Ingredients

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500ml water

500g sugar

juice of 3 lemons

100g Ribes sanguineum flowers

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Heat water and sugar until sugar is dissolved.  Add flowers to warm but no longer hot syrup.  Squeeze the juice of three lemons into it.  Stir well, and allow to sit for 24 hours.  Strain and bottle, placing the discarded flowers into a jar for further use (to make Princess Blood gin liqueur, for instance).  This cordial is not shelf stable, but can at this point be heated to boiling,  filled very hot into sterilised bottles, and lidded immediately to increase shelf life. This gorgeously scented and coloured cordial is a big favourite with my children who mix it with sparkling or still water for a favourite early spring drink. It tastes like a complex Ribena: fruity, flowery, with hints of woody herbs.  The colour is beautifully pink.   Despite making many litres of this every year, I have never yet managed to make enough to satisfy their demand.

I also like using it as a basis for jellies, marsh mallows, cocktails, sorbets and other sweets.

If you like elderflower cordial and blackcurrant, this might just become your favourite, too.