Lime And Elder Flower Cordial Recipes

HOMEMADE ELDERFLOWER CORDIAL

Steps:

• Put the sugar and 1.5 litres/2¾ pints water into the largest saucepan you have. Gently heat, without boiling, until the sugar has dissolved. Give it a stir every now and again. Pare the zest from the lemons using a potato peeler, then slice the lemons into rounds.
• Once the sugar has dissolved, bring the pan of syrup to the boil, then turn off the heat. Fill a washing up bowl with cold water. Give the flowers a gentle swish around to loosen any dirt or bugs. Lift flowers out, gently shake and transfer to the syrup along with the lemons, zest and citric acid, then stir well. Cover the pan and leave to infuse for 24 hrs.
• Line a colander with a clean tea towel, then sit it over a large bowl or pan. Ladle in the syrup - let it drip slowly through. Discard the bits left in the towel. Use a funnel and a ladle to fill sterilised bottles (run glass bottles through the dishwasher, or wash well with soapy water. Rinse, then leave to dry in a low oven). The cordial is ready to drink straight away and will keep in the fridge for up to 6 weeks. Or freeze it in plastic containers or ice cube trays and defrost as needed.

RAW LIME CORDIAL

Steps:

• Wash limes in a sinkful of warm water, scrubbing with your hands or a vegetable brush, and let them dry them on a dish towel. Peel them with a vegetable peeler, removing as little of the underlying white pith as possible. To begin each, it's helpful to cut the polar ends off, where the stem attaches and opposite. This should produce about 140 grams of peels.
• Cut limes in half and juice them. This should produce about 2 1/2 cups of juice.
• In a non-reactive, coverable container, add sugar to juice and stir until fully dissolved, 3 to 5 minutes. Crush peels up in handfuls to release the oils as you add them into the juice mix. Stir a bit to initiate extraction of the oils. (If you're making a ginger version, wash the ginger, then shred it in a blender or food processor (no need to peel it), employing some of the lime juice to allow it to liquefy, and add it into the lime mixture, stirring well.) Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. When ready, strain the cordial off from the peels in a fine mesh strainer or chinoise. Funnel cordial into covered container or cappable bottle and return to refrigerator for another day, to cure, before using. Makes roughly 1 liter.

ELDERFLOWER & LEMON CORDIAL

Steps:

• Dissolve sugar in water over a gentle heat, then bring to a simmer. Pour over the elderflower heads with the zest from the lemons - use a potato peeler to get nice wide strips. Slice the rest of the lemons and add to the syrup with citric acid. Stir well, cover and leave for 24 hours in a cool place to infuse. Strain through muslin and pour into sterilised bottles. Once open, refrigerate.