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For a few weeks each late spring, Britain's hedgerows turn creamy-white and the air fills with a scent that is part honey, part citrus, part something harder to name. Elderflower season is short — roughly from mid-May to late June, depending on where you are — and it rewards anyone willing to get out with a bag and a pair of scissors. The flowers are free, plentiful and astonishingly versatile. Here is how to gather them well and turn them into cordial, fritters and a handful of other things worth making.

Identifying and Picking Elderflower

Elder (Sambucus nigra) is a scruffy, fast-growing shrub or small tree that loves hedgerows, railway embankments, waste ground and the edges of woodland. You will often smell it before you see it. The flowers grow in flat-topped, saucer-shaped clusters — botanists call them cymes — made up of hundreds of tiny, five-petalled creamy-white blooms. The leaves are opposite and pinnate, with serrated oval leaflets, and the stems are soft and greenish when young.

Pick on a dry, sunny morning after the dew has lifted. Damp flowers lose aroma and go off quickly. Choose clusters that are fully open but still bright white; avoid anything browning, and avoid roadside bushes where exhaust and spray are a concern. Snip the whole head off with scissors and lay the flowers loosely in a basket or paper bag rather than a plastic one, so they do not sweat.

Two warnings worth taking seriously. Never confuse elderflower with anything else if you are not certain — take a good field guide on your first few trips. And always strip the flowers from the green stalks before using them; the stems, leaves, roots and unripe berries contain compounds that can cause stomach upset. A quick way to do this is to run the tines of a fork down each cluster so the little flowers drop into a bowl.

Elderflower Cordial: The One to Master First

Cordial is the classic, and once you have made it you will never buy a bottle again. It keeps for months, dilutes into sparkling water, gin, prosecco and iced tea, and forms the base for sorbets and icings.

• About 25 large elderflower heads, freshly picked and de-stalked
• 1 kg granulated sugar
• 1.5 litres water
• 2 unwaxed lemons, sliced, plus the juice of 1 more
• 30 g citric acid (from pharmacies or home-brew shops)

Bring the water and sugar to the boil in a large pan, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then take it off the heat. Add the lemon slices, the extra lemon juice, the citric acid and finally the elderflowers. Stir once, cover and leave somewhere cool for 24 to 48 hours. The longer it steeps, the stronger the flavour — 48 hours gives you something properly floral. Strain through muslin or a clean tea towel, squeezing gently, then bottle in sterilised bottles. Keep in the fridge; it will happily last six months. Dilute roughly one part cordial to five parts water or soda.

Elderflower Fritters

Fritters are the fastest way to eat elderflower rather than drink it, and they are wonderful with a cup of tea or as a light pudding with berries.

Make a simple batter: 100 g plain flour, 1 tablespoon caster sugar, 1 egg, and about 150 ml of cold sparkling water or milk, whisked to a smooth, double-cream consistency. Leave it to rest for 20 minutes. Heat 2 cm of neutral oil in a deep frying pan to about 180°C — a cube of bread should sizzle and brown in 30 seconds.

Hold each flower head by its stalk, dip it into the batter so the florets are coated but the stalk stays clean, and lower it into the oil. Fry for a minute or so on each side until pale gold, then drain on kitchen paper. Eat immediately, dusted with icing sugar, or with a spoonful of honey and a squeeze of lemon. For a savoury version, drop the sugar from the batter and serve the fritters alongside soft cheese and cured meats.

Beyond Cordial: Desserts, Vinegar and Drinks

The delicate flavour works best where it is not cooked hard for long, so think of it as a finishing note rather than a base ingredient.

• Elderflower syllabub: whip 300 ml double cream with 3 tablespoons of cordial, 2 tablespoons of white wine and a little sugar until it just holds its shape; fold through raspberries and chill.
• Elderflower sorbet: make a cordial slightly stronger than usual, cool it, then churn or freeze in a shallow tray, whisking every half hour.
• Elderflower vinegar: pack flowers into a jar, cover with white wine vinegar, leave for two weeks in a dark cupboard, then strain. Splendid over strawberries or in salad dressings.
• Elderflower gin: steep a handful of flower heads in a bottle of gin for three days, strain, and sweeten lightly with sugar syrup if you like.
• Elderflower lemonade: cordial, cold water, plenty of ice, mint and sliced lemon — the definitive garden drink.

One more idea worth trying: infuse milk with a few flower heads overnight, strain, and use it to make a delicate set custard or panna cotta. The perfume carries beautifully into dairy.

Handling, Storing and a Few Cautions

Use elderflowers the day you pick them where possible. If you must keep them, lay the heads on a tray lined with kitchen paper and refrigerate for no more than a day. You can also freeze the de-stalked flowers in bags for up to six months, though they lose some fragrance; freezing works better for infusing spirits than for fritters.

Two final notes. Elderflowers contain mild natural compounds that some people find laxative, so use them in sensible quantities and avoid giving cordial in large amounts to very young children. And if you are not completely confident of your identification, leave it, ask someone experienced, or take a guided foraging walk. There is no shame in that — there is only a very good cordial waiting next year.