Tonight I will be using some of the gooseberries I harvested at the weekend along with some elderflowers from my garden to make a gooseberry and elderflower cordial. This is an easy recipe and I thought I would share with you how I make this refreshing drink.
I have made some juice already, with 1kg of gooseberries (simmered down in a little water and strained). To this, I will add 700g of sugar (add a little more if you like a sweeter drink, we like it quite tart), and around 8 heads of elderflowers.
First, I will add sugar to the gooseberry juice. The mix will be heated until the sugar has fully dissolved. I will then turn off the heat and drop in the flowers. I will leave for 5 minutes or so for the flowers to impart their flavour. (You can leave it a bit longer if you like a stronger, more floral taste.)
I will then strain the mix through a piece of muslin to remove the flowers and pulp, and then once it has strained through, I will pour the drink into a sterilised bottle and place it in the fridge, where it will keep for the next few days (if we do not drink it all first).
This grown-up drink tastes a little like a non-alcoholic sweet Muscatel wine, and is great with ice on a warm day.
EWSP Consultancy 