When I picked the elderflowers yesterday the first thing I made was a vinegar scented with elderflower. I used white wine vinegar, which has quite a strong vinegar taste to it. Now that it’s infused when you take a big sniff you get the vinegar first with a delicious waft of the sweet, intoxicating scent of elderflower at the end. It is really good in salad dressings. We had some last night on our bagged salad and I have just sprinkled some on my lunch of melon, strawberries and goat’s cheese with a glug of olive oil. It is delicious and delicate and well worth making. It is very easy to make. The hardest bit is sterilising the bottle (and that’s hardly hard) and if you use the bottle that the vinegar came in you don’t even need to do that.
350 ml – 500ml white wine vinegar
5- 6 elderflower heads, carefully picked and checked for insects
Method
Pour the vinegar into a non-reactive pan (stainless steel) and place the elderflower heads in the vinegar. Heat gently until just hot. Do not allow it to boil. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. When cool remove the elderflower heads and sieve the vinegar through some muslin to make sure that any stray insects are removed. Pour into a sterilised bottle or back into the bottle the vinegar came out of.
oh, Kath. I am just a little bit envious of your elderflowers. love their distinctive aromatics. I am sure that this vinegar is divine.
Well, I am very often jealous of all your lovely produce so now we are even. x
Sounds lovely. Is it best to pick elderflowers at a particular time of day?
Avril
A warm dry day is ideal Avril but I don’t think there is a particular time of day that is best. You should pick them when it suits you best.
Thanks Kath, hopefully there will still be enough new blooms for me to try next week.
I hope they will be Avril, their season is so fleeting. Here in Shropshire some trees are in full bloom and some will be in a day or two. I hope yours last for you.
Ooh what a fab idea Kath. I have a bottle of rather unloved white wine vinegar. Now I just need to forage some elderflowers …
Do it! x
I’m going to make it!
Brilliant!
How lovely this sounds – and I would really love to make some as there are very few shop-bought salad dressings which I like. This just smells of summer, even from here! x
You are right it does smell of summer, I hope you make some. I think you will love it. x
This sounds heavenly … if only I had some elderflowers!
Sorry Caroline. Are they not any loitering in a nearby quiet lane?
I managed to make some last week and tried it last night over tomatoes, it’s lovely,, really full of elderflower fragrance and flavour – thinking of having it my strawberries tonight. Thanks for the recipe.
Brilliant! Very pleased that you managed to make it and that you love it. I am definitely going to try it on strawberries. Thanks for the update.
I think you already know, but I’m marking it here. I made it and it was fantastic. We’ve been using it in drinks and it’s nearly all gone 🙁 Thank you for such a brilliantly simple idea.
I am really pleased that you made it and like it. x