Elder flower Champagne
What you will need to make 20 litres
- A brewing bucket that holds 20 litres
- Plastic bottles to hold 20 litres
- Sterilising solution
- Large wooden spoon
- Tea towel
- A grater
- Muslin cloth
- A funnel
- A Jug
- Plastic sieve
- Juicer
Ingredients
- 20 large heads of fresh elder flowers
- 4 Tbs White wine or cider vinegar
- 10 lemons or 15 large limes
- 2KG of white sugar
Method
Tips
This is one of the only times you will find me recommending plastic bottles due to them being safer than glass bottles in this instance. This is because if you use glass bottles to store the Elder flower champagne, there is a chance it may explode. Elder flowers have a very short season about a month, make the most of them while they are around. Always pick Elder flowers on a dry sunny day, pick the freshest looking, sweetest smelling flowers. Don’t use more than 20 heads as it could cause the mixture to go gloopy. Initially lay the heads out for half an hour to allow insects to escape before using.
- Sterilise all the equipment and let it dry fully
- Add 20 litres of water to the bucket
- Add all the sugar to the bucket along with the juice and zest of the lemons or limes
- Add the vinegar
- Stir well with the wooden spoon
- Add the flower heads, flowers down into the solution with as much as the stalks out of the mixture as possible
- Cover the mixture with the tea towel in a cool place out of direct sunlight and leave for 3-6 days
- After 3-6 days mixture will start to show signs of a white film (mould) growing on the surface. This is normal and is an indicator that the champagne is on its way to being bottled. NB: if no film, then leave for a further day or two
- Strain the liquid through a muslin cloth and then put into plastic bottles. At this stage I put a dent into the top side of the bottle with my thumb, as I tighten the lid. This is a good indicator that the champagne is getting fizzy when it pops out and that the fermentation process is working
- Store in a cool dry place. If you notice that the bottles distort with gas pressure, release the air by loosening the top and letting the air out.
- Refrigerate and enjoy this delicious, refreshing, slightly alcoholic drink!!!
