Name: Elderflower Sparkler
Yield: makes about 4 litres/8 pints
Ingredients: 4 litres/8 pints still cold water; 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar; 10–12 large elderflower heads; 1 lemon; 500 g/1 lb granulated sugar

Preparation info

makes about
4 litres

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Scented Kitchen

By Frances Bissell

Published 2012

About

This sparkling elderflower drink is the traditional elderflower ‘champagne’，made in country kitchens and still-rooms for centuries. Such concoctions seem to have a mind of their own and because wild yeasts are involved they can act in unpredictable ways, such as exploding.

Ingredients

10–12 large elderflower heads
500 g/1 lb granulated sugar

Method

Put the flower heads into a large bowl. Add the sugar, the zest of the lemon finely pared, its juice and half the lemon skin, the vinegar and water – you can use either tap or bottled water, as you prefer. Cover loosely and leave for 24 to 36 hours. Strain through fine cheesecloth or muslin and bottle in screw-top or corked bottles. Leave for three weeks before serving, chilled.

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