There are many culinary uses for Elderflower especially in French and European cooking. You can make syrups, infusions, sorbets and the flowers can be added to tarts and cakes or gateaux. But more on that later. The Elderflower has a slightly floral scent to it and some believe it tastes a little bit like pineapple whilst others find it similar to lychee.

A warning that needs to be made when it comes to eating Elderflower/Elderberry plants is that the berries should be cooked before eating so that you make sure that you do not eat a raw unripened berry which is poisonous. Their berries are often used as a diuretic medicinally.  The main thing is to distinguish the berries from the edible black elderberry plant from the toxic hireable elderberry. Also, you should not eat the stems or leaves as they are considered toxic.

Elderflower cordial or elderflower press as it is known is often made in many European countries, especially in the north and the Balkan countries. In some European countries, they even make wine from the berries of the plant. In Hungary, they produce a brandy made from elderberries and to make it they need 50 kilos of fruit to produce just 1 litre of the brandy. Sweden and France both produce popular liqueurs from elderflowers and in Belgium, they even create a beer from the berries.

Many people use elderflowers as fritters or in tempura. It’s not very French I’d have to say but it does sound delicious but doesn’t anything dipped in batter and fried sound delicious? Wherever you might use edible flowers you can use elderflowers in the recipe. You can make an herbal tea from fresh elderflowers which is light, fruity and delicious. But you can also do this with dried elderflowers as well.

If you are growing your own elderflowers then one of the best things to make at home is some delicious Elderflower Syrup. Here’s my recipe for homemade Elderflower syrup.

Elderflower Syrup

Ingredients

20 fresh bunches of elderflowers
1 kilo of sugar
1 litre of water
Juice of half a lemon

Method

1. Clean the bunches of elderflowers then leave them to dry - don’t shake these as you will lose the pollen which is where a lot of the flavour comes from

2. Place the flowers in a large bucket or bowl and add the water then let this steep overnight or for 24 hours

3. Strain this infusion through a cheesecloth into a large saucepan

4. Add the sugar and bring to a boil then let this simmer for 10 minutes

5. Add the lemon juice and stir then allow to cool

6. Place in sterilised glass bottles and keep in the fridge for two weeks or place the sealed bottles in a large pot with water and boil for another 10 minutes to further sterilise and leave this in a cool dark place or cellar/pantry for 3 months. Consume within a week after opening though

With this syrup, you can make elderflower ice cream, elderflower lemonade or fairy champagne as it’s sometimes called and you can add it to cocktails or to a salad dressing for a slightly sweet and floral flavour to a special salad.