giraffe
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dried elderflowersI went into my local organic shop today and bought a packet of reduced price dried elderflowers as a bit of an impulse buy (ooh, the wanton madness!)
Can I use them to make elderflower wine, and if so how? Or can anyone suggest anything else I can use them for?
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nettie
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I've never used dried elderflowers before, only fresh, so I don't know how stuff would come out. You could try elderflower cordial though, it's scrummy 
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ele
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you can make elderflower tea  .... tastes fine, it's good for colds, but smells a bit weird (see colds thread  )
which organic shop did you get them from out of curiousity?
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giraffe
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I got it from the Out of This World shop in Beeston, Nottingham near Sainsburys Ele, if you know that area at all?
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ele
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I used to work in Beeston, last time I went to that shop was back in 1996 though... I keep meaning to catch the bus over
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mark
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hi - bit of an east midlands get together in this thread isn't it!
use the elderflowers to give a bit of bouquet to another country wine!
use them sparingly - if yoiu use to many you can end up with an overwhelming "catty" smell rather than a gentle floral bouquet
mark
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giraffe
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Thanks for all the ideas everyone. Having read your comments I'm thinking of doing this:
making easy cheaty apple brew out of apple juice and beer yeast (very good recipe I got off this forum by the way- I have a gallon demijohn of the stuff bubbling away at the moment in the kitchen and it smells divine and very alcoholic!) and adding a handful of the elderflowers at the start, then filtering it before I bottle it. Would that work do you think?
or apple, cranberry and elderflower is another possibility. The rest I'll use for cordial and tea.
The shop is great Ele! I bought some "proper" meat from it yesterday - very expensive compared to supermarket prices but well worth it. I got a huge packet of really thick slabs of beautiful shin of beef for 4 quid, slow cooked a quarter of the meat in a stew last night (oh my god, so yummy and tender) which fed both of us with enough left over for my lunch today, and froze the rest. The veg is good too - it's all still caked in mud which is always a good sign! And no, I don't work there!
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marigold
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Elderflower and lemon tea is a lot nicer than elderflower on it's own (don't leave the slice of lemon in too long though as it goes bitter)
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ele
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| giraffe wrote: | | The shop is great Ele! I bought some "proper" meat from it yesterday - very expensive compared to supermarket prices but well worth it. I got a huge packet of really thick slabs of beautiful shin of beef for 4 quid, slow cooked a quarter of the meat in a stew last night (oh my god, so yummy and tender) which fed both of us with enough left over for my lunch today, and froze the rest. The veg is good too - it's all still caked in mud which is always a good sign! And no, I don't work there! |
sorry I'm going well off topic now, but I don't suppose you noticed who their meat supplier is these days? I know they try and stick to local producers and I like knowing what's good that's being produced locally I think they use derbyshire dales organics for their chickens, not sure about their other meat. Their veg apparently comes from Mansfield, so that's pretty local
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cab
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| giraffe wrote: | | I got it from the Out of This World shop in Beeston, Nottingham near Sainsburys Ele, if you know that area at all? |
I used to be a regular in that shop! I know the place well, I lived in Beeston fof four years.
You can, for sure, make wine with dried elderflowers, but you have to be careful with quantities. I don't know what volume or weight of dry material you should use, but it can't be hard to look that up.
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giraffe
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wow so many local (and ex-local) faces here! I didn't notice who their meat supplier was Ele but next time I go in I will check. It is a truly excellent shop with most stuff I want stocked - and the most amazing array of chocolate and alcohol 
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mark
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have we got an east midlands mafia here one downsizer?
maybe we should have a meet!!
we could go to a local hostelry & have an eat & drink
or I'd be happy to host a bit of a do. Home made Winetasting - curry munch! - or cab could come back hjere and show us our local fungi *& we could cook 'em up.. etc
wotcha reckon?
mark
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cab
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Well there are plenty of places I can stay up there...
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ele
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If there was a Derby-Nottingham meet up then I would certainly like to come along only thing is due to the sheer ropeyness of my health I never know if I can make something till right near/ on the day.
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dougal
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| marigold wrote: | | Elderflower and lemon tea is a lot nicer than elderflower on it's own (don't leave the slice of lemon in too long though as it goes bitter) |
I don't do much for herbal teas. But Twinings 'Cranberry, Raspberry and Elderflower' is rather good (especially on a scratchy throat).
Giraffe might care to have a go at similar 'cocktail' teas...
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giraffe
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excellent - a downsizer meet that'd be ace! I'm at the Derby side of Nottingham so it'd be no fuss for me to travel.
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giraffe
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edited due to accidental double posting
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mark
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i'll start a new topic about a meet - please look out for it and add you name to those interested.
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