Elderflower Lemonade

Summer is hot and nothing is better to help you cool off than a refreshing glass of iced lemonade. On a recent trip to Croatia we were lucky enough to pick the most adorable Bed and Breakfast in Motovun. The name of the B & B was Villa Maria run by Lorena, her husband and her three lovely boys. One of the sons took us on a truffle hunt, the other one drove us to our next city and Lorena cooked for us. After our truffle hunt, which we will feature soon in our travel section, Lorena cooked us the most amazing 5 course lunch and served us ample carafes of wine and homemade Croatian rake and cherry brandy. One of the best parts, after the truffles was this delightful and refreshing lemonade made with an elderflower syrup that Lorena made herself by picking elderflowers and marinating large flower heads in a sugar water for a delightful versatile elderflower syrup which she used to make this lemonade. The lemonade she served us on a large stone table in the midst of her beautiful European garden was a hit. Now, I have been making it at home, and our family can not get enough of it. It is just a traditional lemonade, but the addition of Elderflower syrup just gives it the right of amount of something different that very few people will be able to identify. Something that makes it special. In addition, elderflower flowers have many medicinal and healthy qualities. They have been used in natural medicine for centuries to treat colds, coughs, joint pain, swelling and inflammation.

I made this lemonade with a pre-purchased elderflower syrup purchased locally at Fresh Market. The syrup is easy to get online and the syrup is readily available in most large gourmet markets. Fresh Market actually carried two different brands. If you have a hard time finding it, then check your liquor store as elderflower syrup is used frequently in cocktails.

I have also included a recipe for elderflower syrup, if you are so inclined to make it. The flowers are not available locally for us Miamians, but can be purchased dried online and shipped via Amazon in a day or two.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 6

Elderflower Lemonade

Ingredients:

8 cups filtered or bottled spring water

1 ½ cups freshly squeezed lemon juice (juice from 8-10 lemons)

1 ½ cup elderflower syrup

½-¾ cup organic sugar or to taste, you decide how sweet

Garnish:

Fresh mint leaves

Lemon slices

Directions:

1. Mix all of the ingredients together

2. Add ice, fresh mint and lemon wedges for garnish

3. Serve

Homemade Elderflower Syrup

Ingredients:

15 fresh heads of fresh elderflower blooms

or 1 cup of dried elderflower blooms purchased online

7 cups filtered water

Juice from 1 lemon

1 cup granulated sugar

Directions:

1. Add 1 cup of the water, the sugar and elderflower blooms into a medium saucepan together over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.

2. Bring the liquid to a simmer. Turn off the heat and let it sit. Pour the syrup through a strainer or cheesecloth and discard the flowers

3. Add the lemon juice and the extra 6 cups of water.

4. Refrigerate for 2 hours minimum.

5. Syrup will keep for two weeks covered in the refrigerator. You can freeze extra amounts of syrup to have it on hand at the last minute for whatever you wish. The syrup is also excellent used in cocktails or stirred into whipped cream or zabaglione.