Elderflowers anyone?

[VirginVegGrower]

Hang on - the flip top bottles don't need to be vented? I thought they'd explode eventually? That's one that that does bother me!

Worst thing Waitrose did was open a store near us (then we moved away - phew! our weekly shopping bill dropped ), but now they've just opned one right next to where I work. Gah! Can't win. I love Waitrose

Nope they don't need gassing - the glass is thick like champagne bottles. Read my story on elderflower fizz when a plastic bottle exploded on me last year IN THE CAR!

[VirginVegGrower]

Well, funnily enough we had some elderflower heads delivered in our able & cole delivery!

Best get some bottles in rapid!

ABEL AND COLE DELIVERY?! You have been jesting us in frugality - you're really a posh boy from the Shires
Anyhow, I jest. Use those heads if you must for cordial but trust me when I say they need to be fresh picked in sunny weather and used immediately. Wherever you saw those heads - go pick em boy!

[chris]

Apparantly they were picked just before the delivery (*shrug*). I think we may dry/freeze them and put 'em in some gooseberry jam!

On the lookout for some further away from a road

I don't bat on about being frugal, I do take care in where we shop though

[VirginVegGrower]

Been and picked a load more over my back today. Look in hedgerow - walk across fields and you will see loads. Forgot to add about straining the liquid through muslin. You get thunder bugs on the umbels and you don't want buggy cordial, even though your daughter like them!

[chris]

I've found a LOAD by my allotment.

Picked a load.. shook them over a white worktop - omg! the amount of bugs in it are unreal!

Iv'e frozen it, as we're not ready (some started to go brown when defrosted slighty :/ - shall use that for jam).

One thing though VVG.. I'm a bit uneasy about this whole gassing thing. I've read other forums and they've had glass bottles explode. does the C02 just get reaborbed and make it more fizzy if it's not gassed?

Do any of you use campden tablets? Or do you use milton to sort out the nasties in the bottles before bottling them? Or boil? Can the rubber seals take boiling? Do you need to let the bottles cool first? One book I have recommends boiling them in the bottles once bottled to give them a proper seal (akin to kilner I suppose) - do any of you do that? Finally, storing in a garage - detached from the house, it is pretty cool in there, very cold over winter - suitable? How long do yours keep for?

I'd really like to have some ready for august when little cm mark 2 is born! Hopefully i'll have built a nice brick BBQ then, and get sit back and (get whammo!) enjoy a nice summers day with a decent bbq in the other hand

Planning on popping to ikea at lunch time to pickup a load of their bottles:

IKEA | Glassware & jugs | Jugs | SLOM | Bottle with stopper - as recommended to me by mikeywills here.. 1/2 the price of lakeland ones pretty much (that means I can get twice as many! ).

Exciting! asaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa (like a kid before xmas)

[VirginVegGrower]

The rubber seals allow for gas expansion and therefore an explosion with these doesn't happen. I have used these and made this fizz for so many years now. The ones I took for my friend last year went into plastic and they go bullet hard. Sooner or later they go bang. If glass has exploded I suggest it is because they use thin glass either with corks or screw caps. Big no no!
You may risk killing off your yeast by freezing which is what you need to make the champagne. Why don't you make cordial if you're freezing or worried about the glass. I don't use sterilising tabs, preferring instead to boil my bottles. No to Campden that's for wine making. Ensure the Ikea ones are thick glass, same as champagne bottles or you will have a Molotov cocktail on your hands.
My recipe is as above! Contact me if you get stuck chap! Pleased you found some; I knew you would as it's everywhere. Every ten yards up here.

[VirginVegGrower]

Yes keep in garage cool and dry. It is advised that it keeps for two months but we've had it stored longer than that, drunk it and we are still living! Keeping it until the end of summer will be OK IMO :-)

[VirginVegGrower]

Lorina is 2.39 a bottle and you've got the pop to drink. Sometimes it's on offer 2 4 £4 I think. The glass is thick.

[chris]

Went into the Waitrose (express?) in town - they don't have it grr - at that price, those bottles are cheaper than lakeland, but 37p more than ikea. I guess they must be under some pressure, to contain lemonade..

[chris]

...oh and I may have bought (a pretty) cultivar for the garden!

[buzzingtalk]

I went out today and got a FULL carrier bag of elders, I am now in the very long process of preparing about 8 litres of cordial. yum yum! They are starting to turn in some places round here though, so get out there before they go brown people!

[VirginVegGrower]

Went into the Waitrose (express?) in town - they don't have it grr - at that price, those bottles are cheaper than lakeland, but 37p more than ikea. I guess they must be under some pressure, to contain lemonade..

So did you buy from Ikea? Try Ocado if not - a small Waitrose wont stock.

[VirginVegGrower]

I went out today and got a FULL carrier bag of elders, I am now in the very long process of preparing about 8 litres of cordial. yum yum! They are starting to turn in some places round here though, so get out there before they go brown people!

SNAP! Will you be making Elderberry wine? I bought Demi johns today as I need to rack it better this year.

[chris]

So did you buy from Ikea? Try Ocado if not - a small Waitrose wont stock.

Nope didn't buy any - they're still coming out in bloom around me so have a couple of days before they'll be open. I may pop down to the large waitrose store this weekend.

[Headfry]

Putting Elderflower wine in demijohn tonight..... its in the bucket at the moment and 'working' like crazy