Mr Nicholas Balfe, head chef at Brixton’s Salon, with a granita recipe that makes the most of this wild ingredient.

It is peak season for elderflowers. Aside from stinging nettles perhaps, they are possibly the most abundant and easy to find of all wild ingredients, and something we use a lot of at my Brixton restaurant, Salon. From May to early July, we preserve the flowers in salt brines, syrups and vinegars and stockpile them for use throughout the year.

People often ask me where I pick them. My answer, probably quite unhelpfully, is “everywhere”. They’re prominent on many a hedgerow, park and domestic garden, and in fact I’d be surprised if there was a neighbourhood in Britain, be it urban or rural, that wasn’t home to an elder tree or two. They’re a perfect entry point into the world of wild foods for the first-time forager.

They also have a somewhat mystic, evocative quality, and I’m not the only one for whom the scent or taste of elderflowers conjures up memories of childhood in the countryside, sunshine and school holidays.

I recently spoke to fellow elderflower aficionado, Ms Kelly Sidgwick of the Festival Elderflower Company, who I first came across on a glorious summer’s morning at Glastonbury in 2014. Ms Sidgwick picks the elderflowers from around the Glastonbury site when they first bloom at the end of May, then sells the cordial and elderflower drinks to festival goers a few weeks later.

In a world of mass-produced products, shipped in from all corners of the globe, Ms Sidgwick’s idea of taking an ingredient from the land, making something from it, and enjoying it in the same spot it came from seemed very appropriate for the festival and its ethos. She has since rolled out her business to other likeminded festivals such as Womad, and started a craft beer brewery, Good Chemistry, in Bristol.

“It just made sense to me,” Ms Sidgwick says. “People are so connected to the festival, I knew they’d enjoy the idea of a product that more or less grows wild in the trees above them.”

Some think that elder trees have a certain mystic quality about them and that their bark, root and berries can cure various ailments. This belief dates back thousands of years, and held particular weight in pagan communities.

Ms Sidgwick is dismissive of these connotations, however. “Folklore says elder trees have healing, protective properties… I’m not so sure about that, though. I just think the flowers taste good, and [the cordial] is so easy to make.”

I’d be inclined to agree. You don’t need to be a pagan to enjoy elderflowers, but they definitely taste better when you’ve picked them yourself. Below is my recipe for a frozen elderflower dessert – the perfect way to enjoy this ingredient in summer.

Elderflower, gin and mint granita recipe

Approximately 30 large heads of elderflower (about half a carrier bag’s worth) 1 litre water 500g caster sugar 1 large lemon, juice and zest ½ tsp citric acid (optional) 1 large bunch mint, leaves only 150ml gin, plus more to serve

Strip all the elderflowers into a clean, heatproof container and discard the stalks. Add the water and sugar to a large saucepan along with the zest of the lemon and gently bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the hot syrup over the elderflowers and leave to infuse overnight.

The next day, squeeze in the lemon juice, and strain the whole thing into a clean container. Transfer to the fridge and chill completely. Using a blender or food processor, blend in the mint leaves and gin, then transfer to the freezer. Every half an hour so, scrape the syrup to remove any ice crystals. After a few hours, the liquid will be frozen and you’ll have a nice fluffy granita. Leave covered in the freezer until you need it, then serve in chilled glasses with a little extra gin poured on top.