ELDERFLOWER FIZZ RECIPE
- Polaris Bushcraft
- May 9, 2023
- 1 min read
Elderflower Fizz or Elderflower Champagne as it is sometimes known, is very easy to make!
The flowers usually open in May, so look out for a dry, sunny day to pick them, when the flowers produce plenty of pollen - the natural yeast in this recipe. You are looking for fresh looking, newly opened flowers, with a nice zesty scent. We usually sniff each one before selecting as you can tell instantly from the smell if you've selected a good one.
Remember to ensure you have the landowner's permission before you forage, and only take the minimum for your requirements. Always check, check and double check you have correctly identified a plant as edible!
METHOD
Cut approximately 20 Elder flower heads, double checking the ID and shaking off any insects!
Keeping stalk content to a minimum, put the flowerheads into a clean bucket - add 5l cold water, 1kg sugar, stir and cover with a sliced lemon or two to prevent the flowers browning.
Leave overnight or for 24 hours, strain through a jelly cloth or seive
Pour into sterilised bottles and seal.
In 6 weeks it should be nicely fizzy. Just remember to vent the pressure if you're keeping it more than a few weeks as the natural yeast from the flowers can keep it fermenting! If this happens the bottles can expode.
WILD FOOD & FORAGE DAYS
If you'd like to discover more of nature's harvest, why not join one of our wild food and forage day workshops which run in Spring and Autumn.
The recipe is fine, but the method ... The fermentation will probably take longer than 24 hrs to get going. I leave mine 4-5 days. The secondary fermentation in the bottles can generate a lot of gas. And quickly! Glass bottles are very risky should they explode. Plastic is safer, but can still go off spectacularly if not checked daily. Give at least 2-3 cm space at the top of the bottle as a buffer. If a plastic bottle starts to swell it must be vented at once, and carefully! Once no more venting is needed, they are safe to leave.