Respect our Elders

There was a fresh creaminess to the scent, which surprised me. I didn't notice it when I smelled an individual flower, but after bringing home a bag it was not long before the scent fragrented the kitchen. I had brought home a bag of elderflowers to make some elderflower cordial.

I was a bit reluctant to shake the flowers as per instructions because I could see the pollen clouding the air, and I didn't want to lose any flavour (whether pollen contributes to the flavour or not I didn't know, but waste not want not). After a spider tried to bungy jump down into my bowl of flowers, I decided to continue with the shaking. I was also unsure about how much of the stem to cut off, would this give a woodier flavour? (My waste not want not strategy disappeared in a puff of smoke, as I trimmed off much of the stem.)

Pouring the sugar syrup into the bowl wilted the flours into a soggy mess. So now it was a matter of waiting and letting the flowers emit their flavour into the sugar syrup. Some of the recipes I found suggested waiting five days but I am going to stick with the 24 hours.