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Elderflower ChampagneElderflower Champagne

1st June 20201st June 2020
Picked Elderflowers - dog - Foraging Courses - Preserving Courses - Preserving Courses South London - Preserving Courses East Surrey
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Higher Alcohol Content and Lots of Fizz

This is a great recipe if you are looking to enjoy sipping a strong, sweet, highly sparking elderflower champagne enjoying the heady heights of spring with everything in full bloom, the birds singing non-stop and the sun always in the sky.

This recipe compared to the lower alcohol content one we published earlier in the week, is more demanding of your time, but the rewards are well worth the effort. Using a much higher volume of elderflowers and leaving them with access to the air for longer allows the volume of yeasts to multiply before bottling.

I would very strongly recommend that you store this in bottles designed to take fizzy drinks. I have a stash of old lemonade and tonic plastic bottles just for this purpose. A cupboard filled with sticky sweet exploded elderflower champagne is not a good look.

Read more about the Elder tree in our factfile on Elder Trees here.

Spring time wild champagne drinking - Foraging - preserving - preserving courses
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Elderflower Champagne – Higher Alcohol and More Bubbles

This is a great recipe if you are looking to enjoy sipping a strong, sweet, highly sparking elderflower champagne enjoying the heady heights of spring with everything in full bloom, the birds singing non-stop and the sun always in the sky.
Course Drinks
Cuisine British
Keyword Botanicals, Champagne, Cocktail, Elderflower, Elderflower Champane, Food for Free, Foraged, Foraged Food, Perserve, Perserving, Sparking wine, Spring, Summer, Traditional
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Brewing stage 1 4 days
Total Time 4 days 1 hour 30 minutes

Equipment

  • 7-8 liters of clean sterilised bottles that can take pressure – I have a batch of old lemonade and tonic bottles I use.
  • Muslin
  • Large Pan/bowl to keep everything in
  • Funnel

Ingredients

  • 1 Carrier Bag Elderflowers a standard sized carrier bag is about the right volume of elderflower heads although you don’t have to use one to collect them in.
  • 2 kg Sugar white
  • 3 Litres Hot Water
  • 3 Litres Cold Water
  • 1 Lemon juice and jest
  • 1 Orange juice and jest
  • 1 Lime juice and jest
  • 2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar

Instructions

  • Pick your elderflowers – give each tree a sniff test, some smell sweet and summery – others like cats wee. Leave the latter ones for elderberries later in the year. Don’t pick a tree bare, but leave lots for other people and wildlife that might want a share too. Do check out our blog on foraging and the law here.
    Picking Elderflowers - Foraging Courses - Preserving Courses - Preserving Courses South London - Preserving Courses East Surrey
  • Leave them out in the shade for a short while to allow the creatures inhabiting them to escape.
    Picked Elderflowers - Foraging Courses - Preserving Courses - Preserving Courses South London - Preserving Courses East Surrey
  • Then cut off as much stem as your patience allows. The stem contains trace elements of cyanade so it is best to remove as much as possible, but it’s also frustratingly time consuming.
    Removing the stems - Elderflowers - Foraging Courses - Preserving Courses - Preserving Courses South London - Preserving Courses East Surrey
  • Mix the hot water and sugar together, stir well to dissolve the sugar.
    Mix the water and sugar together - Elderflowers - Foraging Courses - Preserving Courses - Preserving Courses South London - Preserving Courses East Surrey
  • Add the cold water.
  • Add all the other ingredients, and stir well.
    Juice of the orange - Elderflower - Foraging Courses - Preserving Courses - Preserving Courses South London - Preserving Courses East Surrey
  • Cover with a muslin. Leave outside for 4 days in a cool slightly breezy space. This will help it collect more wild yeasts, and start the fermentation process.
    Cover with a tea towel or muslin - Elderflower - Foraging Courses - Preserving Courses - Preserving Courses South London - Preserving Courses East Surrey
  • If after 2 days no yeast has appeared, add a pinch of dried yeast and restart the four days.
  • Strain though a sieve lined with a muslin.
    Strain through a muslin - Elderflower - Foraging Courses - Preserving Courses - Preserving Courses South London - Preserving Courses East Surrey
  • Decant into sterilised bottles that can take pressure!
    Bottle - Elderflower Champagne - Elderflower - Foraging Courses - Preserving Courses - Preserving Courses South London - Preserving Courses East Surrey
  • Seal and leave to ferment in a cool dark place for a further 8 days.
  • Enjoy chilled.
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