Here's the recipe for Elderflower Champagne (non-alcoholic sparkling summer drink) that my family use. In the south of England the flower heads are in full bloom just about now (25th May).
- 2 heads of Elderflower
- 1.5 lbs white sugar
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 gallon water
- 1 lemon
Pluck the heads in full bloom and put into a bucket followed by the lemon juice, cut up rind (no white pith), sugar and vinegar. Add the cold water and leave to stand, covered with a tea towel for 24 hours. Strain into strong bottles, cork firmly, wire or tie down (or use screw stopper bottles), and lay them on their sides.
After two weeks it should be sparkling and ready to drink.
My additional notes to this recipe:
I recommend stirring the sugar into the water before leaving it to stand, otherwise you end up with a thick sugary sludge at the bottom and not enough dissolved into the champagne.
I would suggest using plastic coke bottles. We used to use crown caps on beer bottles, but that can be a bit too exciting when you're opening them. They're often under very high pressure.
Although the recipe says two weeks until it's sparkling, I find it usually takes about a month. I think it depends on the quality of the yeast on the flowers and the temperature the bottles are stored at. Make sure the flowers are lush and healthy - young ones sometimes don't have any yeast on them, and the old manky ones can produce a funny flavour.
Finally, if you're squeamish, you may want to filter rather than strain, as the bottles inevitably end up with a few storm flies in them otherwise. My father claims it adds to the flavour, though I'm skeptical. A muslin cloth works fine for this.
