Elderflower & Rose Syrup

I have to admit I was the first to welcome the unseasonably warm weather that we’ve had. April was simply glorious. What didn’t occur to me was that one of the ingredients would be coming into flower somewhat earlier then I expected when we set the publication date. Last year it was June when the elderflowers were out and I had a nightmare with my photography as they finished in July!

The key recipe in the elderflower chapter is the Elderflower and Rose Syrup. I always associate this with the first delicious moments of getting the contract to be published! Having talked to Helen from Fuss Free Flavours in London it seems the flowers in the south are beginning to open and certainly in my area the elderflower is coming out about three weeks early this year. Yesterday I picked a few with the lovely Ren from Fabulicious Food, and about 1/3 of the flowers are out.

I decided to find out if other areas are having the same early flowers. I asked BakersBunny and it seems in Edinburgh they are not out yet. However in Brentford (TW8) according to Louise of using mainly spoons they are flowering and in bloom in Norfolk as Annie mentioned in a tweet to me earlier today. Stewart Ovenden also has a super recipe on his site and tells me that they have been out for two weeks now in Hampshire. Whilst I am not panicking about this early season making the first chapter difficult to follow.. ( obviously you can buy cordial) I thought that rather than sit on the recipe and shrug my shoulders in and it’s all beyond my control way, I’d release the Elderflower and Rose Syrup recipe now on the Blog. This way if you have bought Prepped or you are about to buy Prepped then you can gather your elderflowers in and set to on the first recipe.

The elderflower syrup links to all the recipe in the chapter.

So I am off out on my bike to gather in the flowers today and I hope that if you have bought Prepped or you are going to them you will find this recipe gets you Prepped! for the first chapter!

Let me know how you get on !

Vanessa

x

Elderflower & Rose Syrup

This pink, floral, slightly tart yet sweet liquid makes a superb gift. Yes, you can buy it, and if you’re reading this in the other ten months of the year when it’s out of season, by all means do. But promise yourself you’ll make the effort to create your own. A pretty bottle brought to a dinner party makes a gift that will be remembered. It also has the advantage of introducing an easy talking point – which is sometimes very useful indeed. This is a versatile little number that will take you places.

Makes 1.5 litres

Prep time 25 minutes

Cooking time 20–30 minutes

Suitable for freezing? Yes, but steep the flowers in hot water for 24 hours and freeze, then defrost and add the other ingredients.

30 pure-white elderflower heads

8 heads red/pink scented roses

2kg caster sugar

1 litre water

Juice and rind of 2 lemons

75g citric acid

1 Give the flowers a good shake to ensure there are no remaining insects hiding among the petals. Trim any stems and leaves. Remove the petals from the roses and discard the stems.

2 In a large pan, heat the sugar and water, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved. Allow this to cool, and when the water is ‘hand hot’, add the flowers and rose petals, lemon rind and juice and citric acid. Stir well, cover and leave for 24 hours, stirring occasionally.

3 Strain the syrup either through muslin or an old clean cotton tea towel placed in a colander,

ensuring none of the bits get through. Decant into sterilised bottles and seal.

4 Keep in the fridge for up to 6 weeks.

TIPS & USES

• Use only pure-white elderflowers. Brown ones will taint the flavour.

• Citric acid should be available from a local chemist or from brewing and winemaking

shops or online. In this recipe it does two things. Firstly, it acts as a natural preservative, and secondly its sourness counteracts sweetness, which in turn allows the elderflower – not the sugar – to be the first thing you taste.

• This syrup makes a perfect topping for vanilla ice cream, and I love to drizzle mine into plain buttered couscous. I also use this to drizzle it over lemon cake – delicious!

Linked Recipe

Broad Bean Salad with Elderflower and Ginger Salad Dressing

Elderflowers, Rocket Fuel and a Book Contract.

This week’s recipe is Elderflower and Rose syrup. It has an extraordinary affinity with champagne, which is a bonus really because that is what I’ve been drinking. Oh yes. Alastair took us all out last night, children as well, to celebrate. Heather H B's advice, I mentioned in my last post. Her motto is words that matter. Her words certainly did matter .. they were like rocket fuel, and now I have lift off!

It seems odd now to think how much I fretted about which food to take and how the publishers would view my ideas, especially how they would rate the importance of good photography. I believe that you eat with your eyes, and I worried that my convictions might have sounded too ambitious.

Typically, Wednesday was spent doing the food and photography for Saturday's Chronicle and Echo article, and I threw together what has turned out to be a superb cupcake. Rhubarb and Vanilla, with an Elderflower and Rose Buttercream. It was so thrown together that I have to go back and redo the buttercream and measure the quantities used.

It really is the most amazing feeling to know that the book in your head is going to be published. The tricks, idea's, passion and planning that go into my everyday life will be shared.

The publishers are an Independent run business in near Oxford. They are exceptional people, with a wealth of experience, they seem down to earth, relaxed knowledgeable, and I instantly felt very comfortable with them. The set up is really professional, but has a family feel, and I noticed how well they interacted with their team; always a good sign. They also have many authors that repeat publish with them, some obviously for many years. I am not in any position to judge anything in the publishing industry, being as I have literally just got the contract today, but my instincts are good and I felt at home. I left inspired and ( as if it were possible, ) even more motivated.

The book has to be written by December, and will be published in May, so it couldn’t be more fitting with the initial plans (see egg picture at the top of the page with the date on!) It is to be called Prepped, and is about being prepared for anything real life can throw at you.

I’ve so much to get done this weekend, putting the recipes and chapters in order, and now that there is an order and structure outlined for the book, my brain can slow down a little and I can focus. I can even see the final book in my head. I even see it in my hands and can almost turn the pages.

The child in me is leaping up and down shouting for sheer joy. The sensible me is actually typing this entry at the kitchen table working on the blurb, whilst my husband is watching the football, and oblivious to it all is the stray cat I rescued a couple of weeks ago, who is snoring loudly in a basket next to me.

How amazing is this!