Elderflower Summer Syrup

It is now the middle of june, and the best time to pick elderflowers.
Next to my home (and everywhere I go), there are a lot of bushes - it seems to be a very thankful plant: It grows everywhere, presents us with those wonderful tasting and smelling umbels - and later in the year, it gives us also berries to cook with.

A wonderful precious friend of mine, Simone, came to my home and we took a walk to pick elderflowers.
We had luck: The sun was shining - and this is not self-evident here in Hamburg.

So, here are some pictures, they can tell you more, and the recipe, for sure.
It is sooo easy, every baby can do it! The only thing you have to do it: take a walk in the forests or parks and pick the umbels!



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ELDERFLOWER SYRUP
Please do not pick the umbels next to streets - better get some from more natural environment!!




>> 1,5 litres of water
>> 1,5 kg sugar   
***(1 part water + 1 part sugar - works also with 1 litre/1kg and so on)
>> 15 - 20  umbels
>> 1-2 lemons (biological), quartered or sliced>> 1-2 oranges (biological) (optional - does not belong to the classical recipe)

Clean the umbels by hand (if there are still little flies or something).
Better do not wash it! If you really want to, very very quickly under cold water.

>> Boil water
>> Add sugar, boil until sugar dissolved...simmer it for a couple of more minutes.
>> Let it cool down a little bit. Hot water over the umbels destroys the taste!
>> Put umbels and lemon (/oranges) into a big pot and souse it with the sugarwater.
>> Cover with lid, cloth, foil or something.
>> Hardest part: wait for 3-5 days
>> Teem the syrup through a sieve into a something lockable or screw-top jar. Put it in the refrigerator and enjoy! Best before at least 4 months.

How many umbels you take belongs to YOUR fondness for taste - stronger means: more umbels, softer means: less. Simone and me took more, and when it is too strong in the end, I can add more sugarwater to the syrup.
The same for the lemons and/or oranges: more lemon = more sour and so on.
Try it out!
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