How to make Elderflower Fizz or Champagne

Elderflower Fizz recipe

How to make elderflower champagne - for all you foragers out there!

For each gallon of water, you need 4 or 5 big bouffy elderflower heads. Put them to one side on a flat surface (table, worktop, sink etc) for a while, then give them a shake so any insects have hopefully hopped off - although as you strain the liquid later it doesn't matter too much.

1. Boil a kettle, and dissolve 650 grams of sugar in a pan in a small amount of hot water. 
2. Add this to cold water in a stainless steel jam pan or plastic bucket to make up a gallon of water (or multiply the quantity if you want more than a gallon), and then add the elderflower heads.
3. Squeeze one lemon and add the juice and skins into the mixture. 
4. Add 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar. Cover loosely and leave for 3 days when it should start to bubble.
5. Line a colander with a tea towel and strain it into a pan, and then decant into bottles. Screw top fizzy drink bottles are best as it's the easiest way to manage the gas build up. Store them in a shed just in case of any explosion!

It starts off like elderflower lemonade, and becomes more like champagne, and then more syrupy over time. On the left in the photo below, 3 years old - on the right, 6 years old and tastes like sherry!

Left - 3 year old elderflower fizz
Right - 6 year old elderflower sherry!