Elderflower Cordial and a Lonely Rooster

If you have spent a few minutes in Tinnock, you would have invariably seen or heard our Rooster Bob. He commands attention, strutting around, flinging sticks and rocks out of his path, and crowing constantly throughout the day, sometimes until  he is hoarse. Bob likes things done strictly on his schedule, so when Maisy decided to nest a clutch of her own babies few weeks ago, his happy little world collapsed. 

The first few days were spent trying to coax her out with food or pretty leaves he found, swinging into fits of impatience as he tried to bully her out of the coop, before finally accepting his fate as an abandoned chicken and attempting to make a new flock. He tried to join the big laying hens,  spent some time with the sheep, had a few ill fated attempts of making friends with our farm cat Hazel, before eventually retiring to the back door with Woody to watch me as I potter around.

One of our jobs he supervised this week was the first few batches of Elderflower cordial. 

Elderflower is a real early summer treat. It is easily identifiable and grows prolifically all over Ireland. When making your cordial, make sure you pick the heads that are dry, white and open. 

I always follow Darina Allen’s recipe, her book 'Forgotten Skills of Cooking' is a must have in my opinion. Make sure you keep the lemon slices in the freezer and use in your summer drinks!

• 10 elderflower heads
• 900g sugar
• 1 sliced lemon
• 45g citric acid (you can pick this up at any chemist)

Bring 600ml of water to the boil in a saucepan. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes. 

Add the citric acid, elderflower heads and lemons. 

Cover and leave overnight. 

Next day, pour through a sieve and strain. Pour into sterilised glass bottles or keep bottled in the fridge. 

As I bottle the rest of the cordial and head out to do a few minutes weeding in the vegetable patch,  I know I will be joined by my little lonely rooster. Soon, when he has his little family running around behind him and he doesn’t have a minute to himself, I hope he can spare me a few minutes in the evening to sit and crow next to me as the the sun goes down. 

Kirsten x