Description
This cordial is an beautiful, effervescent syrup made with fresh wisteria flowers! It is a refreshing floral syrup with a slight fermentation that has such a stunning color to mix into drinks, cocktails and desserts for spring and summer.
As a warning: all other parts besides the flowers of the wisteria plant are not edible and poisonous. Please remove any stems or leaves from the flowers before using in culinary projects.
Ingredients
Scale
- 6 cups water
- 4 cups sugar
- 4 cups wisteria flowers
- optional for non-fermented cordial: add in 2 tbsp citrus acid OR 1/2 cup lemon juice*
Instructions
- If you want to make the cordial fermented, leave out the lemon juice/citric acid which will slow down fermentation due to PH.
- Gather your wisteria flowers, removing any leaves or stems as these are poisonous. I use a colander or garden basket to shake out any dirt. It might seem odd, but fon’t wash the flowers if you plan to ferment this cordial. They’re covered in native, beneficial yeasts and lactic acid bacteria that are essential for fermentation.*
- Disinfect your containers by boiling them. I used 2 – liter jars for this.
- Combine sugar and water (add in the lemon juice or citric acid if you don’t want a fermented cordial) in a pot over medium and stir. *
- Add the liquid mixture into 2- liter jars or larger container.
- Divide the wisteria flowers venal among the containers and stir well. If not wanting to ferment this, you can strain it out after 1 day.
- Cover with cheese cloth or tea towel and store in a cool dry place. Stir the mixture well everyday.
- I start checking at the 3 day mark for any slight fermentation. I waited a week and had some good bubbles. You can keep fermenting or up to2 weeks for a really bubbly, fermented cordial.
- Strain out the flowers. Store in a container in the fridge for up to 1 month, but could last longer. Save the flowers for topping dishes and dehydrating for adding to sugar.
*if you are not able to get fresh flowers, use 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar with the mother to the mix to help with fermentation
Notes
- As a warning: all other parts besides the flowers of the wisteria plant are not edible and poisonous. Please remove any stems or leaves from the flowers before using in culinary projects.
- Natural yeast on the flowers will cause fermentation UNLESS you add the citric acid
- This is going to ferment a bit! Bubbles and effervesce are what you are looking for. If you don’t want to ferment it, you can strain out the flowers after 1 day of infusion.
- store in the fridge to slow fermentation. Leaving this on the counter can cause pressure build up in the bottle.
- Always use your nose and eyes to check for any cloudiness or bad smell which means the cordial has gone bad.