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Summerflowercordial
This delicious summer drink is prepared over two fragrant, flowerfilled days. You can make
it on your own, or in a group – it’s a great excuse for a gettogether. There is no refined sugar.
The sweetness comes from flowers, fruit, and honey.
Adapt the flowers according to what’s available. Wild Add lemon verbena leaves if using.
elderflowers and/or garden roses are generally the main Add the honey to the cooled water and stir to dissolve.
ingredient. Later in the season, you could mix wild meadowsweet
flowers with your roses. Make sure all flowers are unsprayed. Pour the honey water over all other ingredients in bowl, cover
with a clean muslin or thin cotton cloth and leave in a room
The key is that the flowers are not heated, so they keep their
amazingly delicate flavour, capturing the refreshing, uplifting where it won’t be disturbed for 14 to 24 hours, stirring once
essence of summer. or twice during that time. Check the flavour at intervals by
dipping a clean spoon in and tasting the liquid neat. Broadly,
Raspberries and strawberries help to bring out the summery flavours. you want to infuse it long enough to capture the delicate flower
flavour, but not too long or the fruitiness will become too dominate.
Strain mixture through muslin or cotton cloth. Squeeze well
Ingredients to extract the juice. Pour the fragrant cordial into clean,
1 litre water sterilised or dishwasherwashed bottles. Refrigerate. Can be
3/8 cup/100g honey (ideally a local, liquid honey) stored for up to a week in the fridge. You can also freeze in
1 bowl/60 g mixed elderflowers (thick stalks removed, just a plastic container (leave room for expansion) for a few months.
leave the tiny stalks between flowers); fragrant rose petals To serve: dilute 1:5 with cold still or sparkling water.
Optional: 5 sprigs lavender; handful of pansy flowers;
3 generous sprigs lemon verbena leaves Garnish with mint sprigs if liked.
1 scant cup/120 g strawberries or raspberries, or a mix of both
1 lemon
Method
Boil water and let it cool for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, prepare the flowers and fruit. Check flowers over
and remove any discolourations or bugs.
Wash fruit and drain. Slice lemon. Place all flowers and fruit
in a large bowl.
Sp iritus Ma ga zin e
