Get Busy with the Fizzy

Last Saturday the weather was boiling, my son and I had an hour or two to spare, so we decided to get busy with the fizzy. We set about making Elderflower Champagne - Yum! Oh, and some sweet cordial for the kids too.

Folklore states, that if you stand beneath the Elder tree during midsummer, you might see fairies; this is much more likely if you have already been at the Elderflower champagne! With this in mind, we equipped ourselves with a large carrier bag and walked off down the road to pick a bag-full of blooms from these ubiquitous guardians of the hedgerows. 

The citrusy Elderflowers are one of the quintessential aromas of Summer, along with freshly mowed lawns and thundery rain on hot tarmac. A good friend of mine says that you should always pick your Elderflowers in the morning because they can smell more like cat’s wee in the evening (nice!) – so take heed.

It only took us about half an hour to pick 50 or so heads, then we headed back, buying the other ingredients on the way home. We saw bushes with at least 200 flowers on, so there's plenty left for Elderberry Port later in the year.

 

While I cleaned all the buckets, pans, sieves and recycled bottles my son was counting and stripping the flowerheads from the stalks and leaves, which should not be included.

In a fairly short time, everything was done, then we just had to wait two days, although my helpers always get a glassful before it’s properly ready. Needless to say, both buckets needed testing and both got the thumbs up from the kids. We made several pints of Cordial and about two gallons of Champagne (it was a big hit last year and we ran out too soon).

The champagne takes two weeks to ferment, till then the kids are making do, on a diet of delicious Wild Strawberries and the Elderflower cordial, which was ready in two days.

Elder, Elder Everywhere

Elderflowers are easy to identify and are said to herald in the Summer. Well, you could have fooled me - it was the coldest, wettest, windiest and foggiest half term holiday since records began!

Is it a Bird? Is it a Plane? No, It's an Elder Bush!

However, we remained undaunted and were soon out gathering a bagfull of the best Elderflower heads. We left plenty to develop into berries, not that this is really significant - Elderflowers are just about everywhere at the moment.

Our first expedition was to make Elderflower Cordial, my daughter’s favourite drink. We were in Devon at the time on a short break but the first bushes were spotted after only a short walk.

Mmmmm, Fragrant!

It only took us a moment to collect enough and then rush back to begin preparation and within a short time we were all guzzling away at this sweet, delicate summertime drink.

The next foray was back on Southampton Common; it was raining this day, so the children chose to wear sensible shoes in the form of roller-skates!

And They're Off

There are Elderflower bushes all over the common and they are currently in flower; the kids started spotting them as soon as they arrived. Consequently, it took no time at all to gather enough (you only need a few flower heads), so there was plenty of time to zoom about on wheels in the wet.

Clare Joined Us On Two Wheels

With this batch we are making Elderflower Champagne, a delicious and simple to make summer evening drink. Just be sure to store it in suitable (pressure safe) bottles, otherwise you might get some unwelcome explosions.

All Over The Common

Recipes for both drinks can be found here…

Currently Fermenting Away Nicely

Where we were staying, we couldn’t find any Citric Acid for our cordial (used as a preservative - obtained from chemist), nor did we measure out the other ingredient’s very accurately but it tasted lovely anyway.

Elderflower for Everyone

Elder trees grow in the hedgerows and fields, the young branches are hollow and pithy (the older wood is very hard). The young branches can be used to make blow-pipes, or flutes/whistles perhaps for the more peacefully minded. The bark is rough and cork-like with deep ridges.

Around May time Elder trees comes into flower. Elderflower is known in some quarters as the first sign of summer and spending a warm sunny day collecting the flowers and turning them into Elderflower cordial or Elderflower champagne, will only enhance that summery feeling.

I think it’s nice to collect the flowers with the children and they will enjoy helping you make the different brews. The kids can then have the cooling cordial and the adults can enjoy the fizzy stuff later on.

The white flowers start as tight green buds that tend to grow upwards, although they may droop if they are heavy; they smell subtly of citrus. Elderberries come after the flowers, they start green and then hang down in bright purple/black bunches, they are very popular with blackbirds and thrushes.

When picking Elderflowers, always try to avoid any flowers with small insects on them. Do leave plenty of flowers on the tree because when they develop into Elderberries, these can then be turned into other tasty treats later in the year.

 

Despite the cold and relentless rain, I saw my first Swift of the year on Monday, and, although he did look slightly stunned; the Signs of Summer are definately lining up...