In the Czech kitchen: Cooking with elderberries from flower to fruit

With deep connections to Slavic culture, elderflowers (known as bezinka in Czech) have long been an important ingredient in the Czech recipes of yesteryear. In Central and Northern Europe, elderflower is used as a base for syrup and vinegar, while the blossoms have even been fried and eaten historically.

For those who are uncertain about how to incorporate this ingredient into seasonal dishes, we asked chefs from Ambiente restaurants to share their best tips with us. Read on to discover why picking both flowers and ripe blackberries (černý bez) is a must for home cooks in Czechia.

The elder tree blooms in spring and ripens in late summer but if harvested properly, can be used in cooking all year round. Just before flowering, elderberries can be pickled like capers, but the flowering phase is a bit longer and more interesting for chefs. In May and June, the fragrant flowers are processed into syrups, (fermented) lemonades, and kombucha, as a refreshing drink ingredient or in sauces and salad dressings.

These tips for incorporating both berries and flowers into your cooking are based on Czech folk recipes.

DRESSINGS: Elderflower syrup can be whisked with olive oil, yogurt, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper and then tossed with salad leaves, caramelized rhubarb, and goat cheese for a delicious summer salad. It also works well as an ingredient in a universal yogurt-based summer condiment (whisk the yogurt with lemon juice and a pinch of salt). Try it on grilled green asparagus or other garden greens, for example.

SAUCES: Add a tangy kick to hollandaise sauce with elderflower vinegar or pickled flowers. Flowers can be pickled in a classic vinegar brine and added to mayonnaise or butter sauce (beurre blanc), as they do at the Bufet in Karlín. The tart flowers, butter, and fish stock make for a sublime sauce.

GARNISH: Use the flowers in salads and to finish (cold) soups, sprinkle over fresh cheese or grilled meat, add to a hot sandwich, on pasta like linguine, or serve on bread with farmer's cheese. 

PRESERVES AND CHUTNEY: When fermented with vegetables and fruit, in kimchi, honey, or chutneys, the flowers enhance the aroma of certain jams (their taste works well with strawberry jam). In some recipes, they are macerated first in apple juice or stirred into the cooked fruit. 

MEAT DISHES: At Eska restaurant in Prague, they add fresh elderberry flowers to their baked lamb dish; they preserve the harvest traditionally but also sous vide or frozen, which extends its shelf life. In an older recipe from the Czech culinary tradition, a simple sauce made from the blossoms, sautéed in butter and stirred into a buttery roux sauce, with a little mace, salt, and sour cream, was often served over venison.

DESSERTS: Aromatic elderflower also suits desserts. The flowers can be incorporated into milk or cream bases used to make ice cream and other dairy desserts. The syrup can be used as a sweetener for strawberry dumplings, doughnuts, sweet buns, or cake batter.

OIL: Vintage cookbooks advise collecting undeveloped flowers without stems to make vinegar, while elderflower oil is prepared from dried flowers so that the moisture does not cause mold. Pour 250 ml of good-quality oil over 10 bunches of flowers and keep in a cool, dark place for about three weeks. The oil is then strained and used in dressings and sauces. Dried flowers can be mixed into flavored sugar or salt.

FRIED: Fried elderflowers are a Czech summer treat! The batter is made by mixing sifted flour, salt, beer, milk, and eggs. Flowers are coated in the batter and then fried with lard and dusted with sugar.