Fermented Elderflower Soda
It took nearly 3 years for my elderberry shrub to bloom! Meanwhile I grew many others from cuttings in between the fruit trees.
Last year I realized that elders (sambucus nigra in this case) flower from the tip of previous year’s growth. So I did my prunings accordingly and waited. In the beginning of April first flower formations started to appear and suprisingly there were many flowers in each branch, shooting upwards.
I was happy as I could be!
Now I’m finding ways to preserve the flowers and leaving the unreachable ones to form berries.
I’m a long time kvass and wild soda maker so my first choice is making a wild soda. Drying the flowers is another way to preserve them especially for winter,to benefit from its immnue boosting and cough calming properties.
Here’s a very easy and tasty recipe that everyone can make! You can use this recipe to make all kinds of herbal sodas!
Fermented Elderflower Soda
Ingredients
2 fresh elderflowers
1 lt water
2 tablespoons of honey
For wild yeast: 2 tablespoons of previously made kvass or some berries or 1-2 slices of sourdough bread
Directions
Put 2 fresh elderflowers to a 1 lt jar
Add unchlorinated water
Add 2 tablespoons of honey and mix well
Place the lid without screwing it
2-3 times a day mix it with a clean spoon or stick (I use a wooden stick that my hubby made especially for this purpose), so the flowers are submerged in the water.
After 2-3 days you will see some bubbles forming, that's good news the yeast is active! Let it ferment another 2 days or so (repeating step 5)
Taste it.It will be less sweet and pleasantly sour.
Strain the flowers with a cheesecloth and bottle your ferment. Reusing soda bottles is a good option, because glass bottles have a tendency to explode!
Close the lid tightly and let it sit in room temeperature for a day or so to make it carbonated. Check it, if it's carbonated enough place it in the fridge to slow down the fermentation.
Finish it in 3-5 days.
It's tasty, refreshing and full of good bacteria !
