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i have picked elderflowers today for my first ever go at elderflower cordial and stopped in the chemsts on the way home to be told the dont sell citric acid because heroin users use it for their habit!!

what can i use instead? will lemon juice work? i am using the ish recipe which calls for lemon and citric acid, could i just omit the citric acid?

dont want to order it online because i have my elderflowers ready now!

I´ve made it with lemons, sugar and elderflowers before, but I can´t find where I scribbled down the recipe.

However, this is from the Biodynamic food and cookbook (seasonal cooking heaven, highly recommended):

7 dry fully open elderflower heads
2 lemons
700g caster sugar
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
4.5l spring water

- boil 570ml of the water an dissolve the sugar in it, let cool
- slice the lemons thinly an place in the bottom of your large container (bucket?)
- Add everything else, cover and leave for 24 hours.
- Strain and bottle. it can get a little fizzy and may ferment slightly if left for a few months, take care and bottle accordingly. (I don´t think this would be a problem if you drank it as a cordial fairly quickly)


I seem to remember that the version I made, we left the pre-strained liquid to sit in the sun for a few days. We made it mid summer and drank it around november time, it was fizzy but not noticeably boozy (and I´m such a lightweight )

barefootlinzi wrote:i .... stopped in the chemsts on the way home to be told the dont sell citric acid because heroin users use it for their habit!!

You´d think that would sting like hell no?

If you've got a Mothercare World or other baby goods suppliers near you, try them. Citric acid is used to sterilise bottles etc, so they usually sell it.

Lynne

Supermarkets which stock winemaking kits usually have citric acid. Any winemakers' supply shop will definitely have it. But I've had the same experience with chemists - it doesn't seem to occur to them that heroin users also use food, air, and water - oh, and candles and teaspoons. And belts.

Never made it so can't help with the recipe, but for future reference, you can get it from http://www.summernaturals.co.uk/ but they're closed for orders till the 16th. Couple of online home brew shops do it too, http://www.thehomebrewshop.co.uk/ and http://www.homebrewshop.co.uk/ and http://www.thebrewmart.com/.

Though I think I'm going to try Clara's recipe.

i have just found a recipe by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall that doesnt use citric acid;

20-30 freshly picked heads of elderflower
Zest of 2 lemons and 1 orange
Up to 1.5 kg of granulated sugar
Up to 200ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

Shake insects off flowers, but don't wash them - it ruins the flavour, then place them in a large bowl with the lemon and orange zest. Pour over just enough boiled water to cover them completely (approx 1.5 - 2 litres). Cover and leave for at least 4 hours, or overnight, until cold.

Strain the liquid through muslin or a jelly bag, gently squeezing to extract all the juice. Measure the amount of liquid and pour it into a saucepan. To every 500ml liquid add 350g sugar and 50ml lemon juice. Heat gently to dissolve all the sugar, stirring occassionally. Bring to a gentle simmer and skim off any scum. Let the cordial cool, then strain it again through muslin or a jelly bag.

Funnel the cordial into glass bottles and store in the fridge - will keep for 2-3 weeks.


I will make it and let you know how it tastes!

I had the same problem recently - I was furious! I went to a branch of BOOTs (yes I name and shame!) to be told the same thing with the addition that no chemist in town would sell me any either! WRONG! I went to a smaller chemist and was happily sold 3 boxes of the stuff! Sorry but to me it's madness that those of us who want to do good stuff are made to feel bad because of a minority of idiots! Sorry - rant over!

You can get it from brew shops...

try sachets of kettle descaler, or shops on ebay. I get my citric acid online.

Wilkinsons - in the Home Brew section.

just knocking up a batch of citric acid free cordial now.....will let you know how the taste test goes!

YUMMY!

The citric acid free recipe worked a treat....it's lovely. Might be a bit on the sweet side for some, but I love it!

hamster wrote:Never made it so can't help with the recipe, but for future reference, you can get it from http://www.summernaturals.co.uk/ but they're closed for orders till the 16th. Couple of online home brew shops do it too, http://www.thehomebrewshop.co.uk/

I just went here (http://www.thehomebrewshop.co.uk) to try and buy some. I got through to the point where it asked for my card number and then noticed that the connection wasn't secure. Card details are being sent unencrypted over the net. Not a good idea.

Oh what a shame - I was going to make some then looked at all these recipes all over the net needing for citric acid! No idea what that is or where to buy it in France so I didn't bother.

Next year then, I'll try this recipe.