Nettle Cordial makes a wonderfully refreshing Springtime drink. When friends put it to the taste test, pretty much everyone agreed that they couldn’t think of a single taste that this Nettle Cordial Recipe resembled.

There is so much that you can do with Nettles, and this is a great way to get those more reserved family members and friends to sample wild food.

• 200g freshly picked nettle tops
• 1kg granulated sugar
• 40g citric acid
• 500ml boiling water
• Sterile glass bottles with tops, either screw or cork

Step 1

Collect, wash and spin dry in a salad spinner 200g of nettle tops.

Step 2

Weigh out 1kg of granulated sugar

Step 3

Measure out 40g of citric acid. Citric acid can often be found in health shops or home brewing shops.

Step 4

Add the granulated sugar, citric acid and water to a large saucepan, and heat the mixture until it reaches 60 degrees C, then remove from the heat.

Step 5

Now add the Nettle leaves, and stir well so that they get covered with the liquid, then cover and leave for a week. Make sure that you stir your Nettle Cordial mixture daily.

Step 6

After a week is up, sterilise your bottles, then strain the liquid through a sieve or colander and bottle.

My batch lasted about 4 weeks. After opening a bottle, make sure that you refrigerate your Nettle Cordial.

Frank Cook (internationally renowned edible wild plant expert) discusses the importance of Nettle (Urtica dioica) as food and medicine.

Frank gives us a fascinating insight into the many uses of Nettles, and the why it needs to become the national food of England.

The nutritional profile of this fantastic plant is impressive…

Nettle Nutritional Profile
(calculated on a zero moisture basis per 100gm)

Aluminium: 13.8 mg
Ash (total): 8.4%
Calcium: 2900 mg
Calories: 0.60 /gm
Chromium: 0.39 mg
Cobalt: 1.32 mg
Crude Fibre: 11.0%
Dietary Fibre: 43.0%
Fat: 2.3%
Iron: 4.2 mg
Magnesium: 860 mg
Manganese: 0.78 mg
Niacin: 5.20 mg
Phosphorous: 447 mg
Potassium: 1750 mg
Protein: 25.2%
Riboflavin: 0.43 mg
Selenium: 0.22 mg
Silicon: 1.03 mg
Sodium: 4.90 mg
Thiamine: 0.54 mg
Tin: 2.7 mg
Vitamin A: 15,700 IU
Vitamin C: 83.0 mg
Zinc: 0.47 mg

Source: Nutritional Herbology: Mark Pedersen

Running time: 6:38