20 heads of elderflowers (try and avoid ones with brown flowers - apparantly they will give it an aura of cat's pee)
1.8 kg granulated or caster sugar
1.2 l water
2 unwaxed lemons (not that you can get unwaxed lemons in Torrington on a Sunday)
75 g citric acid (get it from the chemist. Be warned, you may be quizzed about what you want it for. A friend of mine was refused it because he looked too dodgy. Our local chemist only does it in 50g packets so this year I shoved in an extra lemon)
- Shake elderflowers to remove insects. Place in a large bowl
- Put sugar and water in a pan and bring to the boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved. This is a scary amount of sugar.
- Meanwhile pare off the lemon rind in wide strips, slice the lemon and put it all in the bowl with the elderflowers
- Pour over the boiling syrup and add the citric acid
- Cover with a cloth and leave at room temp for 24 hours
- Strain and bottle in thoroughly cleaned bottles I made 3 wine bottles full with this recipe - I save the screwtop wine bottles for occasions like this. I strain through a teatowel in a colander.
- Feel smug.
Enjoy.
This is the recipe I use too. It might have been Sophie Grigson's once. I was refused two packets of citric acid in Sainsbury's. I had no idea why! I had to resort to underhand tactics to get the required amount and now I hoard it.
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