Our simple elderflower syrup recipe, prepared with fresh elderflowers and a handful of ingredients. Fuss-free, cold, no cooking recipe. This is a traditional Austrian recipe.
Place fresh flowers into fresh cold water and add a dash of vinegar to the flowers. The vinegar will get rid of impurities and insects. If there are lice, repeat the process, until you are left with clean, insect-free elderflower.
20 Large Elderflower Heads, 1 Tablespoon Vinegar
Break and discard the main green stem part but keep the flower branches that hold the flowers.
Rinse lemons well. Three lemons need to be cut in half and juiced. Discard the empty lemon halves and keep the lemon juice at the side. For the remaining three lemons, cut off and discard the ends and cut your fresh lemons into eights.
6 Lemon
Prepare Syrup:
Keep your large bucket ready. Make sure it was scrubbed with soapy water and rinsed.
Pour the water into your bucket and place in the clean flowers.
12½ Cups Water, 20 Large Elderflower Heads
Add the lemon eights and lemon juice to the bucket.
6 Lemon
Pour in all the sugar together with the citric acid.
8.8 Pounds Sugar, ½ Cup Citric Acid Powder
Stir everything well with a long handled cooking spoon, until all the sugar is dissolved. This can take a few minutes.
Close bucket with the lid well.
Leave Syrup to Infuse:
Leave to sit in a cool place, away from heat, direct sunlight and humidity. The elderflower mixture needs to get infused and that takes 2 days or 48 hours in total.
After 24 hours, or 1 day, open the bucket and stir well again with a clean long handled spoon.
Close again with the lid and leave to infuse for the rest of the time, which is another full day or 24 hours. On the second day you get to strain the syrup.
Strain Elderflower Syrup:
Keep clean soap - washed bottles ready with bottle caps. Place a bottle into your kitchen sink and keep a large funnel with a large fine sieve over that.
With a soup ladle, pour the infused elderflower syrup into the sieve so that it filters the flower and lemon pieces. The syrup will run down through the sieve and the funnel, into the bottle. Press the flower and lemon pieces so that all the syrup comes oozing out.
Fill up every bottle to the top and close well with a bottle cap. Take the syrup filled bottle through running water to wash off the sticky syrup.
Repeat the process with the remaining syrup and fill up all your bottles. Discard the flower and lemon remains.
Storing and Using Elderflower Syrup:
Store in a cool and dry place, away from direct sunlight. You can use it straight away too. It's good for a year if well stored (and if you worked in a clean kitchen with clean bottles).
To use, pour some as per preference into a drinking glass and top it off with cold water, and if you like, ice cubes.
Video
Notes
Pick only fresh elderflower with open blossoms. The base recipe calls for 20 large flower heads (size of a hand). If they are smaller, add a few to the lot.
8.8 pounds or 4 kilograms of fine crystal sugar equals to about 20 cups.
Use fine crystal white sugar or a sugar type which dissolves fast. In Europe, you can get a crystal sugar type known as “Syrup” sugar for canning (not the same as pectin sugar!!). If you want to make your life easier, use simply powdered confectioners sugar.
I recommend using a large plastic bucket with a lid that can be screwed on or one that closes well without air gaps getting formed.
Please consider using only organic untreated lemons. That means lemons that have not been sprayed with pesticides. This is because we use the lemon skin in this recipe, and you don't want odd chemicals in your drink.
You can choose to stir more frequently during the resting/infusion period of your syrup. Stirring once only after 24 hours will do the trick too as long as you stir really well. If you notice that the sugar is not dissolving well, stir more frequently.
One batch (basic recipe) makes about 10 x 16 oz/500 ml bottles.
It's better to prepare this large batch because elderflower cordial makes a great gift and can be stored for up to 10 months in a cool and dry place if kept in sterilized jars.