Preserving the Glory of Summer

The summer has finally arrived as I'm sitting in my room & feel the heat.

Despite having hay fever in summer, I enjoy the sunny mornings.

After the success of making elderflower cordial, I wanted to make elderflower champagne but instead, I made elderflower liqueur.

It's very simple, all you need is a bottle of vodka & a clean jar.

Of course, with your spare time, go to a park & pick up some flowers.

Lucky for me, there're lots of elderflower bushes just a few steps by my front door at home.

The rose bush in the garden is blossoming, it smells wonderful & rosy.

It's perfect for garden rose petal jam.

Didn't quite get the jam though as there's no fruit pectin at home...

It turned out to be a syrup, still great!

Since I have dried rose buds lying in the cupboard, I put some in for a more intense rosy flavour.

You can pour it over ice cream, cheesecake, yogurt, in tea or milk... the possibility is endless!

Recipe:

Garden Rose Syrup

40 g fresh fragrant roses, I used pink and red

120 g sugar

250 ml water

1/2 lemon, juice only

10 dried rose buds

Rinse the rose petals with water & remove the white base.

Combine sugar & water in a saucepan, bring water to boil & stir to dissolve the sugar.

Add the rose petals & rose buds, simmer for 20 min.

Add lemon juice & boil for 1 min.

Pour in a sterilised jar & keep refrigerated for storage.

N.B. To make the jam, simply add 10-15g fruit pectin powder to get the right consistency at the end.

Elderflower Liqueur

10-15 elderflower heads, enough to fill a whole jar

1/4 lemon

1/2 bottle of vodka or gin

30-60 g sugar, to taste

Gently wash & shake to dispel any insects & water, remove the larger stems.

Place lemon & the flowers in a sterilised jar.

Pour enough vodka to cover & seal.

Keep in a cool, dark place for a month.

Strain the flowers off with cheesecloth & pour alcohol back to the jar.

Add the sugar & shake to dissolve.