I’ve noticed there are some people around here who enjoy canning and preserving food, so I would like to share with you a recipe for a refreshing drink that can be made for a very low cost. It’s quite traditional to make this in my place.
Right now elder bushes (sambucus nigra) are blooming everywhere. Blossoms can be picked for free from any bush and apart from that you only need some cheap basic ingredients like sugar and lemons.
Elderflower drink
2 kg of sugar
2 l of water
25 elder blossoms
6 g of citric acid
2 lemons
Mix the sugar and the water in a bowl and let the blossoms soak in the mixture for 24 hours. Wash the lemons and cut them into thin slices. Add the lemon slices and the citric acid to the sugar mixture and let it soak for another 24h. Drain the liquid through a cloth or a very tight strainer. Put it into a pot and bring it to a boil. Let it boil for several minutes and then pour into sterilised bottles. Let it cool. Keep the syrup in refrigerated place.
To prepare a drink, mix the syrup with water: 1 part syrup with about 5 parts water (or according to taste). It’s delicious and refreshing if served very cold, with ice cubes.
The same kind of drink can be made from other flowers. For example, you could use dandelion blossoms instead of elder blossoms.
