Elderflower Syrup
Most people see the Elderflower tree as a wild tree, not welcome in the garden.
Such a shame, because the flowers in June, as well as the berries at end of August and the beginning of September have many medical uses! And are they not beautiful, these umbrella shaped cluster flowers!
Contrary to the berries, the flowers do not contain any vitamins, but they have lots of other benefits like:
- Their diuretic effect (= it increases urine production)
- Their remedy against constipation.
- They help to stop bleeding.
- They help to release swollen sinuses (sinusitis).
- Elderflower juice boost the immune system and therefore also great to drink it when having a cold, flu or bronchitis.
- Pure, without addition of sugar, Elderflower juice is great for people suffering from diabetes, arthritis and general joint pain. However, the recipe I give here is CONTRA-INDICATED for these diseases because of the large amount of sugar added.
Negative side effects:
Used in very large quantities, Elderflowers can cause:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
INGREDIENTS for 1 liter
10 large flower umbrellas (or some more smaller “umbrellas”)
2 to 3 limes sliced (alternative: use lemon if you do not have limes)
400 g cane sugar / L, but a great option is also to replace the sugar by honey!
option: 1 teaspoon of citric acid
1 L of boiling water
DIRECTIONS
Place the Elderflower flowers in a big pot.
Add the sugar or honey, limes and optional the citric acid
Let it steep for 2 hours
Pour 1 L of boiling water over the elderflower.
Let it steep for about 24 hours.
Seve the mixure. I squeeze out the juice from the limes and Elderflowers just between my hands and while doing so I enjoy and inhale the sweet and fresh aromas of this mixture.
Fill your bottle(s), best sterilized in advance. Use a funnel, so you do not lose any juice.
Tip: If you lift the funnel a bit, air can enter the bottle and filling your bottles will be much easier!
Conservation:
You can keep the Elderflower juice for about 3 months, preferably in the refrigerator, especially once you have started a bottle.
With time the Elderberry juice will start yeasting. It’s not bad and you can still drink it, but it ferments.
The use of citric acid with prolong the conservation time of your use.
You can make the Elderflower juice also without additional sugar, but you will not be able to conserve it very long (about 1 week in the refrigerator before fermentation). Without sugar, the juice might reduce pain and swelling in the joints caused by arthritis.
How to drink the Elderflower juice?
On a hot summer day, drink the Elderflower juice by mixing about ¼ of Elderflower juice with ¾ of water.
Surprice your friends on a summer party and serve them an aperitive with Elderflower juice by replacing the water by a light dry wine like Alligote or even with Kombucha!
Use for al your guests the same type of glass, so nobody will see the difference for friends who do not drink alcohol and drink the Elderflower with water (see picture on top).
Decorate with a slice of lemon and some leaves of mint.
Enjoy! Carpe diem!
Middle: Here you can see the umbrella shape and the reddish stem of the Elderflowers
Right: The white flowers of the Elderberry tree grow in clusters.
Anecdote: Hemlock was already used by the Greek as a poison. Some say that Socrates has been poisoned with Hemlock.
PS: Looking forward how to cook with Elderberries? Look out for my recipe at the end of August,
when it’s Elderberry harvast time!
