Elderflower Vinegar

By Anthony Raffo

Elderflower is an edible flower that, when I see it, tells me that summer is in full swing, or at least it’s supposed to be - sometimes it’s hard to tell living in London.

It’s one of my favourite wild ingredients to forage and thinking about it, quite possibly it could be the first thing I ever foraged. You can identify it by the small star-like flowers with little yellow stamens, all growing in clusters.

They will be growing on an elder tree, which is very common in the UK: what’s also great about the elder is that it has three stages, each with different edible options. Stage one: the buds that some refer to as capers can be picked and either fried till they’re puffy to make crispy capers or pickled. Stage two: the flowers that can be picked and infused into all sorts of things, most commonly vinegars or syrups. Stage three: the berries that make an amazing jam, although the most popular use for them is in wine making. Here is my recipe for elderflower vinegar - it’s so simple and really versatile, perfect for lightening up any dish. It can be used in the making of dressings, mayonnaise, pickling liquor, Hollandaise sauce, chutneys, ricotta, or even over chips.

Ingredients: 500g elderflower 2 litres white wine vinegar

Method: Place your elderflower stalks and all into a two-litre Kilner jar. Gently warm your white wine vinegar to no more than 35°C.

Pour your white wine vinegar over your elderflower, close your jar and leave in a cupboard for at least two weeks. It’s one of those things that, the longer you leave it, the better it will be. Enjoy!