Elderflower Champagne Recipe & Cordial (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between elderflower cordial and elderflower champagne? ›

As you can see from the two recipes below there is no difference in the ingredients between elderflower cordial and champagne. Only the ratios differ and of course the fact that elderflower cordial is not fermented. Elderflower has a strong association with 'Victorian' Britain.

If your elderflower champagne is not fizzy, you can try troubleshooting by allowing more fermentation time, checking the yeast viability, ensuring sufficient sugar levels, ensuring proper bottle sealing, and monitoring fermentation temperature.

I'm pretty sure it's 10g per litre, in which case 14g is about right for two champagne bottles.

Flip-top bottles are harder to control as the fizzy foam may overflow before you can get it resealed and result in flat wine with almost no bubbles. After bottling, the room temperature elderflower champagne should be "burped" at least once a day to release excess gas and prevent explosions.

Remove the zest and extract the juice. The pith is unwanted as it can cause the elderflower to have a bitter taste.

No fizz and mould

Some areas are wild yeast deserts and there won't be any floating about. Some areas will have the wrong type of wild yeast which might get to work momentarily and then die off. If you get this problem you might have to consider adding some yeast, I find champagne yeast works very well.

You can easily freeze the elderflower cordial, just make sure you don't fill the container to the rim. The liquid needs space to expand when frozen and believe me you do not want to experience a sticky elderflower cordial explosion in your freezer!

Don't squeeze the cordial through the cloth when straining – that will make the cordial cloudy. (That said, a cloudy cordial is not the end of the world! It will still be perfectly drinkable, but a beautiful, crystal clear cordial is my preference.)

The pop should happen after around 3 days, and the champagne should be ready in roughly 2 weeks. It will still keep getting fizzier for up to 4 months though, so you may need to burp the bottles a couple of times if you keep it that long.

Any bottle that has had a fully carbonated fizzy drink is good or champagne or beer bottles. Simply siphon the wine into the bottles to within 25mls of the top.

Is elderflower cordial full of sugar? ›

With this in mind, I tried the elderflower cordials diluted as directed on the label. They all seemed about right in terms of flavour level, and the sugar content after dilution was mostly similar: between 10g and 12g for a 250ml glass – nearly a tablespoonful.

The finished "champagne" will be quite dry, so you will need to sweeten it to taste with a non fermenting sugar if you prefer a sweeter "champagne". For this you can use a wine sweetener such as Sorbitol, a non-fermenting sugar such as Lactose or any proprietary artificial sweetener.

Why use citric acid in elderflower cordial? The addition of citric acid simply prevents the cordial from fermenting and acts as a preservative. You can buy citric acid for cordial online in a number of sizes depending on how you choose to use this versatile product.

For this reason, I only use screw-top plastic fizzy drink bottles for my elderflower champagne. Make sure they're fizzy drink bottles – the 1 litre and half litre bottles seem most 'stable' though you can use the 2l cola or lemonade bottles if you like. Don't use bottles from non-sparkling water or fruit juices.

How Long Does Elderflower Champagne Last? Elderflower champagne is generally ready to drink two weeks after bottling. If, however, you want to keep it for longer, that's absolutely fine. If the bottles are well sealed and you've followed the correct process, your champagne will last for several months.

DIY elderflower cordial (syrup) is versatile and significantly less expensive than prepared elderflower liqueur (like St. Germain). Cordial can be customized with dried or fresh elderflowers, different fruit juices, or liquor. Citric acid boosts acidity and extends shelf-life.

The terms elderflower syrup and elderflower cordial are used interchangeably: they both mean a concentrated elderflower extract. This extract can be used in drinks, liqueurs, creams, and any other number of food items as an additional flavor profile and sweetener.

Liqueurs And Cordials

Liqueurs are basically liquors that have been flavored and sweetened. The term is interchangeable with “cordial,” except in the U.K., where cordial can also just refer to a sweet, non-alcoholic liquid.

Elderflower cordial has a sweet, floral, refreshing taste which is one of my favourite summer drinks. It's a non-alcoholic concentrated syrup that can be mixed with sparkling water or soda water and ice to enjoy in the heat.