There is an abundance of Elderflower to forage near our house, which has been a very fun addition for the kids, when we go on our nature walks.
I made Elderflower cordial already, but was looking around for other more "exciting" recipes to try out, and came across Elderflower Champagne.
I fell in love with this recipe, because of its simplicity. The recipes calls for Elderflower, filtered water, honey (or sugar) and apple cider vinegar.
I had everything I needed already, the only adjustment I had to make was to half the recipe, because I didn't have a tub/bowl big enough for the full recipe, that I could spare for 2-3 days!
Following the recipe, I mixed all the ingredients together
and ended up with this, starting Day 0!
Now I had to leave it to ferment for at least 2 days and give the mixture a mix twice a day...
On Day 1, this is how it looked
On Day 2, this is how it looked
I left it a bit longer, mainly because I got busy and forgot about it, but when I checked on Day 3, it looked like this
I was worried at first, thinking I had left it too long, and it had already started moulding, but after some research, I concluded these were signs of yeast and signs of bubbling. So it was just in time and definitely ready to bottle up!
This filled up 2 full bottles of champagne ready to store and "brew".
Again I forgot to "burp" them regularly the first 2 days, and when I did remember to, I had a very reactive response from one of the bottles.
It popped like champagne, and went everywhere. It was messy and hilarious, but a great sign that it is definitely becoming champagne!
I still have a few days of letting it "brew" for maximum flavour, but while cleaning up the mess from that bottle, I sampled it a bit and loved the strong Elderflower flavour already present.
I will definitely be foraging more elderflower soon (especially before I the season passes) to make more of this. I just love the Elderflower taste! And personally, I think it tastes extra good because it was free from the Earth ;)
Anyone else enjoying their foraged foods and creations??
Hope to share more of my self sufficiency/foraging related explorations soon
Love from Red