Homemade Elderflower Syrup Recipe

In my previous post My Unexpected Journey into Herbalism I mentioned that it is good to slowly expand your repertoire by investigating one herb/botanical at a time and really getting to know as much as you can about it. My new herb of the moment is the elder – both elderflowers and elderberries. I planted one in my garden and have started to get some reasonable harvests of flowers and fruit (that I have been drying to give me more flexibility about how and when I use them).

I’ve made elderflower cordial previously but now I have a much different perspective as I make tinctures, syrups and more. This recipe is for Homemade Elderflower Syrup: a syrup for fighting off colds, flus and winter blues. Elderflower health benefits include supporting healthy respiratory systems, helping to reduce runny noses and support healthy fever management. Traditionally herbalists recommend taking elderflowers daily in the allergy season to reduce symptoms. A tablespoon or two of elderflower syrup in soda makes a refreshing beverage. Add elderflower syrup to white wine or vodka for an aromatic aperitif. Drizzle elderflower syrup over fresh fruit, yoghurt or icecream. Add a spoonful of elderflower syrup to cream before whipping.

For this recipe you can use fresh or dried elderflowers. I use dried because it makes it a lot easier to decide when to make your syrup rather than relying on nature to coincide with your plans both with respect to timing and to having the right quantity of elderflowers available. Basically 50g of dried elderflowers (about 2 cups) is roughly equivalent to 30 big elderflower heads or umbels and is enough to make about 8 cups/2 litres of syrup. You can easily halve the recipe if you prefer. I wanted to have lots to share with friends and family.

7 cups sugar
4 cups water
4 tbsp citric acid**
50g dried elderflowers
1 lemon cut into slices

Combine the sugar, water and citric acid in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved – you don’t need to boil it.

Remove saucepan from heat and allow the syrup to cool to room temperature.

Put the elderflowers and lemon slices into a large glass jar and then pour the cooled syrup over the top.

Let it steep in the fridge or a cool room for a couple of days, stirring the syrup at least daily to make sure the flowers are mixed into the syrup and submerged.

Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth or similar into a clean jar (or back into the saucepan*).

You can simply pour the syrup into clean jars with tight screw tops and keep it in a dark cool place (cellar/fridge). Keep in the fridge once opened.

*To make sure the syrup keeps for at least a year, boil the syrup for 5 mins before transferring to sterilised bottles.

** Citric acid helps balance the flavour and make the syrup last longer. You can add lemon juice instead to balance the taste if you prefer but keep the syrup in the fridge.