Elderflower Cordial Recipe
Cook get ready - it's elderflower time. Despite the cold weather tress are beginning to show the creamy, frothy blooms. Be warned though, they won't be here for long so it's time to get the plastic bags and a pair of scissors out for a bountiful (and free) harvest of elderflowers to bring home and make a delicious Elderflower Cordial.
The cordial can be used not only as a refreshing drink, (dilute with sparkling water and you have Elderflower Champagne) it can be added as a flavoring to dessert recipes such as Elderflower Scented Eton Mess, a Fruit Fool or make an Elderflower Vinaigrette for light summer salads.
Gently dry the flowers (the bottom of a cool oven for an hour or so will do the trick) and pack the dried blooms into a jar of fine sugar and store. The sugar can then be used in whipped cream, icings and drinks to impart a delicate, sweet aroma.
A note of caution though - when picking elderflowers make sure to leave plenty to fruit later in the year and avoid picking near heavy traffic as the flowers will most likely be polluted.
Elderflower Cordial Recipe
Elderflower Pannacotta Recipe
More Recipes Using Elderflowers
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Spring is well and truly in the air which means the food festival season is also upon us. I used to spend a great deal of my time working at food festivals, mainly because I love them, but time restraints and a heavy work load means these days I have to choose a little more carefully and really have the time to work at one. So I chose my favourite which just happens to be this weekend (19th and 20th May). The Malton Food Lovers Festival in Malton, North Yorkshire is set to be one of the best this year with activities in and around the Market Place including a great Beer and Wine Festival. The events are for too numerous to mention here so you may want to check out their website for details.
Central to the festival are the cookery theatres which this year have a staggering line up of chefs appearing on stage including the region's best (check out the illustrious list here) and a few national celebrities including godfather of Italian Cuisine and star of the BBC series Two Greedy Italians Antonio Carluccio, Yorkshire's favourite Grande Dame Rosemary Shrager and food writers Tom Parker Bowles and Matthew Fort.
Each year the Malton Food Lovers Festival grows and new events are added, last year it was the Welcome to Yorkshire Taste Trail, this year it is the Masterclass Marquee. This marquee will house a series of masterclass talks and tastings on food and cooking and interviews of festival patrons and by festival president Selina Scott.
If you know of any upcoming festivals, do let me know. I may not be able to attend but it will be great to let everyone know about them.
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Photo © Malton CIC 
