An alternative to sports drinks.
28/06/11 20:12 Filed in: Food & Drink
Without getting into a debate on sports drinks, here’s a great recipe to make a refreshing drink to quench your thirst.
For a few years now I have shunned sports drinks, after all I have been known to carry a flask of tea on a long days mountain biking, everyone likes to rip it out of me in the morning but by late afternoon they all want a bit.
I am not getting into a debate about the good or harm they cause, and I am sure if you’re on the final stage of the Tour then you need all the help you can get.
I discovered Elderflower Cordial in water sailing and then adopted it for cycling. What follows is a simple recipe if you fancy giving it a go yourself and giving J Sainsbury a miss.
Elderflower Cordial
An easy to make drink that can be frozen in plastic bottles, leaving room for expansion, so it can be enjoyed all year round. It will keep for almost a month if just bottled, although you can freeze elderflower cordial and it can be enjoyed any time.
Ingredients
20 elderflower heads 1 sliced lemon 2 tsp of citric acid (ask at your chemist) 1.5 kg (3.5 lbs) of sugar 1.2 ltr (2.5 pints) boiling water
Method
Boil a kettle for the water.
Fill a bowl or small bucket with all the other ingredients.
Pour the water over the other ingredients and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Skim the surface of the water to get rid of the scum that can arise. Cover with a cloth (pillow case maybe)
Stir twice a day for five days.
Strain through a fine sieve or through muslin cloth and decant into sterile screw topped bottles. Refrigerate.
As with other cordials dilute with 5 parts water to serve. It can be used as a gin mixer with ice a very nice post ride drink.
I am not getting into a debate about the good or harm they cause, and I am sure if you’re on the final stage of the Tour then you need all the help you can get.
I discovered Elderflower Cordial in water sailing and then adopted it for cycling. What follows is a simple recipe if you fancy giving it a go yourself and giving J Sainsbury a miss.
Elderflower Cordial
An easy to make drink that can be frozen in plastic bottles, leaving room for expansion, so it can be enjoyed all year round. It will keep for almost a month if just bottled, although you can freeze elderflower cordial and it can be enjoyed any time.
Ingredients
20 elderflower heads 1 sliced lemon 2 tsp of citric acid (ask at your chemist) 1.5 kg (3.5 lbs) of sugar 1.2 ltr (2.5 pints) boiling water
Method
Boil a kettle for the water.
Fill a bowl or small bucket with all the other ingredients.
Pour the water over the other ingredients and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Skim the surface of the water to get rid of the scum that can arise. Cover with a cloth (pillow case maybe)
Stir twice a day for five days.
Strain through a fine sieve or through muslin cloth and decant into sterile screw topped bottles. Refrigerate.
As with other cordials dilute with 5 parts water to serve. It can be used as a gin mixer with ice a very nice post ride drink.