Elderflowers are a popular addition to a range of tasty desserts and delicious drinks. If you’re lucky enough to have elderflowers in the garden, you might be wondering how best to preserve them.
Can You Freeze Elderflowers?
Yes, you can freeze elderflowers for around 3 months. However, the only way to preserve them is by creating a cordial and freezing them in an ice cube tray with water. If you freeze the flowers themselves, you will ruin them.
Do Elderflowers Freeze Well? Sometimes
Can You Refreeze Elderflowers? Yes
How to Freeze Elderflowers
If you’ve ever frozen elderflowers on their own, you will be well aware that they don’t do well in the freezer. However, there’s a simple trick to freeze them for several months – use an ice cube tray. Here’s what you need to do:
- Harvest Elderflowers
Begin by picking your elderflowers from the garden before rinsing them and preparing them for use. - Make an Elderflower Cordial
There are lots of elderflower cordial recipes out there, so pick one that you can easily follow. The good news is that making elderflower cordial isn’t too complex, so you shouldn’t have too many issues! - Pour the Cordial Into an Ice Cube Tray
Once you have made your elderflower cordial, pour it into an ice cube tray, ensuring the slots are easily filled. Then, add the ice cube tray to the freezer. - Bag Up
As soon as you have your ice cubes, empty them into a freezer-safe bag and seal them. - Label and Freeze
Write the use-by date on the front of the bag and place your elderflower cubes in the freezer. Remember, you can freeze elderflowers for around three months.
How to Freeze Elderflower Cordial
As covered above, you can’t freeze elderflowers as they are; you will need to make them into a cordial first. If you don’t want to freeze elderflowers as ice cubes, you can simply add your cordial to a bottle or container and place it straight in the freezer.
Be mindful of the fact that the cordial will freeze solid, so you will have to thaw it all at once. The ice cube method is better if you plan to use small amounts of cordial at any given time.
3 Tips for Freezing Elderflowers
Now you know how to freeze them, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing elderflowers to have the best results:
Don’t Freeze the Flowers
Elderflowers are incredibly delicate and should not be frozen as they are. They will wither and be practically unusable if you place them in the freezer, so don’t bother trying!
Pick Them at the Right Time
In the UK, the best time to harvest elderflowers is in mid-June, just as spring is turning into summer. However, if you’re looking for elderflower berries, you will need to wait until the middle of august.
Dry Them Instead
Instead of freezing elderflowers, you can dry them. This will actually preserve them much better and for longer. To dry them, all you need to do is place them on a screen and wait for them to dry out over several days. You can then keep them in a paper bag in a cool, dry place until you’re ready to use them.
How Long Can You Freeze Elderflowers?
You can freeze elderflowers as a cordial for around three months. Granted, there’s nothing wrong with freezing them for longer than this, but we’d stick to this timeframe if you want your cordial/cubes to taste great once they have thawed.
The longer you leave anything in the freezer, the more quickly it deteriorates in terms of taste, so it’s best to use up your elderflowers within three months.
You Can Freeze Elderflowers for up to 3 Months
How Do You Defrost Elderflowers?
When you’re ready to defrost your elderflower cordial, remove it from the freezer and place it in the fridge. It should thaw in a matter of hours, but it largely depends on how much cordial you have.
If you have frozen elderflowers in ice cube trays, you don’t need to thaw them. Simply add them to your drink and enjoy the delicious boost in taste!
Can You Refreeze Elderflowers?
There’s nothing wrong with refreezing elderflower cordial if you have taken too much out of the freezer to enjoy at any given time.
Simply return it to the freezer and ensure it is tightly sealed. Just be mindful that the taste might be slightly less pronounced the next time you come to enjoy a delicious glass of elderflower cordial.
Do Elderflowers Freeze Well?
Elderflowers alone do not freeze well at all, but elderflower cordial freezes really well. Whether you decide to freeze your cordial in ice cubes or as it is in a suitably sized container, you shouldn’t have any issues when you come to enjoy it in the future.
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing elderflowers or elderflowers in general, then these may help:
You can freeze elderflowers for wine making, but there is no benefit to doing so. Instead, make elderflower wine with the freshest blooms for the best flavour.
Although it’s possible to freeze elderflowers before you process them into cordial, it’s not the best way to go about doing so. You should make the cordial when the flowers are at their freshest to get the best flavour.
