This Nettle Cordial Recipe 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.
Nettle Cordial Recipe Ingredients
- 200g freshly picked nettle tops
- 1kg granulated sugar
- 40g citric acid (32 tbsp lemon juice).
- 500ml water
- Sterile glass bottles with tops, either screw or cork
Nettle Cordial Recipe Instructions
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.
Further reading: Traditional and Modern Use of Stinging Nettle