Cordial is a kind of syrup, which consists of flowers or fruit (or both) macerated overnight with citrus fruits to preserve it, and then gently simmered in sugar water. The resulting elixir takes on all the heavenly flavours of the seasons which the flowers and fruit have seen before, and the making of it scents the entire house with a perfume that defies description. A good cordial presents the whole of spring or summer in a glass. Who would have thought that the gentle elderflower could pack such a culinary punch?
When I think of elderflower cordial memories abound of lazy, hazy days of July, when I would spend my afternoons cycling down Summer lanes, and stop under a shady tree to gaze across the glistening wheat fields, which I loved so much.
Sometimes I would seek out my best friend – kind-hearted, quiet Helen – for adventures in the countryside. Together we would career down country lanes, with our cotton dresses tucked into our knickers, climb the quarry cliffs, run through the woods to the enchanted cottage – a cave house built into the rocks with a bridge and stream in its front garden – and visit my other friend, the lively, flame-haired Laura, who lived nearby.
We would return bright-eyed, brown as nuts, and starving, to Helen’s grand house – she was the daughter of a wealthy farmer – to beg her mother for a picnic to eat in its gardens which extended to 5 acres.
Fully landscaped by a genius of a gardener, this paradisical space consisted of about eight garden rooms, which would unfold as you turned the corner of the house and came across the full reach of them.
First a crocket lawn surrounded by towering scarlet rhododendrons; then to your right an English walled garden with snapdragons, red hot pokers, lupins, sweet william and masses of sweet peas; just before this a circular lawn in front of the dining room featuring a Japanese red maple tree imported all the way specially by Helen's father, Mr Boughey, and whose delicate quivering leaves would turn from light green to white, and then pink, before taking a final scarlet bow and falling in gentle clouds to earth. It was quite the most enchanting thing I had ever seen.
And finally the pièce de resistance: ahead and hidden from sight, there lay a large pond, cleverly placed in a natural dip in the land, and which was home to many lilies and goldfish. Surrounded by sandstone terracing with romantic benches amidst dangling fronds of blousy flowers swaying and dipping now and then, and with all this illuminated with hidden lights, it was a place to dream.
In the cosy kitchen Helen’s mother would make us a picnic with sandwiches and cordial or barley water, and together we would take this to the daffodil dell, a triangular patch of garden, with steps from either side of the terracing around the pond leading up to it, squeezed as it was, between two gloriously golden fields of barley. My heart sang every time I saw it and it still does now when I recall it.
With the gardener having scattered the seeds of many different wild grasses and flowers there, it was a haven of calm. We would fling ourselves down to lie among the tall fronds, hidden from anyone, enjoying our picnic, while gazing up at the trees, listening to birdsong from the hedgerows and feeling the breezes sweep across our lashes.
Cordial with lemon and passionfruit
My husband had, I discovered, enjoyed similarly sensory memories from his childhood – he spent his Summers in a large cob cottage named Mingoes, located in Slapton Lea in Devon – a house that was famous in the Burling family for its beautiful grounds and amusing, fun-loving owners, aunty Ursula and uncle Ray.
Complete with orchard, trickling stream and bench, it also boasted a magnificent vegetable plot, where you could pick what you wanted for supper. It was at Mingoes that I made my first Jerusalem artichoke soup. There was also a large fig tree, and a collection of classic, pale green Lloyd Loom chairs, where afternoon tea would be taken.
When I visited, I was overcome with the same emotions as Mark had been, falling instantly in love with what I saw around me. While we were there, I could not spend enough time outside, pruning plants, picking fruit and baking. It was the fruit from that garden which enabled me to understand the beauty of a blackcurrant and, with the help of the range, the best blackcurrant pie in the history of the world emerged. I know, I know, how dare I make such a claim....but you you didn't taste the pie...
These are some of the most intense memories of my life and they have been a guiding light for us in buying the property we have now. Together we have forged the dream of recreating the paradises of our childhoods here, to enjoy forever.
It is a universal truth of culinary life that once you have discovered cordials, you will never really want to buy fruit juices again, except for those which comes straight off an apple press. Alas, we do not (yet) have enough flowers and fruit even in our sizeable garden to make the amount we would need for us to be able to drink it all year round, but we have enough grounds to do so in the future and so we are forging just such plans.
Having made my first batch of cordial from our own elderflowers last year and having introduced it to our neighbours with great success, I have been asked for the recipe and so have dropped it into our neighbour’s letterbox. Meanwhile, another year has passed since then, and I am now the proud owner of some elderberries – again not enough yet to make a full bottle, but I shall be padding them out with blackberries, so we shall be able to drink elderberry and blackberry Kir, and in winter a hot toddy with brandy.
As I write this, I am engulfed with the winter scent of the berries which were boiled this morning with cloves, cinnamon, star anise and freshly chopped ginger and which are now steeping in the mixture, waiting to be strained. mixed with sugar and gently simmered to form the syrupy goodness so beloved of British people,
Along with chutney, cheeses, bath olivers (a water biscuit for cheese and pâté), pickles, candied fruits, chocolate and champagne, cordials have long since been a staple of hampers and the gift of a bottle of it for Xmas is usually much treasured by the beneficiary.
Your house will smell beautiful while the flowers are steeping in the citrus
In terms of how you use cordials, they make wonderful additions to many desserts – they can be drizzled over ice-cream, mousse, posset* and cake. They intensify the floral bouquet of anything they join, and they can enhance the flavour foundation of an unctuous cheesecake or creme patisserie with a wondrous perfume, as long as you take account of the fact that you will be adding liquid, so you may need to compensate for this with your dry ingredients to keep the consistency of your dessert correct.
Elderberries are packed with Vitamin C and so the cordial makes a refreshing drink in the summer when mixed with water, ice and a dash of lime, or when blended with Dubonnet and orange.
Dubonnet with elderflower and orange - very romantic!
In winter it makes a fortifying toddy, and is especially soothing when you have a cold, if you add cloves for extra warmth and grab a fluffy blanket for nesting by the fire.
Elderflower cordial, hot water, spices and dark chocolate - a perfect winter treat
Cordial also makes an elegant sorbet for weddings or a grand private dinner. Try using it in macaroons, Eton Mess or as a flavour in pannacota. It inspires kitchen alchemy, so let your desire for adventure guide you.
Prep time: 15mins Cook time: 5 mins
Ingredients
15-20 large flower heads - pick young ones which have just opened to reveal their beautiful scent.
2 large oranges, cut into 5mm thick slices
2 lemons, cut into 5mm thick slices
2 limes, cut into 5mm thick slices
1.35kg sugar
2 litres of water
30gr tartaric or citric acid
Method
1-Let the flowers sit in a bowl of water and remove all dark and discoloured parts, insects, and anything else that looks unsavoury. Then strain the flowers and place them in a large ceramic bowl or 3.5l stainless steel saucepan with the citrus fruit
2-Meanwhile put the sugar and water into a saucepan and melt the sugar over a gentle heat, until you cannot feel any grains of sugar in the bottom of the pan anymore, when you stir it. Then take the syrup off the heat, allow it to cool a little and then stir in the citric acid.
3-Place the sliced citrus into a bowl, layer the flowers on top, and then add the syrup and citric acid mixture, pressing the flowers down into the mixture so that they are covered as much as possible, and cover the bowl with a plate. Then allow the cordial to macerate for 24 hours in a cool, dark place.
5-Just before you are ready to bottle the syrup, warm your oven to 120C and place your syrup jars or bottles and their lids in the oven for 20mins. Then remove them, strain the flowers and fruit from the syrup, and pour the syrup into your sterilised containers.
6-This will keep for an entire summer in the fridge. If you freeze it in plastic bottles, it will keep for years.
Notes
1-This cordial should be light, delicate, sweet, intensely perfumed, feminine and ever so slightly green. Served freezing cold, it awakens the spirit like a zesty fougère.
2-Cordial will intensify the flavour of anything perfumed in your kitchen. Try using it in macaroons, meringues or for making sorbets and ice creams.
3-In creams and custard fillings, it will magically enhance flans, tartlets, pannacotta and the even more gorgeous millefeuille. Check out the recipe for my prune & elderflower cheesecake which was a real hit.
4-Consider pairing it with mint cordial: smash some mint leaves in a pestle and mortar with grains of sugar, then drop this into a glass filled with crushed ice, pour cordial and soda on top, and you have a light drink which will be loved by adults and children alike. Consider also simple combinations like pink grapefruit, pink chartreuse and elderflower – very pretty in the chalice.
5-The addition of good alcohol – whisky or cognac – and the use of Canada Dry ginger ale, instead of mineral water, will turn crushed mint and sugar into an interesting version of a Virginia Mint Julep. And finally, a Kir, G&T, a Spritz and any kind of crisp white wine will be elevated by this perfumed glory.
*Posset
Historically posset was a drink made of hot milk curdled with ale, wine, or other alcohol and typically flavoured with spices. Nowadays it is a cold dessert made from thickened cream, scented with lemon. It is deliciously creamy and very popular.
*****bon santé*****
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