Very Impressive Elderflower Pressé Recipe

Ingredients

20-25 heads of elderflower*
1 litre cold water
1 lemon, zest and juice
Caster sugar, to taste

*Foraging tips: try not to take more than 1/3 from a tree (the wildlife loves elderflower too). Also, picking all the flowers means there’ll be no berries in the autumn. The best time to pick is when it’s sunny and warm. Check the forager’s code before you go. **Plus overnight steeping.

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Method

1. Shake the flower heads to remove any creatures.

2. Pluck the flowers from the stalks and stems (by hand results in a richer flavour and less stalk, though scissors do the job just fine).

3. Scoop the flowers into a sieve to help sift out any further insects. Tumble into a large bowl.

4. With a veg peeler or zester, peel your lemon to get strips and add to bowl. Halve the lemon and squeeze in all the juice. Pour in the cold water.

5. Place a little sheet of greaseproof paper over to lock in all the flavour, to keep it from browning and to keep anything from diving in. Steep for 8 hours or overnight.

6. Strain through a muslin cloth or tea towel-lined sieve into a large saucepan. Squeeze the flowers to ensure you get as much flavour out of them as possible.

7. Gently warm. Add a few spoons or shakes of sugar, to sweeten it to your liking. Serve on ice straight away or bottle, cork/seal and store in the fridge for up to a week. Freeze any excess.