As I said in my last post, the summer rain is never ending! It's continually pouring and every time I try to make a scheduled effort to get some outside work done it starts sprinkling again. Oy!
At last the rain held off enough for the hubs to run outside and collect some elderflowers for me. Elderflowers grow wild around our little homestead. Elderflowers will eventually turn into elderberries which you can use to make an awesome syrup to use in the winter for boosting your immune system. But because I have found an over abundance of these fantastic plants, I have collected some of flower heads to make a syrup. This syrup not only makes a great addition to any summer time drink but is also great for summer colds and hay fever.
A book I recently discovered, The Apothecary, had a great recipe to follow but I tweaked it a little bit. This book also has other great holistic recipes and explanations of common plants. I was lucky enough to snag this gem out of the "free to good home" at my local library. But fear not! I will share with you how I went about making my own!
You will need about 20 elderflower bunches. Make sure after you have correctly identified your elderflower bush (not to be confused with pokeberry) and have collected your flower heads, leave them outside for a few hours so that any little creepy crawlies that are on/in the flowers can find shelter elsewhere. This is best done outside. Trust me.
Next I picked all of the flower heads off of their stem and put them into a large bowl. This is the most time consuming part. I found that using a fork to gently pull the flowers off of the stem worked best. Make sure to check back thru your flowers and pinch off any stem you see that might have snuck into your bunch. The stem consumed in large amounts can be toxic so please take your time picking them out. I then zested two lemons and two limes, sliced them up, and added the slices and zest to the flowers.
Obviously to make a syrup you will need sugar, so 6 cups will need to be added. Let this sit for about 2 hours so the sugar can mingle with the citrus and flowers.
Then add 8 cups of boiling water. This will then need to sit for 24 hours. I like to cover mine in plastic wrap since the ridiculous amounts of fruit flies in our house during the summer also like the taste of syrup.
At this time you should have a beautiful honey colored syrup with little flowers and citrus slices floating in the deliciousness.
I then take my mesh strainer and carefully ladle scoops of syrup into a glass measuring cup so that I can pour the syrup carefully (and as mess free as possible) into pint jars.
Some little flecks of elderflowers could slip through the mesh and into your syrup but that ok. The flowers are edible and because the pieces are so little it won't matter. But if you are worried about it you could always use a coffee filter or cheesecloth.
I have also used these little 2oz glass bottles to store some syrup in to give away to some of my other homesteading friends.
If you are wanting to make an easy elderflower tea you can heat 3-4oz of water and add 1 oz of Elderflower syrup. It's a sweet citrusy drink with a honey like taste.
Use Elderflower syrup in replace of simple syrup in almost any drink to not only sweeten your beverage but also provide you with great benefits from the flower.
Elderflower Syrup
A modified recipe from "The Home Apothecary"
Ingredients
- 20 Elderflower heads
- 2 Lemons
- 2 Limes
- 6 cups Sugar
- 8 cups Boiling water
Instructions
1. Collect correctly identified Elderflower heads from an area away from major roadways. Let set outside for a few hours to let unwanted insects crawl away.
2. Pick flowers off and put into a large bowl capable of holding 10 or more cups. Picking off flowers can be made easier with a fork. Be sure to pinch off potentially toxic elderflower stems and discard.
3. Zest and slice lemons and limes. Add to flowers.
4. Add sugar, stir, and let marinate with citrus and flowers for 2 hours.
5. Pour boiling water over mixture and stir. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 24 hours.
6. Stir then strain syrup in mesh strainer and pour into jars or sealable bottles.
7. Refrigerate for up to 3 months and add to any summertime drink. Or mix 4 parts hot water with 1 part syrup for a soothing tea for colds.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: ~6 pints