Gorse Cordial

This is our first cordial of the year and Gorse cordial is by far our favourite! We are very lucky to have this growing all around us in the New Forest and we love that it is something we are able to forage and make in the midst of winter and even though it can be quite painful to pick off the flowers (you are pretty much guaranteed to get a little hurt in the process) it makes it feel even more satisfying once you get to have that first glass. I actually find the whole process of picking them quite meditative because it's not something you can do super quickly, you need to take your time so you don't get hurt by the thorns. On this specific occasion the gorse flowers were partially frozen so after a while my hands became numb collecting them!

Gorse Flower Cordial Recipe

Ingredients

• 600ml water
• 250g sugar
• Zest of 1 small orange
• Juice of 2-3 lemon
• 4 handfuls of gorse flowers

Directions

Bring the water and sugar to a boil until sugar dissolves.
Add the rest of the ingredients and then I like to boil for another 10 min or so.
Let sit overnight.
Strain
Pour into bottle