Harvest blossoms on a fine, hot June day, quick, quick, don’t wait; elder’s blooming period is fairly short.


I learned how to make this in New Zealand twenty years ago and have made it yearly since. The best part? It is ready to drink in a few days. I share two recipes with you. Both are wonderful but they do taste slightly different.

Oraina’s Elder Flower Champagne

7-10 heads of elder blossoms
1 pound white sugar
2-3 lemons
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
16 cups water

Dissolve sugar in four cups of boiling water.
Slice lemons thinly. Put lemons, sugar water, vinegar, and the rest of the water into a plastic bucket
or other non-metal container.
Lastly, add elder blossoms, heads down. Cover loosely and leave for 24 hours, then strain, bottle, and cork.
(The lemons can be used for a second batch of champagne.)
Leave for as long as possible before drinking.
I have kept some for as much as a dozen years.

Simply Living Elder Flower Champagne

10 heads of elder flowers
4 lemons
1 heaping tablespoon of cream of tartar
2 cups white sugar
18 cups water

Grate lemon rind finely; only the colored part, not the bitter white part.
Then cut the lemons and squeeze the juice.
Combine lemon rind, lemon juice, sugar, water, cream of tartar, and elder flowers in a plastic bucket or
other non-metal container.
Cover loosely and leave for 24 hours, then strain, bottle, and cork.
Ready to drink in a week!

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