Where to find it, how to pick it and a delicious cordial recipe to try at home.

Popular premium soft drinks company Belvoir Farm is nestled in the Vale of Belvoir in Bottesford, Leicestershire. Each year, Pev Manners and his team works with the community to handpick the elderflowers that thrive in the area and surrounding counties.

The central ingredient in their iconic 40-year-old cordial, these pretty and fragrant Elderflower white blooms start to flower in June and carry on until mid-July. Observing the Countryside Code, they are harvested from the company’s own organic plantations, plus hedgerows and woods near the farm, with the community sharing tip-offs from friends as to where the most prolific bushes are located.

“The best blooms are not necessarily in the same place each year,” says Pev, “so it’s always good to keep an eye out in the run up to the harvest”.

Here Pev shares his top tips for successful elderflower harvesting, plus a delicious cordial recipe to try at home:

• A gentle sunny day is best for foraging as you want the pollen on the flowers.

• Find a spot away from a busy road – horse paddocks are great.

• Key equipment you’ll need:
  Walking stick – one with a curved end so you can grab and pull down the top branches.
  A basket if you have one, for collecting the flowers, or any bag or hessian sack suspended to your belt works just as well. Pev’s top tip: “I use a garden centre weed collector shaped like a cylinder, which holds masses of flowers, although my old one died so I need a new one for this year!”

• Pev’s preferred method is picking from the taller branches, by drawing the boughs down with a walking stick. Always pull gently at the end where it is more pliable, to avoid snapping the branch.

• Don’t use scissors, just bare hands, as it’s easier to just snap off the flower-heads.

• Look for creamy white heads with a dusting of greeny-yellow pollen. That is where the flavour lies.

• If you find one with a head the size of a tea plate, you know they’ll be good. However, if the pollen is brown, the flowers have gone too far. Anything that smells stale, like cat pee, is also beyond its best.
• Cut just below the umbel — the common point at which all the short flower stalks extend.
• Try not to shake the blooms too much, or wash them, as you’ll lose much of the valuable pollen and flavour.
• Lay the blossom out in the shade for a couple of hours so that any the insects can walk away.
• Use your picked flowers as soon as possible – ideally within 6-8 hours of picking – before the pollen falls off and the flowers go brown, which they will do after about 8 hours off the bush.

If you’re making cordial, the recipe will likely involve submerging and steeping the flowers in a mixture of sugar and water. Here’s a delicious cordial recipe to try at home:

Elderflower Cordial Recipe

Ingredients

2.5kg white sugar, granulated or caster

2 unwaxed lemons

20 fresh elderflower heads, stalks trimmed

85g citric acid (buy online or from a chemist)

Method

Put the sugar and 1.5 litres/2¾ pints water into the largest saucepan you have. Gently heat, without boiling, until the sugar has dissolved. Give it a stir every now and again. Remove the zest from the lemons using a potato peeler, then slice the lemons into rounds.

Once the sugar has dissolved, bring the pan of syrup to the boil, then turn off the heat. Fill a washing up bowl with cold water. Give the flowers a gentle swish around to loosen any dirt or bugs. Lift flowers out, gently shake and transfer to the syrup along with the lemons, zest and citric acid, then stir well. Cover the pan and leave to infuse for 24 hrs.

Line a colander with a clean tea towel, then sit it over a large bowl or pan. Ladle in the syrup – let it drip slowly through. Discard the bits left in the towel. Use a funnel and a ladle to fill sterilised bottles (run glass bottles through the dishwasher, or wash well with soapy water. Rinse, then leave to dry in a low oven). The cordial is ready to drink straight away and will keep in the fridge for up to 6 weeks. Or freeze it in plastic containers or ice cube trays and defrost as needed.

Enjoy!

Visit Belvoir Farm to see how they make their famous Edlerflower Cordial.

Are you a whisky drinker or would you like to be one? Then as it’s World Whisky Day on 20th May this is the perfect time to try a ‘wee dram’ as they say in Scotland.

World Whisky Day is celebrated across every corner of the globe, with Scotch, Irish, American Bourbon and many other whisky variations proving to be in demand.

We have compiled a list of whiskies of the moment, some are robust and smoky, others smooth and creamy, whatever you choose you’re sure to enjoy a glass this World Whisky Day.

Howler Head Whisky, £25.95 Master of Malt

Carefully crafted at Green River Distilling Co. in Kentucky, USA with a proprietary yeast, the finest grains and mineral-rich water filtered through limestone. Distilled in a 100-year-old Vendome all-copper still. The resulting spirit is then aged for two years in American white oak barrels with a #4 “alligator” char in traditional wood rick houses. Following this process, the spirit is then blended with banana flavour, leaving a subtle sweet kick of banana on the finish.

Ardgowan Distillery, Clydebuilt Sailmaker, £52.50 Ardgowan Distillery

A unique blended malt combining six distinctive whiskies from Highland, Lowland and Speyside Distilleries. Each of these whiskies has matured in first fill Oloroso Sherry casks. On the nose it’s peppery with a balance of dried spices, stone fruits, fresh nectarines, chocolate truffles, and Seville orange marmalade. The palate relaxes slowly to reveal butterscotch, marzipan, mangoes, and a hint of vanilla essence. The finish is raisins and spice.

Berry Bros & Rudd, Glen Elgin 2013, £70 BBR Spirits

The nose opens with Glen Elgin’s trademark burnt marmalade notes, alongside apples and pears. Time in the glass brings forward notes of crème brûlée with spiced cream. The palate is muscular, where a perfect balance of fruit and oak waltz over the tongue.

Uhuru Spirits Whisky, £54.99 Uhuru Spirits

A whisky to be enjoyed anywhere, anytime. Uhuru is a passion project with a purpose, with 10% of its net profits donated to charity Tusk, which supports African wildlife conservation. A warming 12-year old blended malt.

GlenDronach Cask Strength, Batch 12, £75 GlenDronach Distillery

The GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 12 boasts depths of sherry as it was matured slowly in Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry casks from Andalucía, Spain. On the nose a rich mocha and creamy cappuccino meld with orange and raisin-filled fruit cake, cherry liqueur and sandalwood. A swathe of velvety spice reveals dark chocolate tiramisu topped with flamed Seville orange peel, toasted almond, and crystallised ginger on the palate. The finish is a lingering of amaretto-laced mocha, morello cherry, and sultana on caramelised crème brûlée.

Ardbeg, Limited Edition Heavy Vapours, £120 Ardbeg

Defined by its distinctive profile of pungent earthiness, aromatic clouds of dark chocolate, a billow of aniseed and cinnamon, and a lingering tang of sharp peppermint, Heavy Vapours is the ultimate experimental Islay single malt scotch whisky matured in classic Ardbeg casks.

Glasgow Distillery, Malt Riot Vat No.6, £28 The Glasgow Distillery Co.

Malt Riot Vat No.6 is a blend of hand-picked single malt whiskies from across Scotland with Glasgow 1770 Single Malt at its heart. Notes of pears and apricots combine with sweet vanilla and toffee apples leading to a lightly spicy finish.

Jura, Pale Ale Cask Whisky, £36, Tesco

Jura Pale Ale Cask edition opens with aromas of honeyed cereal, vanilla spice and hints of pineapple. Bright and fruity on the palate, there are notes of sweet citrus and a subtle, tropical hop character. This is rounded off with vanilla and a smooth and creamy finish.

Benriach, The Twelve, £42.95 Master of Malt

Benriach spirit is three cask matured for at least twelve years in sherry casks, bourbon barrels, and port casks. The whisky from each cask is then expertly married together to create a smooth, sherry-rich single malt, layered with baked fruit, maple honey and cocoa, perfectly balanced with a lingering sultana and spiced mocha finish.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, DARK ’N’ STORMY CRÈME BRÛLÉE (from the 2023 FESTIVAL RARE RELEASES), £55 SMWS

A rich aroma of rum-soaked raisins, Turkish delight, cinnamon bagels and glacé cherries welcomed the Panel, bolstered by charred peaches, caramel popcorn and honey-roasted nuts. After the inviting nose, the taste neat came as quite a surprise – a spicy hit of chilli flakes followed by dry/bitter cask char. There was sweetness behind that attack, but it was difficult to get to the vanilla concentrate, fudge and toffee bonbons. Following reduction, we felt that someone had burned an exotic antique tea chest before rum-infused desserts took centre stage on the palate, including warm banana split in a rum sauce, a classic French rum baba … and how about a dark ’n’ stormy crème brûlée?

SMWS Membership (become a member to buy the bottles!):

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society was established in Edinburgh in 1983 by a few friends in Edinburgh sharing single cask whisky and experiencing a flavour epiphany. Forty years on, SMWS is a worldwide whisky club with almost 40,000 members who treasure flavour and the joy of shared experiences with whisky in its purest form. The Scotch Malt Whisky Society was founded by ‘Maverick-in-Chief’ Pip Hills, out of a sense of adventure, an endless discovery of whisky, friendship and fun.

The Society offers a variety of membership options that can be tailored, starting at a price of £85. Members get exclusive access to SMWS whiskies and have access to four exclusive SMWS Members’ Rooms in Leith, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London along with a global network of 100 partner bars, partner bar discounts, colourful tasting events, whisky education and a monthly members magazine Unfiltered.

With so much choice these days of where to eat, how do you choose which is the best option for you? Are you down for the cheapest spot in town, do you only visit the trendy places, do you return to your favourite restaurant, or are you queueing at the doors of a newly opened diner?

We’re into returning to some of our old favourites at the moment in Leeds. Our writer, Rachel McAlley was invited to sample the new spring / summer menu at The Lost & Found on Greek Street in Leeds, here’s how it panned out.

Lunch was booked for a Thursday afternoon and the sun was shining, which meant that Greek Street was buzzing with lunchtime customers. This side of Leeds is always a pleasure to visit during the week as there’s a mix of office workers, city dwellers, students, and shoppers taking tables at the restaurants.

We were sat near the window, which was great for people watching. The menu arrived and we were instantly heads down to see what it offered. This was our fifth visit to The Lost & Found Leeds on Greek Street, our first experience wasn’t great, but each subsequent visit thereafter has been excellent, and this is why we return.

The menu has everything from nibbles and small plates, to large plates, pizza, steaks, sides, and a set lunchtime menu too. If you’re into cocktails, the bespoke cocktail menu is one not to miss either as it has some fabulous spring/ summer additions like a Picante Margarita, and a Lychee Martini to name just a couple.

Food Time

It was time to order. We opted for the set lunch menu and chose the Pork & Black Pudding Sausage Roll along with the Crispy Squid to start with. The sausage roll was the standout dish as it came with an apple & plum ketchup which added a sweetness that cut into the meaty flavour of the black pudding and pork.

Our main dishes included a Cheese & Bacon Burger. This was served with red Leicester cheese, smoked streaky bacon, tomato and onion chutney, salted skinny fries, red pepper ketchup and garlic mayonnaise. We also ordered a Hot Honey Halloumi Open Sandwich, which came with hot honey glazed halloumi, houmous, rocket, and pickled red onions. Plus an extra side order of Triple Cooked Chips. The burger was definitely a favourite from the mains as it was cooked perfectly and the chutney gave it a little zing.

Obviously, we shared a pudding because, well it would be rude not to! Sticky Toffee Pudding was our dessert of choice. Served with miso caramel sauce and toffee honeycomb caramel ice cream, it was simply delicious. Now, if we’re being honest, we didn’t need a dessert as we were stuffed from having starters and mains, but who can resist a sticky toffee pudding when it’s on the menu, not us.

The service was very good as the team were on hand as and when they were needed. There was a large walk-in booking of around 20 guests to contend with on top of all the other tables, and the team managed it perfectly. It was a great atmosphere in the restaurant with a bustling lunchtime trade.

Will we return to the Lost & Found Greek Street for a sixth time, of course we will. The food is delicious, the service is excellent, and the décor is beautiful.

Visit The Lost & Found Greek Street to book a table.

Always so much to share about food and drink launches across the UK each and every month, but there’s something special about May. May brings with it warmer weather, the promise of summer on the horizon, lighter nights, and generally a sense of better times ahead.

Without further ado let us share some fabulous news about food and drink products new to launch that you can get your teeth into.

Food News

Pleese, Freezecakes

Silky smooth and irresistibly creamy, swirled with crunchy biscuit pieces and pockets of indulgent sauce – the world’s first frozen cheesecake (in a tub) hit supermarket shelves across the UK recently. The revolutionary dessert is brought to you by the Instagram-famous cheesecake connoisseurs, Pleese (previously Pleesecakes), known for their fully loaded cheesecakes. They include Butterscotch & Caramel, Lemon & Raspberry, and Double Chocolate. Priced at £5 each (350g tub), from Co-Op and Waitrose.

Munchy Seeds

Sweet and savoury snack packs come in five tasty combos from Munchy Seeds including Mega Omega, Mild Chilli, Honey Roasted, Salted Caramel, and Warm Cinnamon. Containing vegan or vegetarian roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds, full of fibre and containing more than 6g of protein in each pack, these flavourful snack packs are a quick and easy way to add more nutrients to your diet. Priced at £0.75p per snack pack or £5 for the full snack pack range, from Munchy Seeds.

ZENB Sauces

Two delectable new ragu ZENB sauces just launched. They include Aubergine with Basil & Olive Oil, and Mushroom with Marjoram & Olive Oil. The ZENB name is derived from the word zenbu (全部) the Japanese expression for whole, and the ragu sauces reflect this and use as much of the whole vegetable as possible, including skin, seeds and stem. Priced at £3.33 each, from ZENB.

Nairn’s, Coconut & Chai Oat Biscuits

Delicious Coconut & Chia Oat Biscuits are bang on trend flavour-wise and are packed with natural flavour from toasted coconut and added crunch from chia seeds. They contain no artificial colours or flavours, are full of the goodness of wholegrain oats and are high in fibre too. Compared to over 100 similar everyday-premium biscuits they contain 55% less sugar on average, and they are only 45 kcal per biscuit. Priced at £1.40 from Sainsbury’s.

Locako, DIY Peanut Butter Collagen Brownies

Who said low-calorie snacks had to be boring? At 96Kcal per brownie slice, the DIY kits can be enjoyed guilt-free and in the convenience of your own home. With just a few easy additional ingredients, such as butter and eggs, the only struggle you’ll have when making these is having the self-control to share the treats. Available from Locako, priced at £10.39.

Drink News

Hawksbill Rum

Hawksbill brings together the very best Caribbean rums from Trinidad and Guyana, along with its own blend of spices, and combines its rum with a worthy cause: helping to save endangered turtles. The Hawksbill range includes Caribbean Spiced Rum, Mango Spiced Rum and Pineapple Spiced Rum. With every bottle sold 10% of the profits goes to the Barbados Sea Turtle Project in the Caribbean, helping to protect the environment of the Hawksbill Turtle and preserve its future. Priced at £23 per 70cl bottle, available from Hawksbill Rum.  

Fettercairn Single Malt, Warehouse Collection, Warehouse 14

Fettercairn Distillery announced the final instalment of their Warehouse Collection, an experimental limited-edition release. From pioneering Master Whisky Maker Gregg Glass, ‘Icons of Whisky 2023 Distiller of the Year’ is a rare and remarkable Single Malt, bottled at 51.2% ABV (non-chill-filtered and natural colour). Warehouse 14 is shaped by Fettercairn’s unique dunnage Warehouse 14 and the whisky maker’s expert balance of unusual casks. Priced at £70 from Fettercairn Whisky.

Fungtn, Lion’s Mane Mushroom Coffee

Fungtn has teamed up with Balance Coffee to launch a brand-new Lions Mane Mushroom Coffee, combining speciality high grade coffee with high quality dual extract of Lions Mane Mushroom to create a ground coffee for home brewing. The unique ratio of coffee to mushroom gives a warm depth of flavour to the coffee and helps to balance the caffeine hit, whilst adding the benefits of Lions Mane. Lions Mane has shown in studies to help improve memory and mental clarity, balance the caffeine impact on the body as an adaptogen and help increase focus. Priced at £18.99 for 250g, from Fungtn

Belvoir, Summer Spritz

A new fruity blend crafted with nature to taste wild from Belvoir. The limited edition Summer Spritz is a juicy, sweet and vibrant blend of sparkling spring water mixed with strawberry, apple, elderberry and lime juices, and finished with a hint of cooling mint. Made with 100% natural ingredients, it contains no preservatives, flavourings, artificial colours or artificial sweeteners and is suitable for vegans. Priced at £2.25 (750ml bottle), from Ocado and Amazon, launching into Aldi at the end of June.

Greene King, Craft Beer Launch

Brewing company Greene King has launched two new premium beers craft beers. Level Head, a 4% session IPA and Flint Eye, a 4.5% dry hopped lager. Level Head offers delicately balanced tropical and grapefruit notes. Flint Eye combines peach aromas with subtle pine notes showcasing a crisp and refreshing lager. Priced between £5.50 – £6 from Tesco, Waitrose, Morrisons, and Sainsbury’s.

Château del ISH, Alcohol Free Sparkling Rosé

With notes of plum, strawberry and raspberry this blend of Merlot and Pinot Noir grapes is nicely balanced in its acidity and perceived as dry (or Secco) for sparkling wines. Château del ISH Sparkling Rosé gives you that classic easy-to-drink rosé experience. Priced at around £19 per 750ml bottle, from The Mindful Drinking.

Cook Book News

Özlem’s Turkish Table

Özlem’s Turkish Table: Award-Winning Cookbook Shares Authentic, Easy-to-Follow Turkish Recipes.Written by Özlem Warren, Özlem’s Turkish Table was named “Best in the World” at the 2020 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Heritage for Turkey and received an Honorary Mention at the 2020 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards. This book shares easy-to-follow authentic Turkish recipes and, with the current fundraising efforts from Warren, aims to raise funds to help those who were devastated by the recent earthquake in Turkey. 25% of sales will go straight to Turkey Earthquake Relief when purchased on the UK GB Publishing website. Priced at £25.99.

Cryer & Stott, a family run Yorkshire cheese wholesaler reach their 25th Anniversary this May.

Back in 1998, Richard Holmes opened his first cheese retail shop in Wakefield Market with his wife Clare where they sold cheese, meat, and eggs. Richard followed in his grandfather’s, great uncle’s and great grandfather’s retail footsteps who were butchers in West Yorkshire.

In 1999 Richard produced the world’s very first rhubarb cheese (straight from the heart of the Yorkshire Rhubarb Triangle). They named it Ruby Gold; a semi-soft ewe’s milk cheese with tangy, sweet rhubarb nestled in the cheese. Ruby Gold went on to win numerous awards for innovation, flavour, and texture.

Fast forward to the noughties, when Richard and Clare opened two Cryer & Stott retail shops in Castleford and Pontefract, plus a wholesale business. The noughties also brought a number of hospitality clients to their door including Doncaster Racecourse, which in turn gave Richard the opportunity to be adventurous with cheese and produce the St Leger Cheeseboard.

Into the 2010’s Richard and Clare opened The Urban Food Hall in West Yorkshire village Allerton Bywater, called Samuel Valentine, which was named after their children. They then supplied 12-tonnes of cheese to the London Olympics in 2012, giving Cryer & Stott their biggest order of cheese for one single event. Two new cheeses were produced for the London Olympics, Rhuby Crumble and Legacy. Cryer & Stott were also named Wholesaler of the Year 2012.

The Tour de France was announced for 2014, and Richard and Jemma Ladwitch from Cryer & Stott toured France in a project named The Grand Fromage Depart. The pair swapped Yorkshire cheese for French cheese with small artisan producers across the country. The British Embassy heard about the tour and the duo were invited to showcase a Yorkshire Cheese Stack in Paris at the British Embassy. The Ambassador was so inspired by Cryer & Stott he asked them to return and create a special cheese for a state visit by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

A soft peppery blue cheese was then produced and named The Duke of Wellington. The cheese was showcased to Her Majesty by Richard, Clare & Jemma & enjoyed by HRH on four separate occasions that week. The Duke of Wellington went on to win both Gold and Silver at The World Cheese Awards in 2016; and in 2017 the cheese was officially launched at The Houses of Parliament in London.

Moving into 2018 and HRH Princess Anne visited Samuel Valentine, The Urban Food Hall, after the lord lieutenant put Cryer & Stott forward for a royal visit to thank them for services to the Yorkshire food industry. Cryer & Stott created a cheese named Royal Thursday. Richard also won another award in 2018, CEO of The Year. Moreover, Cryer & Stott won Wholesaler of the Year with deliciouslyorkshire®, and they were invited to Her Majesty the Queen’s Garden Party.

Cryer & Stott were awarded with both a Gold and Silver at the World Cheese Awards in 2018 for their new cheese launch – Endeavour; a double cream cow’s milk cheese, washed in Masons Yorkshire Tea Gin.

A new vegetarian cheese called Ewe Beauty was launched in 2019, which won Supreme Champion at the Great Yorkshire Show. Another huge success for Richard, Clare and Cryer & Stott as this was their first vegetarian rennet pecorino style cheese.

On the back of this, Richard climbed Mount Everest to raise money for a charity close to his heart. This is where he performed the World’s Highest Cheese Tasting!

Fast forward through the pandemic, and Cryer & Stott now looks slightly different. The two retail cheesemongers are run by Richard’s brother Stuart as franchise businesses, and Samuel Valentine is run by a French chef under licence.

2022 saw Richard give back to Yorkshire’s food scene by becoming a board member of deliciouslyorkshire®. In this role he volunteers his time to help food producers and businesses wanting to highlight Yorkshire food.

The most exciting news for 2023 is that Richard has been awarded an MBE for Services to the British Food Industry. Furthermore, Cryer & Stott have produced a bespoke cheese for the Coronation of The King. This cheese is called King Charles III and is made with Cheddar, black truffle, and the King’s favourite mushrooms.

The official 25th Anniversary of Cryer & Stott, takes place on 13th May, just after the Coronation.

Visit Cryer & Stott’s website for the 25-year historical timeline of the business, and to find out more about their award-winning cheeses.