Homemade Kitchen Staples: Elderflower-Syrup - Holunderblütensirup

One of my favorite kitchen-staples is homemade Elderflower-Syrup.
The Elderberry-tree grows almost everywhere, you can find it in public parks, as well as in woods. May is the time to gather the blossoms.
The recipe for the syrup is quite simple: make sure there are no little bugs in the blossoms, i.e. shake them gently, then trim the stems and put the flowers in a non-reactive pot.










Bring 1 part water and 1 part sugar to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes, skim and discard the foam, let cool completely. Pour over the blossoms and make sure, the are completely covered.


Slice one or two organic lemons and spread them on top. Cover with a lit and stir several times a day. Let this concoction brew for 5 to 6 days outside the fridge.

For fast consumption within the next 1 - 2 months, I filtered, bottled and refridgerated this concotion, which, due to the natural yeasts and the added sugar, has turned into a lively sparkling lemonade, that I mainly use to infuse buttermilk witth. This is very refreshing, as it adds taste and CO2 to the otherwise quite plain tasting butttermilk.

The majority of the batch will be used over the course of the coming year, so I filtered, pasteurized it by boiling it for 4 minutes, and filled it in sterilized bottles.

This Syrup is - contrary to its name, not sweet, but rather sweet-sour, and I use it mostly for salad dressings, or as a substitute for lemon juice or vinagar.