My Elderflower Champagne is finally ready
I made it when the elderflowers finally came out, several weeks ago, and today I opened the first bottle – and it fizzed! It tasted utterly delicious, just as I remember it from my childhood. Summers, in those days, as well as being long and hot (ahem), were punctuated by the pop of corks from homemade Elderflower Champagne.
I love the scent and the taste, and the magical element of capturing something precious in nature and keeping it for a little longer. It makes me understand all the preserving, drying, bottling and jam-making of my grandmother, and all my grandmothers back as far as anyone could ever possibly remember. It’s the magic of midwinter celebrations, bringing the richness of summer into the darkest and leanest time of the year.
I hadn’t made Elderflower Champagne for a while. I was too busy, or so I told myself. Elderflower Cordial is so easy to buy from the supermarket, and all year round, too. But this year I was determined to make it. I could even justify it as research for my new novel, ‘We That Are Left’.
And so today, as I sip my champagne (we called it ‘pop’ when I was little, but I have a distinct indication it’s not quite as innocent as it appears!), I am celebrating ‘Eden’s Garden’ being chosen as a ‘Summer Read’ and racing back up the charts to the dizzy heights of number 13 while I wasn’t looking, and the birth of a new book. ‘We That Are Left’ begins in 1914, and is being published early in 2014 by Honno Press.
Once the cover has been finalised, I shall be celebrating again. Meanwhile, I am celebrating the first line of the book: ‘It was the day of raspberries and champagne, the day the world changed.’
Elderflower Champagne
6 large heads of Elderflower.
2 1bs (907g) sugar
2 lemons
4 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
2 (10 l) Gallons of cold water
Method
Wash the lemons and peel the lemon rind as thinly as possible. Remove any insects, leaves or other unwanted objects from the Elderflowers. Squeeze the lemons and put the juice into a large vessel along with the lemon rind and flowers. Add the sugar and the wine vinegar. Pour on the water. Put a lid or cover over the top of the vessel and leave to stand for 24 hours. Stir gently every six hours.
Sterilise strong bottles. (plastic fizzy drinks with screw tops bottles are fine) Strain the mixture and pour into the bottles.
After two weeks the champagne is sparkling and delicious. However, the taste does improve with time and can be left for up to two years.
Enjoy!
Sounds wonderful – cheers!
Cheers, Kate! Homemade is definitely the best 🙂
Bring some with you in September Juliet – we’ll celebrate your new book coming out Feb 2014
Will do! Can’t wait!! 🙂
Oh, I can almost taste this!! How lovely!!!
Sending a taste over now, Carol! 🙂
It’s delicious.
Isn’t it just, Susan. And for so little effort! 🙂
I’m not a bit surprised that Eden’s Garden has been ‘re-discovered’!! Wonderful novel! 🙂 And congrats too on the publication date been set for your new novel – can’t wait! Mmm, your elderflower champagne sounds positively delicious! Wish I could taste a wee sip…….. 🙂 xoxox
Hurrah, Edith! Thank you for those lovely words about Eden’s Garden. I’m getting excited about We That Are Left. Lots to plan before 2014 (and lots more recipes to try …)
Virtual champagne traveling in the ether towards you 🙂 x
Reblogged this on Tales From the Landing Book Shelves and commented:
I’m reblogging this piece in honour of my (or rather our) successful batch of Elderflower cordial. This is the second year that we have had a go and we were very pleased with the results. Maybe we’ll hav a bash at champagne next year, who knows!….
Congratulations! It’s especially nice to have a summer celebration. I’ve re-blogged your piece as I appreciated the Elderflower theme – we’ve been drinking our homemade cordial – one bottle left!
Thank you, Chris! That’s wonderful. I lost courage and didn’t try cordial this year – I wish I had! The champagne is utterly delicious. Cheers, and enjoy your last bottle. Here’s to elderberries later in the year …
I’ve never tried anything with elderflowers but I love making, and eating/drinking elderberry jam and elderberry vodka. The best bit is foraging the fruit and knowing it’s free, a gift from nature, or in my case, from the local nature reserve.
Ooh, elderberry jam! Now that’s an idea, Jet. I haven’t tried elderberry vodka, either. I can see I’m just going to have to source the elderberries when they appear. And full of goodness too. I find homemade and foraged points up just how bland much of our food has become. A reminder of the life-zing of real food! 🙂 x
Gosh, you’ve got lots to celebrate! Congratulations on the well-deserved success of Eden’s Garden – lovely to see it flying again – and the new book!
I eyed up the elderflower heads this year and toyed with the idea of trying my hand at elderflower champagne but didn’t… now I really wish I had!
Thank you, Chris! There’s always next year for champagne. I’ve been meaning to for years. I’m going to try cordial next year. Our Welsh weather permitting, of course. 🙂 x
Looks delicious and what grand reasons for popping open a bottle. Life is good! Looking forward to reading the following on sentences and paragraphs in 2014. Have a wonderful summer Juliet. 🙂
Thank you, Claire! It’s taking shape. Enjoy the sun!