Elderflower Champagne

Picture courtesy of and Copyright: Y. E. W Heuzen

Garden Hopping (Zoe) gave me the recipe for this. I believe she in turn obtained it from the BBC.

Elderflower champagne is a clear, sparkling drink that is mildly alcoholic. It is easy to prepare and only takes two weeks to mature. As the name suggests, one of the primary ingredients are the whiteflowers of the Common Elder tree (Sambucus nigra). These trees are quite common in the UK, and if there aren't any in your garden, they are often found around car parks, squares, schools and other open spaces. Make sure that you get the right tree though! The trees themselves are coarse and shrubby, with large flat heads of creamy white flowers in early summer and clusters of reddish-purple berries in the autumn.

Pre-preparation:

Ingredients

This makes about 10 litres of elderflower champagne:

• 4 large heads of elder flowers - make sure that they are fully open, preferably facing the Sun
• 1kg of sugar
• 2 lemons
• 4 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
• 10 litres of cold water

Measure converter - for ounces, cups, grammes etc.

Equipment/Utensils

• A ten-litre vessel - a large plastic bucket is ideal. Ensure that it's well washed out and preferably sterilised.
• Strong bottles - these need to withstand the pressure of the carbon dioxide gas produced. Two-litre plastic drinks bottles work, but oldscrew-cap glass bottles work better and don't let as much gas escape.
• A large jug - about two litres in capacity.
• A small jug - ideally, this should hold about 750ml and is to act as a bailer.
• A lemon-squeezer
• A funnel
• A potato-peeler
• A tablespoon
• A sieve
• A strainer

Time-scale
Preparation Time: 30 minutes; Standing Time: 24 hours; Maturing Time: two weeks plus

Method

1. Wash the lemons and use the potato-peeler to peel the lemon rind off as thinly as possible.
2. Remove any insects, leaves or other unwanted objects from the elder flowers.
3. Squeeze the lemons and put the juice into the ten-litre vessel alongwith the lemon rind and flowers.
4. Add the sugar and the wine vinegar. Be careful not to crush the flowerheads too much with the sugar.
5. Pour on the water. Put a lid or cover over the top of the vessel and leave to stand for 24 hours.and stir gently every six hours.
6. Sterilise the bottles either using sterilising chemical tablets or boiling water. If you use chemical tablets, rinse the bottles afterwards so that the chemicals don't kill the yeast in the champagne mixture.
7. Take the lid off the vessel and remove any large flower heads or bits of rind.
8. Use the small jug to bail some of the mixture through the sieve and into the large jug.
9. When the large jug becomes full, place the funnel in the top of a bottle.
10. Pour the mixture through the strainer into the funnel.
11. Once all the bottles are full, put the caps (or corks) on firmly and place somewhere not too warm or too cold. A garage shelf is ideal.

After two weeks the champagne is ready for drinking. However, the taste does improve with time and can be left for up to two years. It's probably best to leave it for six months to a year to mature, as this means the full taste will have developed, yet without any fizz escaping. (That's assuming the caps have been done up properly.) Try to make as much as possible during the months of June and early July as this is when the flowers will be at their best. Typically, 20 litres should provide ample supply for a year's worth of drinking fora family of four.

Elderberry Wine

When NAH and I got married, we were given a book on making home-made wine by one of my cousins. Whilst we were looking at all the wedding gifts, my mum spotted the book and told me her brother had started out in business by supplying Boots with fermentation locks. So I just had to have a go at making some wine - beer I leave to NAH. As we'd moved to a very small town in Wiltshire (Corsham), it seemed natural to make use of the bounty of the hedgerows close to where we lived. Elderberries were in abundance that year, so that's the first wine I ever made. This sweet version's been a regular ever since.

And the now well thumbed book my cousin gave me? First Steps in Wine Making by the aptly named C. J. J. Berry

Ingredients:

• 3lb (1.5 kilos) Elderberries
• 3.5lb (1.5 kilos) Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Citric Acid
• 1 gallon (4.5 litres) Water - boiled
• Yeast and nutrient

Method:

1. Strip the berries from the stalks using the prongs of a table fork (it's quicker and less messy that way)
2. Weigh the berries and crush them in a bowl (I use a large, clean bucket instead)
3. Pour on the boiling water and let it cool to about 21 degrees centigrade before adding the yeast and citric acid
4. Leave for 3 days, stirring daily, then pour through a fine sieve onto the sugar (another large, clean bucket)
5. Pour the liquid into a dark glass demijohn (the wine tends to lose its colour if a clear one is used), but do not fill completely until the first vigorous fermentation has subsided. Plug the neck with cotton wool during this time
6. When the fermentation is quieter fill the demijohn to the top of the neck and fit the airlock
7. Leave to ferment in a dark place - an airing cupboard is ideal. Leave until fermentation is complete - it may take up to 6 months
8. Siphon off into clean, dark bottles, cap (or cork) and keep for 6 months at least

Measure converter - for ounces, cups, grammes etc.