Elderberry Cordial Spritzer Food

ELDERFLOWER SPRITZ

Steps:

• Fill a tumbler with ice, then pour over the elderflower liqueur.
• Add the gin and prosecco, then top up with soda water and garnish with lime slices to serve.

CUCUMBER & ELDERFLOWER SPRITZER

Steps:

• Chop the cucumber into a few chunks, then put in a blender or food processor with the wine and elderflower cordial. Whizz until well blended, then pour through a sieve set over a large bowl or jug. Tip the contents of the sieve back into the machine, whizz again until pulpy, then sieve again into the liquid already collected. Add 1-2 tbsp of the cucumber pulp from the sieve into the liquid and discard the rest. Chill until ready to serve.
• To serve, fill glasses with a few ice cubes and some mint leaves. Pour in enough cucumber base to come halfway up the glass, then top up with soda water.

ELDERBERRY CORDIAL

Steps:

• Stem and wash berries.
• cover with water and cook until very soft; strain.
• Measure juice; for each quart, add 2 cups of sugar.
• Return to saucepan.
• Tie spices in bag and add to sugar/juice mixture.
• Cook until thick.
• Cool, remove spices and measure again.
• Add 1 pint liquor for each quart of syrup.
• Bottle and cork tightly.
• Let sit in cool dark place for at least three weeks.
• Improves with age.

ELDERBERRY SYRUP

Steps:

• Pick the heads of plump elderberries on a sunny day and use a fork to strip the berries from their stalks. Wash the berries if you like, but this isn't necessary as they are going to be strained.
• Tip the berries into a saucepan and cover with about 1cm water. Add any extras like ginger or cloves, if you like. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer gently for 15-20 mins until the berries have softened into a liquid. Leave to cool slightly.
• Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and measure how much liquid you have. For every 500ml of liquid, you'll need 400g of sugar. Tip the sugar and liquid back into the cleaned saucepan with the lemon juice. Bring up to a simmer and gently bubble for about 10 mins until all the sugar has dissolved. Leave the syrup to cool completely and bottle or freeze. Will keep for three months in the fridge or frozen for up to a year. It can be diluted with hot or cold water to drink, used in desserts or drizzled over ice cream.

ELDERFLOWER & RASPBERRY SPRITZER

Steps:

• Soak gelatine leaves in cold water. Dissolve the gelatine in a measuring jug in the hot water from the kettle. Add the elderflower cordial and top up with sparkling white wine to make 450ml of liquid in total. Drop a few raspberries into six tall glasses and fill to about a third with the elderflower syrup. Leave to set completely, then add a few more raspberries and some more elderflower syrup. Repeat again until the glasses are nearly full to the top.