The delights of this super quick wild meadowsweet cordial recipe are worth trying.
With Summer finally looking like it has arrived, my spirits pick up as I know that meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) is flowering.
Culpepper tells us meadowsweet “makes a merry heart”. Something I can definitely attest to. I just perk up whenever I breathe in its delicious honey scent.
Yesterday, I walked slowly along a path by the side of the small canal near my house. I pass my hands through the bobbing heads of wild grasses.
The colours, if you get down close, are a plethora of rainbow hues. Rush by and you’ll miss them. Stop, stoop or squat. And a whole world opens up to you.
Finally, I see my prize a few yards away. The soft, fluffy, creamy flower heads of meadowsweet gently swaying in the breeze.
Plastic bags are a thing of the past now. Sack, string, paper, linen or canvas bags are what I use for gathering
I encourage you to use the same.
I’m not a hoarder forager. There are far too many plants on offer to stay stuck in the farmer’s scarcity-based worldview.
Far more comfortable to relax into life and know that nature provides vast abundance to us.
So instead of gathering kilos of meadowsweet, I simply gather enough for a couple of bottles of meadowsweet cordial syrup.
While other folks quaff Pimms, fine wines and ales in the Summer heat. I prefer crafting non-alcoholic botanical beverages.
If you’re joining the lifestyle trend of going alcohol-free, you won’t go too far wrong with my meadowsweet cordial syrup recipe.
Drizzle it liberally over local strawberries and ice cream, use diluted for the juice of a fresh fruit salad, or drink with ice-cold sparkling or still water and a slice of lemon.
How To Make A Meadowsweet Cordial Syrup Drink
Strip 20 grams of fresh meadowsweet flowers from their stalks, and put into a cafetière along with a few of the top young leaves.
Pour over 500 ml of boiling water, and push the plunger down to just submerge the meadowsweet flowers below the surface of the water.
Allow to sit for two hours, then strain. For every 100ml of liquid add 100ml of organic maple syrup. Bottle, shake and keep in your refrigerator. It should last a week or so.
To make a refreshing drink, put 2 tablespoons of meadowsweet syrup into a glass and top up with 200ml of water, either sparkling or still. Serve over ice.