[digital_biscuit]

Does anyone have any idea when elder goes into flower. Want to make some wine and cordial!!!

[Stripey_cat]

Early to mid May in Oxfordshire, most years.

[Jay Dubya]

Hi, just watch your local trees and pick them on a sunny day, if you can find one!! Also try to pick offroad if you can.

[aelf]

ours are a week or so from flowering. I've made elderflower wine and found it a bit perfumey for my liking. But elderberry/balckberry mix - just the ticket! and ready for Christmas!
Aelf

[celjaci]

Saw some in flower today!

Does anyone know of a good source of the citric acid used in Elderflower cordial?
All the chemist round here have stopped selling it because it's used by junkies

[mrs.ploppy]

Wilkinsons home brew section or Boots or any chemist really.  Not expencive.

[lucywil]

boots don't sell it (citric acid) last time i got some from a superdrug pharmacy but i have just ordered some from ebay

[daveypark]

About 3 or 4 flowering heads out now at out allotments, looks like I'll be making cordial again very shortly. 

We got citric acid in the Pharmacy of our local Morrisons last year, didn't ask if we were junkies or not.

[barney rubble]

Saw some in flower today!

Does anyone know of a good source of the citric acid used in Elderflower cordial?
All the chemist round here have stopped selling it because it's used by junkies

if you live in an area with Asian shops in it you can usually pick  citric acid up in small packets. A company called East End also produce it, and could probably give you some idea of nearest stockists, but they are wholesale, so don't expect to buy a packet over the net from them

[mashbintater]

I've just bottled my first ever batch tonight  . I used that recipe; 4 ready flower heads, lemons peel & juice, white wine vinegar & sugar in 10 litres of cold water. Yeast isn't used as the flowers have their own activator apparantley.
I've read good reports with this recipe, so we'll see.

[lucywil]

4 flower heads?? i put about 25 in mine!!!!

[BrianK]

4 flower heads?? i put about 25 in mine!!!!

Boooooooooooooooommm    Make sure you use plastic bottles.  My neighbourhood elders are flowering already but do you think I can get it to start fermenting.

 

A tad of yeast tonight if nothing starts soon.

I also used the Hugh recipe.

[lucywil]

it is in plastic bottles and i keep letting the fizz out every couple of days

[Jay Dubya]

Hi, the amount of flowers per gallon is one pint glass filled but not pushed down, just knocked on the table, i use two table spoons of lemon juice and one bag of sugar per gallon also.

[sunshineband]

Has anyone tried using the flowers from black elder, which are pink?