Respect Your Elders

TO be in the countryside in May, when spring allows summer to float across its mind, is a pleasure that never wears off.

- Mark Diacono

It’s that time of year when a day of sunshine still feels like a blessing rather than an expectation and it’s exactly when the elder springs into flower.

If you’ve yet to risk clambering in hedgerows and copses intent on picking the soft-cream florets, let me encourage you. Nothing carries the perfume of a changing season quite like elderflower. Its joyous, heady, muscat aroma is at its most intense in full sun, so cut or twist the flower heads from the plant within an hour or two of when you intend to use them—for cordial or ‘champagne’ —to capture the best of them.

As well as making wonderful drinks, elderflower is gooseberry’s devoted spouse. Those aromatic flowers soften gooseberry’s sharp edges without losing any of its or the berry’s character. They draw gooseberries into the sun and add depth to summer fruit, especially strawberries and peaches. If you fancy something a little different, do try elderflowers battered, deep fried and dipped in cinnamon sugar. Elderflower also takes very well to drying: lay the flower heads face down for a day, then shake the florets loose and into an airtight container, where they’ll retain much of their flavour and scent for the year.