Simple Homemade Elderflower Syrup
Making elderflower syrup at home is very easy to do, and you’ll love its delicate floral essence and flavor. I’ll show you how to use elderberry flowers to make the simple syrup. It’s fantastic in drinks, desserts, and even savory dishes!
Every spring, I am excited to make a new batch of elderflower syrup! The edible blooms and flowers of an elderberry bush are delicate, aromatic, their flavor tastes like spring in a jar!
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A note about elderflowers and elderberries
Elder trees belong to the Sambucus family. Flowering in the late spring/early summer and having small black berries, Sambucus nigra grows easily in the wild in North America (read more about elderberries).
The raw berries are mildly toxic, but after cooking, they are safe to use for delicious elderberry juice, elderberry jam, and of course, a sweet elderberry simple syrup!
Some years ago, I simply put a piece of the stem of an elder tree into the ground in the fall, kept it moist, and it has grown into quite a big tree now. While I still like to forage, I can now harvest the flowers and berries straight from my own garden.
Ingredients in elderflower syrup
You only need 4 basic ingredients for this elderflower syrup recipe.
- Fresh elderflower blossoms: I like to use 10-20 elderflower heads, depending on their size
- Lemons: 2-3 whole lemons, ideally organic, since you will also use the peel
- Citric acid: If you do any canning at home, you may already have citric acid in your pantry
- Sugar: I prefer to use organic cane sugar, but any white sugar will work.
Substitutions and Variations
As with many recipes, you can adapt the ingredients a bit:
- Amounts and ratios: I feel that this recipe gives you a good balance between a fragrant syrup that will also keep. However, you could always add more lemon juice or elderflowers.
- Lemons: I like to add lemon slices, but you can use straight lemon juice and some lemon zest. You can also use Meyer lemons for this recipe.
Useful kitchen tools and equipment
I find these tools to be helpful. Don’t stress if you don’t have all of them.
- large pot: You’ll want a pot that is at least 2 quarts (1.9 liters) in size.
- ½ gallon size mason jar: If you don’t have a large canning jar, you can divvy the elderberry syrup between smaller wide-mouth jars.
- fine mesh strainer: once steeped, you will need to strain the syrup to remove the fruit slices, blooms and any small stems.
- Pretty glass bottles: while you can keep your syrup in any jar or bottle with a lid, putting it in a pretty bottle makes it especially nice for gifting!
How to make elderflower syrup
This is only a summary of the steps. To see the full instructions, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Boil the sugar, water, and citric acid.
- Prepare the citrus fruit. For best results, use organic, unwaxed lemons. Wash the rind under hot water with a little bit of soap. Cut them into thin slices.
- Prepare the flowers: Cut the fresh flowers away from any thick stems. If there are small stems, you can leave them.
- Prepare the jars. Alternate adding citrus slices and elderflowers to a half-gallon mason jar.
- Make the elderflower cordial. After pouring the sugar water mixture over the lemons, you’ll want to keep the jar in a cool place for three days. Once or twice every day, either stir the mixture or shake the jar.
- Strain the syrup. After three days, using a fine mesh strainer, strain the syrup. I like to leave some of the residues in my jar. Alternatively, you can line your strainer with paper towels or a clean tea towel before straining.
- Optional: boil the syrup. To make your elderflower simple syrup last longer, in a pot over medium heat bring it back to a boil. Immediately fill the hot syrup into clean jars or bottles. Even though I have never used a water bath canner, you might like to choose to do so.
Uses for elderberry syrup
There are many ways you can enjoy your homemade elderflower syrup but here are my favorite ones:
- Gift: A bottle of elderflower syrup makes the perfect homemade gift for anyone
- Elderflower lemonade: mix a bit of your elderflower syrup with lemonade or simply use soda water and some lemon juice for a non-alcoholic beverage
- Over ice cream: Drizzling vanilla ice cream or lemon sorbet with this homemade elderflower cordial makes for a fresh, delicate dessert
- Tea: You can make a delicious tea by steeping fresh elderflowers in hot water and then adding a small amount of the elderflower syrup to your tea
- Hugo: This adult drink is very popular in Germany on hot summer days. Mix a bit of elderflower syrup with some white wine or sparkling wine, a bit of soda water, a spritz of lemon, and mint leaves for garnish.
- Elderflower syrup in drinks: You can enhance the taste of classic German strawberry punch (Erdbeerbowle) by adding a splash of elderflower syrup.
- Elderflower mocktails: This is a delicious mocktail featuring elderflower syrup.
- Other drinks: Experiment with this simple syrup by adding a small amount to soft drinks or fizzy water.
How long will it last?
The syrup has quite a bit of sugar and citric acid to keep it from spoiling. After opening the bottle, keep the elderberry cordial in the refrigerator, where it should easily last 4 weeks. Mine tends to last longer (if I haven’t already finished it by then).
You can store unopened bottles at room temperature for about one year. For best results, I recommend keeping it in a cool dark place, though.
Other elderflower and elderberry recipes you might like:
Frequently Asked Questions
Elder trees grow in the wild near water sources or creeks. You can often find them around farms or homesteads since they love nitrogen.
If you live in warmer regions in the US, you might find elderflower bushes blooming from late May or not until early July in cooler places. The best time for harvesting the fresh elderflowers is a dry morning of a sunny day.
Yes, you can make this elderflower cordial recipe with dried flowers. It will have a more concentrated taste and you can use less of these creamy white florets.
Yes, you can make tasty flower syrups with lilacs, rose petals, violets, or lavender.
Let me know if you have any questions or comments!
Elderflower Syrup
Ingredients
- 10-20 whole elderflower heads depending on size
- 3 whole lemons ideally organic
- 2 pounds sugar
- 25 g citric acid
- 1.5 litres water (about 1½ quarts)
Instructions
- To a pot, add the sugar and water. Bring to a boil and stir until all the sugar has dissolved. Add the citric acid.
- Cut the fresh flowers from thick stems (small stems are ok) and keep them in a bowl.
- For best results, use organic, unwaxed lemons. Wash the rind under hot water with a little bit of soap. Cut them into thin slices.
- Alternate adding citrus slices and elderflowers to a half-gallon mason jar.
- Pour the hot sugar water over the elderflowers and lemons. Stir well and put the lid on. Keep the jar in a cool place for three days. Once or twice every day, either stir the mixture or shake the jar.
- After three days, using a fine mesh strainer, strain the syrup.
- To make this homemade elderflower syrup last longer, in a pot over medium heat bring it back to a boil. Immediately fill the hot syrup into clean jars or bottles.
Notes
- Depending on where you live, you can find elderflowers from May to July in the US.
- If you can’t find fresh elderflowers, you can make this syrup with dried elderflowers.
Nutrition
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