Elderflower Curd

Elderflowers are a fantastic ingredient found in many hedgerows during the Spring/Summer. They're light, refreshing and fragrant echoing the lighter, summery days.

Elderflower is most commonly used in drinks, but it also makes a fantastic alternative to lemon curd. Here's a recipe for how I make it.

Ingredients

• 4 lemons (unwaxed)
• 10-15 heads of elderflower (fewer if large, more if small)
• 400g (14oz) sugar
• 4 eggs
• 100g (3.5oz) butter or sunflower spread

Method

1. Shake elderflower heads gently in water to remove dirt and insects, then snip the flowers of the large green stems (leaving small bits of stem won't matter too much).
2. Place sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and butter, along with the elderflowers, in a pan and stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.
3. Remove from heat and allow the flowers to steep for 5-10 minutes. Sieve contents, squeezing excess liquid out of the flowers, returning the mixture to the pan. (The flowers can go in your compost, the worms will love it!)
4. Beat the eggs, and whisk into the mixture over a medium heat until it starts to thicken.
5. Pour into sterilised jars, or eat and enjoy!

This recipe makes around 900g, enough for about 3 jars. (Or 2lb curd in total).

Whisking the egg into the mixture over medium heat

Jars filled and ready to be eaten :)

Tips

• It's delicious with pancakes, in sponge cake, spread on crumpets or toasted teacakes...yummy!
• To sterilise jars, you can place the lids in a bowl and cover with boiling water, and bake the jars at a low heat in the oven.
• Make sure you know what an elderflower looks like before you go foraging!