Elderflower Champagne Recipe – Summer in a Bottle!

elderflower cordial

🥗Healthier: homemade elderflower syrup

💰Cheaper: simple syrup

Homemade syrup can be lower in sugar and cost-effective.

champagne

🥗Healthier: sparkling water

💰Cheaper: prosecco

Sparkling water reduces alcohol content, while prosecco is a more affordable sparkling wine.

Harvest elderflower heads on a dry, sunny day, ideally late morning after the dew has dried.

Boil 3 L of water.

Remove bugs and stems from elderflower heads.

Gently strip the tiny blossoms from the elderflower heads using a fork or by placing the heads flower side down in a bowl.

Add 300 g (about 2 and 1/2 cups) of granulated sugar to the boiling water and stir until dissolved.

Turn off the heat and let the sugar water cool to room temperature.

Cut 2 lemons in half, squeeze in the juice, and drop the halves into the mixture, seeds and all.

Add 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to the mixture.

Stir the mixture to combine the sugar, water, apple cider vinegar, and lemons.

Add the elderflower blossoms to the mixture, ensuring they are submerged.

Cover the mixture with a clean towel and let it steep in a cool spot for 24 hours.

After 24 hours, strain the mixture using a sieve to remove the flowers and lemons.

Pour the strained mixture into bottles, leaving 3 centimeters of space at the top.

Keep the lids of the bottles loose to allow for gas release during fermentation.

Store the bottles in a plastic tote to catch any potential mess from fermentation.

Burp the bottles once a day for 10 to 15 days to release gas and monitor fermentation.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level: