It’s that time of year again. Reaching for the elder-flowers is the hardest part, with the ladder at full stretch and me at the limits of my courage and good sense. But…the taste of elderflower cordial is sublime in summer and the kitchen smells divine while it’s steeping overnight.

This time, I boiled the cordial again before bottling to see if that helps it keep better than last year’s batch. I had to rescue that lot by scooping off the ‘blue bits’ and putting the cordial in ice cube trays.

Usually I print my own labels, but today I used the Cecily labels someone gave me, particularly since I am unlikely to use them for relish or spreads. They match the dish cloth too.

Now to choose what to drink it with: water is a little plain, soda too sugary, prosecco involves destruction of forests to plant more grapes such is the demand. Perhaps I will try sparkling water. The cordial is also a nice addition (just a splash) to a G&T.