Elderflower Cordial with Honey 

The cordial is beautifully refreshing on a hot summer day with some cold water or who wants, with sparkling wine. 

You need:

• About 350 ml strong ginger tea 

• Slices of half a lemon 

• Juice from one lemon 

• A handful of Elderflowers

• 4 Tbsp good quality organic Honey 

1. Slice some Ginger (depending on how spicy you want it), place it in a pan with water and bring it to boil. I like it more spicy so I boil it for at least 5 minutes. 

2. Turn off the heat, add the honey and let it dissolve. 

3. Place the Elderflower (don't wash them before), the lemon slices and the lemon juice in a jar and pour the ginger tea on top. 

4. Cover the jar with a clean dish towel and let it stand in a cool, dark place for two days. 

5. Strain the cordial and fill in a clean bottle. You can keep this cordial in the fridge for about a week but I just filled it into an ice cube form and then placed the “cordial cubes” in the freezer so that I can enjoy it for about a year.  

I would like to give some clues on how to identify ramson safely and how you can conserve the flower buds to enjoy this plant also later in the year. 

• Bulbous perennial, which reproduces through bulbs and seeds 

• Distinctive garlicy smell, which you can often already smell from far 

• Leaves: long, pointed, oval with untoothed edges, one main midrib which does a ´click´sound when broken 

• Flowers are on a thin stalk with 6 petals per flower 

• Leaves can be confused with Convallaria majalis, which is poisonous. Convallaria majalis however does not smell like garlic and can have two or more leaves on a stem. Garlic leaves come out individually from the base of the plant and the bulb. 

• The options to use ramson in the kitchen are infinite. You can make pesto, mayonnaise, insured oil and just add the plant to any dishes of your choice. 

For the pickled Flower buds use the following ingredients: 

• 4 cups Flower buds

• 250 ml white wine vinegar

• 250 ml water

• 125 ml White wine 

• 2 Teaspoon Salt

• 2 Tablespoon Honey 

• Spices of your choice e.g Bay leaf, peppercorns etc. 

Heat up the liquid ingredients in a pan, add the honey and salt and stir until they dissolve. Place flower buds in a jar,  fill up with warm liquid and close directly. Let it cool down slowly and after about two weeks the buds are ready to be used. The buds are nice with some bread or as a topping for various dishes. 

Note: Only pick from places that are not polluted and where there is a great abundance of ramson. Remember that you take away one of the reproductive organs of the plant, so do not harvest all flower buds from an individual plant but rather collect from different places. 

As my skin had quite a tough time going through these crazy temperature changes, I decided to give it a try and make a simple lotion with just chickweed oil and Aloe Vera. I have been using this lotion now for a couple of weeks and I can see and feel how it helps me with my dry and red spots.  

Here are the instruction for making the simple chickweed lotion. 

• Collect Chickweed (be sure you have the right plant), clean it and let it dry 

• Place chickweed in a jar, fill with Almond oil and close it.

• Let it sit for about 3 weeks, in a warm spot but not in direct sunlight. Shake the jar every now and then. 

• Then filter out the chickweed so you are left with your chickweed oil. 

• Take some fresh Aloe Vera,(I used about a piece that was about as thick as my thumb), place it in a jar for about an hour so the Aloin can flow out. Then peel of the skin with a knife so that you are only left with the inner gel 

• Place the chickweed oil and the slimy Aloe Vera in a high jar and blend it together. 

Check if you like the consistency and otherwise add more oil or aloe vera gel. In general the consistency is rather slimy and liquid, so I only use a tiny bit each morning and evening. 

I recommend only making an amount, which you can use within a couple of weeks as aloe vera oxidizes rather quickly. I have had my lotion now for two weeks and it is still good but to avoid spoilage just make small amounts. In any case, with the rest of the chickweed oil you can also make a lovely salve. 

Enjoy exploring chickweed outside and have fun making this beautiful lotion!