Herb & floral syrup
Elderflower Syrup
A spring-only forage: fresh blossoms, lemon and sugar, steeped overnight.
- 24 hr 20 min total
- 2 cups460 ml
- Keeps 1 month
Quick answer
Elderflower syrup is sugar syrup infused with fresh elderflower blossoms and lemon. Pour warm 1:1 syrup over about 10 fully open elderflower heads, a sliced lemon and a teaspoon of citric acid, steep 24 hours, then strain. It keeps about 4 weeks in the fridge.
Elderflowers bloom for only a few weeks in late spring, and most of their flavor (honeyed, lychee-like, faintly muscat grape) lives in the cream-colored pollen. So the rules are simple: pick on a dry, sunny morning, never wash the blossoms, and get them into syrup within a couple of hours.
This makes a 1:1 syrup sized for drinks. A little goes into a spritz or a cocktail, or you can stretch it 1:6 with cold sparkling water for a classic cordial.
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The recipe
Elderflower Syrup
Ingredients for 2 cups460 ml
You’ll need: glass jar, cheesecloth, fine-mesh strainer, kitchen scale, swing-top bottleglass jar, cheesecloth, fine-mesh strainer, kitchen scale, swing-top bottle
Method
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Prepare the flowers
Shake each head to dislodge insects and let them sit on a tray for 10 minutes so stragglers can walk off. Snip the blossoms away from the thick green stems with scissors. Tiny stems are fine, but the thick stems and leaves are bitter and shouldn't go in.
10 fresh elderflower heads
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Make warm syrup
Warm the sugar and water in a saucepan, stirring, until clear. Then let it cool for about 10 minutes, until it's hot but no longer steaming hard (around 60 °C / 140 °F). Boiling-hot syrup cooks the delicate aroma.
1½ cups300 g granulated sugar1¼ cups300 ml water
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Combine
Pack the blossoms, lemon zest and lemon slices into a large clean jar. Add the citric acid, if using, pour over the warm syrup and press the flowers under the surface.
1 lemon11⁄8 tsp5 g citric acid
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Steep
Cover and leave at cool room temperature for 24 hours, stirring once or twice.
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Strain and bottle
Strain through a sieve lined with cheesecloth, squeezing gently. Bottle and refrigerate.
Storage. With citric acid it keeps about 4 weeks sealed in the fridge. Without it, plan on 2 weeks. The season is short, so freeze some in small bottles or ice-cube trays, leaving headspace. It keeps 6 months and tastes like June in December.
Per 1 tbsp (15 ml): about 38 kcal, 9.8 g sugar (estimate).
How to use it
Elderflower spritz
In the style of a Hugo: ¾ oz (22 ml) elderflower syrup, 4 oz (120 ml) prosecco and 1 oz (30 ml) soda water over ice, with a few mint leaves and a lime wedge.
Elderflower Collins
2 oz (60 ml) gin, ¾ oz (22 ml) lemon juice and ½ oz (15 ml) elderflower syrup, shaken, then topped with soda water.
Instead of elderflower liqueur
Use about two-thirds as much syrup as the liqueur a recipe calls for, since syrup is sweeter and has no alcohol.
Elderflower lemonade
1 part syrup, 1 part lemon juice and 5 parts cold water, over plenty of ice.
Desserts
Drizzle it over strawberries, fold it into whipped cream for a gooseberry fool, or soak a lemon sponge with it.
Classic drinks with Elderflower syrup
Gear for this recipe
Ball Regular Mouth 16 oz Pint Mason Jars (12-pack)
Tough, heat-safe glass you can pour hot syrup straight into. Lids seal tight and replacements are sold everywhere.
Best for Big batches and everyday storage
Escali Primo Digital Kitchen Scale (11 lb)
Best for Exact ratios, every batch
Otis Classic 16 oz Swing-Top Glass Bottles (6-pack)
Best for Storing and gifting any syrup
Ball Wide Mouth 16 oz Pint Mason Jars (12-pack)
Best for Fruit and herb infusions
More gear for this recipe (4)
Regency Wraps Ultra Fine Cheesecloth (9 sq ft)
Best for Crystal-clear syrups
Cuisinart Fine Mesh Stainless Strainers (set of 3)
Best for Every infused or fruit syrup
Dried Elderflowers (culinary, 2 oz)
Best for Elderflower syrup out of season
Food-Grade Citric Acid Powder (1 lb)
Best for Cordials, elderflower and fruit syrups
Tips for the best batch
- Smell before you pick. Good heads smell sweet and honeyed. Browning or musty-smelling ones will taste the same way.
- Pick away from busy roads and sprayed hedges, and take only a few heads from each bush so there are still berries in autumn.
- Don't wash the flowers, because the pollen is the flavor. Shake them instead.
- Use only the flowers. Elder stems, leaves and unripe berries contain compounds that can make you ill, and you should never forage a plant you can't identify with certainty.
- Citric acid is sold in the canning aisle or online. It's what gives elderflower cordial its clean, sharp finish.
Variations
Dried elderflower (any season)
Steep about 10 g of dried elderflowers in the warm syrup for 2–4 hours instead of 24, then double-strain through cheesecloth.
Elderflower lime
Swap the lemon for 2 limes for a sharper syrup that's lovely with gin and tonic.
Classic cordial
Dilute 1 part syrup with 6 parts cold still or sparkling water for the classic British summer drink.
Questions people ask
When is elderflower season?
Late May through June in most of the US and UK, earlier in warm climates and later at altitude. Pick when the heads are fully open, creamy-white and fragrant.
What is the difference between elderflower syrup and elderflower cordial?
Very little: cordial is the British name for a sweet concentrate you dilute with water. Most cordials also include citric acid. This syrup works both ways, either straight into cocktails or diluted 1:6 as a cordial.
Is it safe to make elderflower syrup?
The flowers of black elder (Sambucus nigra) and American elder (S. canadensis) are traditionally used for syrup. The stems, leaves and unripe berries are not edible raw, so snip the blossoms off the thick stems. Only forage plants you can identify with certainty.
Can I use elderflower syrup instead of elderflower liqueur?
Yes. It can replace a liqueur such as St-Germain in most drinks. Use about two-thirds as much, because the syrup is sweeter and non-alcoholic.
Why do elderflower recipes use citric acid?
It adds the clean, tart backbone that balances the sweetness, and the extra acidity roughly doubles fridge life. You can use the juice of an extra lemon instead, but the syrup won't keep as long.