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I have to confess this one is a first for me: Honeysuckle Cordial.
So first thing this morning, I was up (mostly because my OH's 6am Monday morning taxi failed to turn up and I had to take him to the railway station) and out picking elderflowers and honeysuckle blossoms. Now there are 2 types of wild Honeysuckle. The normal yellow & white flowered variety which we all think of as the wild honeysuckle and then there is also one with pink flowers. If you pick the flowers from the pink version, you will have a honeysuckle coridal with a pink tint.
There are very few recipes out there for Honeysuckle Cordial and pretty much all of them say the same thing and promptly contradict themselves. Follow the Elderflower Cordial recipe, but then they match sugar ratios with the Nettle Cordial recipe and unlike the Elderflower Cordial recipe, the blossoms go into the boiling sugar syrup and then they are back to the elderflower cordial recipe for times and adding lemon and you are in a mess before you know it,
So I have adapted and modified the 2 variations of recipes I could find. This is because we (in this household) find that way too much sugar is put into things etc. I also had a double batch of blossoms - it was a good morning. Also there is some dissension as to whether you need the buds or the open flowers. I settled for the flowers because they are the ones with the nectar (sweetness & flavour) and fragrance, rather than the pollen.
Ingredients
Yep - I know, I was running out of pans. Next to it is the next batch of Elderflower Cordial and my mixing bowl was catching the straining Nettle Cordial...
So first thing this morning, I was up (mostly because my OH's 6am Monday morning taxi failed to turn up and I had to take him to the railway station) and out picking elderflowers and honeysuckle blossoms. Now there are 2 types of wild Honeysuckle. The normal yellow & white flowered variety which we all think of as the wild honeysuckle and then there is also one with pink flowers. If you pick the flowers from the pink version, you will have a honeysuckle coridal with a pink tint.
There are very few recipes out there for Honeysuckle Cordial and pretty much all of them say the same thing and promptly contradict themselves. Follow the Elderflower Cordial recipe, but then they match sugar ratios with the Nettle Cordial recipe and unlike the Elderflower Cordial recipe, the blossoms go into the boiling sugar syrup and then they are back to the elderflower cordial recipe for times and adding lemon and you are in a mess before you know it,
So I have adapted and modified the 2 variations of recipes I could find. This is because we (in this household) find that way too much sugar is put into things etc. I also had a double batch of blossoms - it was a good morning. Also there is some dissension as to whether you need the buds or the open flowers. I settled for the flowers because they are the ones with the nectar (sweetness & flavour) and fragrance, rather than the pollen.
Ingredients
- 8 cups of Wild Honeysuckle blossom (think around half a carrier bag or filling a 2.5L bowl crammed full)
- 1L of water
- 3 cups of granulated white sugar - roughly 700g I think.
- 4 lemons thinly sliced
- 2 tsp citric acid.
- Time consuming bit - all of the green bits, stems and stalks need removing, so each and every flower needs pulling off the stem. Also remove any flowers that have started to really brown. Have fun and sit back and watch something whilst you do this.
- In a large pan, dissolve the sugar and citric acid in the boiling water.
- Add the thinly sliced lemons to the sugar syrup and bring the mixture back to the boil
- Add the picked over blossoms and mix in well.
- Leave covered for a day only, stirring from time to time.
- Strain & bottle in the usual sterile bottles.
Yep - I know, I was running out of pans. Next to it is the next batch of Elderflower Cordial and my mixing bowl was catching the straining Nettle Cordial...