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Mrs Frugal

Elderflower Champagne and Elderflower Cordial

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Sometimes it doesn't get ever so fizzy but don't worry, it's still delicious. Leave it for the 3 weeks then chill it and enjoy. Hopefully it will have developed some sparkle by then :D . I've had a gentle fizz some years and a full blown explosive champagne whoosh other years when the bottles are opened but either way, it's scrumptious :D .

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My champagne is fizzing away beautifully about a week after bottling it up. At the moment I am having to let the air out and squash the sides of the bottle in before screwing the caps back on to leave plenty of room for gas expansion. At the moment this needs to be done about twice a day :shock:

 

I also have some cordial on the go which will be ready to bottle up on Wednesday. I've had a taste and it's absolutely gorgeous, but more lemony than I imagined it would be, so I have hooked the lemon slices out. Is it normal for it to be noticeably lemony?

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I also have some cordial on the go which will be ready to bottle up on Wednesday. I've had a taste and it's absolutely gorgeous, but more lemony than I imagined it would be, so I have hooked the lemon slices out. Is it normal for it to be noticeably lemony?

 

Mine is quite lemony too, but then I zest the lemons before adding to the liquid. It makes it slightly fresher, but still with a lovely elderflower taste.

 

edit - 10 bottles safely stashed in the outbuilding fridge!!

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Mrs Frugal,

 

I just wanted to say thank you ever so much for sharing your cordial recipe - I dragged my OH out edlerflower picking the other evening and after a very ki nd friend sending me a sachet of citric acid (I did trawl around the chemists to no avail) I made my very first batch of cordial which I must say smells and tastes just splendid, so splendid in fact that I have ordered more cordial bottles from lakeland and will be skipping my way down the country lanes next week with my burgon and ball garden trug to pick more elderflower...

 

Anyway enough from me - I just wanted to say thanks!

 

:)

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We enjoyed some of our elderflower champagne at the weekend, but the half-(glass) demi-john full in the garage exploaded Sunday making a lovely sticky mess and shattered glass every where! It was only 2 weeks old and the pressure had been released on it 3 times.

 

Tracy

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Sorry to hear about the disaster TAJ. I've had demi-johns shatter in the past during wine making sessions. I don't think that some of them are particularly strong and I seem to remember that there was a warning sticker on the last one I bought against using them for anything fizzy. The stickiness goes a long way, doesn't it! It's important to keep releasing the pressure regularly - even daily if it's very fizzy. I forgot about a half full bottle one year and we discovered it at Christmas. It was in a plastic Cola bottle and the pressure had made the bottle into a bell shape! I let LSH open it :lol: . I had a plastic bottle explode another year in the larder and the pressure pushed the tongue and groove side of the larder wall out! Powerful stuff :anxious: !

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:shock::shock: - you'd think a demi-john would be strong enough if you are releasing the pressure wouldn't you :shock:

 

I bet you're still clearing up the mess? :lol:

 

Hubby made it and it was in his garage, so he did the clearing up, but apparently it is all done, but a lot of water and sticky cloths doing so.

 

Tracy

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Hubby made it and it was in his garage, so he did the clearing up, but apparently it is all done, but a lot of water and sticky cloths doing so.

 

Tracy

 

Hmmmmmmmm :think: - I bet it's still sticky :lol: - I'm glad you didn't have to do all the cleaning up.

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All thisd sticky talk reminds me last Christmas we were having tea and the kids asked for some lemonade. I'd previusly knocked bottle over 1/2 hr before and on opening it shot every where. OH and kids and my elderly father looked on as I swore like a trooper and was up to my ankles in the stuff. Dad carried on eating :!: as nowt keeps my dad from his grub. I spent hours cleaning before it was stick free. OH and kids were so quiet - probably too scared to speak - I was in such a strop :roll::lol:

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Next year I am going to have to make several gallons!

 

 

Me too! I've sold 10 litres to a neighbour, and now family have found out I make it too. I have orders for gallons already for next year, hope it's another bumper year. I've also discovered absolutely loads of elder on local walks, so will be able to make loads of elderberry cordial, which I love!

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Our first flowers were open over the weekend as well :D

 

I'm going to make cordial and freeze it in small bottles this year to use over ice-cream. It's too good to not make any but I pile weight on if I keep drinking it :( - same with the mint cordial.

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An annoying elder has self sown itself in our front garden and because I'm too idle to deal with it, it is now big enough to flower. So, this year we can have some homemade fizz with our own flowers :lol: For some reason, we still have 2 bottles from last year - do you think they will still be drinkable?

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we still have 2 bottles from last year - do you think they will still be drinkable?

 

Yes! I saved several bottles from last year, one was opened in February, one was given in a birthday gift bag a week ago, and I have one left. I need one for a July birthday but might be able to use 2011 vintage for that :D

 

It might be awfully fizzy though :anxious:

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