Preparation time: Not listed
Cooking time: Not listed
Recipe overview:
A German recipe for elderflower champagne. It only contains a smallish amount of alcohol. Makes a fantastic drink for hot weather.
It is naturally fermented.
Ingredients
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Method of preparation / cooking
1.Collect 5–10 large, fully opened umbels (flower clusters) of elderberry flowers. It is important that you pick the flowers in the late morning of a sunny and dry day; this way you ensure good and potent strains of natural yeasts.
2.Place in a large bucket with 3 to 5 halved, organic lemons and 500–1000g of sugar, depending on how much of a sweet tooth you have. Add 10 litres of water.
3.Cover this and let it sit for about three days in the sun. The flowers need to turn brown.
4.Press out the lemons, filter the liquid (usually there are a number of thrips in the flowers) and pour into empty soft drink bottles. Close the bottles tightly!
5.Store in a dark and cool place for at least two weeks. The bottles will get very tight due to the carbon dioxide from the fermentation. Be careful when opening the bottles; pressure will build up in the bottles.
6.When stored in a cool, dark place the sparkling wine will keep for many months. If you want to preserve it longer, add a tablespoon of tartaric acid when starting the liquid.
Holger Kahl; recipe originally published in The Kiwi Diary 2009