Meg Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 I have just been reading last years posts about Elderflower cordial. Which has motivated me to give it a try!Just been to the pharmacy to ask for citric acid and got a very strange look and was told no! I attempted an explanation of what it was for (in my bad French) but got an even stranger look!! Couldn't work out if it was no i can't have any or no we don't sell it!So instead undeterred i have tried the following:1kg sugar, 1 lemon,1 litre water boiled together and poured over 18 flower heads.Decided to only do a small batch, just in case. I am now awaiting the outcome!! Has anyone else tried it without citric acid?? How long should this keep for??? I may try another pharmacy next week for citric acid!Louise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val_2 Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 My recipe calls for white vinegar not citric acid. However, its not easy to do in France because the only white vinegar is the alcohol vinegar and it does NOT work with elderflower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missy Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 >>>Has anyone else tried it without citric acid?? <<<Have you tried with sharp lemon juice.... or put more lemons than recipe calls for..... Did you ask for 'acide citrique pour faire de la limonade' ?.... sure it must be along with the baking powder, sucre vanille and all that baking stuff in the supermarket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meg Posted June 4, 2006 Author Share Posted June 4, 2006 Just finished it!!!Delicious!!! No i didn't say the 'pour faire da la limonade', will have to try again i think.What is citric acid/ vinegar supposed to do?? Because it tastes lovely without! I was quite generous with the lemon though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoddy Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 I had no problem buying citric acid last year year. I've enough left over to do the same again this year !I should try another pharmacy if I were you.Hoddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
val douest Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 I too had problems buying citric acid last year: none to be foundin the supermarkets, first pharmacy just said 'non!' and the secondobviously found it a very odd request. Eventually after a longdiscussion between the pharmacist and the counter staff, some wasweighed out for me into a small packet. I forget how much it costbut it seemed an awful lot at the time. I afterwards found outthat citric acid is often used by drug addicts (don't know preciselywhat for) so my reputation is probably in ribbons in the town! But it was worth it for the end result - the cordial was fantastic, andserved well diluted with lots of ice it was unbelievablyrefreshing. I have been involved with visitors for the last fewweeks and thought I had missed this year's crop so I am now off tocheck out the places which had the best blossoms last year.Val Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 [quote user="louweezel"]Just finished it!!!Delicious!!! No i didn't say the 'pour faire da la limonade', will have to try again i think.What is citric acid/ vinegar supposed to do?? Because it tastes lovely without! I was quite generous with the lemon though![/quote]I made elderflower cordial last year, using lemon juice rather than citric acid, as you say, it was delicious.Two problems though, mine started to ferment (even in my cool cellar, and "popped" several corks). It didn't keep to well either, and started to grow a strange stringy thing in each bottle.So... this year I will be making it the same way, but pouring it into plastic bottles and freezing it [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kali3 Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 I had exactly the same response in England from several pharmacies (pharmacists looking shifty, scuttling into the back room to ask) and eventually found out that it was because it's used for drug production. I eventually got hold of a stash, after going in looking as respectable as possible and with well scrubbed toddler in tow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meg Posted June 6, 2006 Author Share Posted June 6, 2006 Glad it isn't just me then!!!Had an idea about freezing it in ice cube bags, so it is easy to just pop a few out at a time! Worth a try i think.Louise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoddy Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 What a brilliant idea. I shall definitely give that a try.Hoddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddie Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Ever tried buying saltpetre in England! As well as certain types of cooking it is used in bomb making. After considerable questioning I managed to buy some. I am probably on a suspected IRA list and the beef dish (forget exactly what) wasn't that good anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Katie Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Errm, can I get in on this too please. Feel free to post the recipe. Oh and a picture of an elderflower please just in case I poison everyone.Please and thank you. (My mother always told me to say that) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 20 elderflower heads1.8kg granulated or caster sugar1.2 litres water2 unwaxed lemons75g citric acid (or your drug/explosive of choice)Shake your elderflowers to get out the bugs. Put in bowl. Put sugar in pan with water and bring to boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved.While sugar syrup is heating pare off lemon zest and sling in with elderflowers. Slice lemons, chuck out the ends, put slices in the bowl.Pour over boiling syrup then stir in citric acid.Cover with cloth and leave 24 hrs.Strain through sieve lined with muslin. In absence of muslin rinse an open-mesh J-cloth in boiling water.Pour cordial into clean (pref. sterilised) bottles.Serve diluted with fizzy water on ice with a bit of mint and lemon slice. Or try with gin or vodka or white wine.Courtesy of the OH.Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Katie Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Thank you. I think I have elderflowers growing nearby. But can you confirm which they are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 How's this? It's a big tree-like thingy.[img]http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:rQPm-oqMRyGFVM:www.growingnative.org.uk/images/elder1b.gif[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Here's another one. Might be better.[img]http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:92oumarNsq3CkM:www.wildcrafting.com/OldWildCraft/album1/ElderberryFlower1.jpg[/img]Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Katie Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Yep thought so. My mother told me they were elderflowers but I don't really trust her because she's bonkers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Probably put too much vodka in her cordial.By the way, don't confuse it with ground elder which is uncannily similar in leaf and flower but grows on the ground! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missy Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 [quote user="Cassis"]By the way, don't confuse it with ground elder which is uncannily similar in leaf and flower but grows on the ground![/quote] Elderflowers have also a lovely scent and a very short season, soon all these lovely white flowerheads will turn into bunches of little blackish berries with which you can make jams/jellies with. Groundelder is a weed, growing with a large underground root system, smells of nothing (if a slightly off putting smell), then will make seeds NOT berries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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