My son loves anything to do with dragons, fantasy stories - although I pulled the plug on A Game of Thrones (but I did get lured into it all myself) and in trying to get him to drink more healthy drinks than the soda he is fond of I told him I would make a 'dragon potion.' Crafty eh? My mother has elderflower blossom in her garden and I experimented a little with this recipe by using honey instead of golden caster sugar for sweetness. If you want it to taste and look like shop bought then use regular white caster sugar, but it was nice with lovely dark honey although it will turn out darker in colour - perfect for a dragon.
To make Elderflower and honey cordial you will need: About sixteen heads of elderflower blossom One and a half litres of boiling water A cup of honey The zest and juice of two unwaxed lemons Two glass bottles.
Method: Shake the elderflower heads to remove any small insects that are hiding in there. Remove any woody stalks just using the flower heads. Place in a large vessel, a big glass jar is nice for this or pan. Add the honey to the boiling water. Mix well and then pour over the flower heads. If using sugar it's necessary to put the boiling water in a saucepan on the hob, add the sugar and heat it until it's dissolve. Using honey this isn't really necessary as the honey soon mixes into the hot water, cutting out one step in the process. Add the lemon zest and juice to the mixture. Stir your potion well. You may want to test the sweetness at this point. Remembering that this is a cordial and so will be used diluted. It should taste quite sweet this will depend on how sweet your honey is. Cover the mixture and leave overnight. The cordial should now be ready to bottle. You need to sterilise some glass bottles for this. If you have a dishwasher that will do the job perfectly otherwise wash thoroughly in hot water and then leave to dry in a warm oven. Strain the liquid pour into the sterilised bottles. Keep in the fridge until required. My son watched me as I made his magical potion, until he got bored and told me to call him when it was done. My favourite way of drinking elderflower cordial is in a big glass diluted with tonic water, ice and lemon slice.
Some people like to add gin too. Water, sparkling or still, and lemonade are good as well. Amazing added to ice-cream, cakes, salad dressings, with hot water as a tea substitute
