The Dogwood Elderflower Float

This refreshing float from Executive Chef Sarah Steffan is made with sparkling elderflower juice, an effervescent flower soda made with blooms picked on the Farm in July and fermented until August. By the time the juice ferments and sparkles, the elderberries are ripe enough to pick and make a syrup from!

Sparkling Elderflower Juice

4 large heads of elderflowers
4 cups boiling water
4 cups cold water
Juice and rind of 1 lemon
¾ pound white sugar
1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar

Remove any bugs from the elderflowers, but do not wash. Add the sugar to the boiling water and dissolve. Add that water to the cold water and mix in the rest of the ingredients. Allow to sit in the refrigerator for 48 hours before straining and placing in bottles with sealed lids.
We refrigerate it for six weeks until it’s fermented and sparkly!

Elderflower syrup

1 cup picked and cleaned elderberries
½ cup sugar
¼ cup water
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, place all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Once cool, strain through a fine mesh strainer and reserve.

For your float you will need:

Your favorite vanilla ice cream and any berries you want to garnish with. Top with the elderberry syrup and the sparkling soda. Enjoy!