Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Eldeberries in Full Bloom

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We have two enormous elderberry bushes next to our unit and they are in full bloom at the moment.  The tiny flowers smell amazing.

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And they're very interesting up close.  I've never tasted an elderberry before.  I wonder if they would make for a good wine.

15 comments:

  1. elderberries make great wine! they also make a delicious syrup. and you can use the flower petals, too. google "elderflower fritters" for some cool recipes.

    i did some research on this a while back when my friend jason and i unexpectedly stumbled upon a huge elderberry patch. here are some of the best links i found:

    elderberry wine recipe (very interesting article, too):
    http://www.winemakermag.com/stories/issue/article/issues/109-april-may-2009/841-elderberry-wine

    pontack:
    http://honest-food.net/wild-game/sauces-for-wild-game/pontack-an-elderberry-sauce/

    syrup: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2007/08/respect-your-el/

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  2. I know that it's not ok to eat too many elderberrys, in jams or syrups or in any other form. you should look into it a bit :)
    we mostly use the flowers, dried for teas, they have an amazing taste. and the tea is very good if you have a fever!
    we also make a fizzy drink out of the flowers, by putting them in water with sugar and lemon slices, and leaving them for a few days to ferment. it is very tasty and great with ice on a summer day. left longer in sealed bottles, it becomes champagne :)
    have fun with it, it is an amazing plant :)

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  3. Lucky you! We had elderberries at my mother's farm. She used to make the best jelly in the world out of them! I'm sure they would make a nice wine too!

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  4. My mom used to make the most delicious elderberry jelly and my folks always made elderberry wine. Black elderberry are used to make Sambucol which is a natural cold and flu medication. (google it!)

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  5. The flowers make good wine!!!! Go for it.

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  6. My mother used to make elderflower wine years ago in the UK. Beware. It was pretty potent stuff and always went down well at family gatherings.

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  7. Here in England, Elderflower "champagne" has been made for decades, if not centuries. My grandmother used to make vats of it. It is utterly delicious and only slightly alcoholic. Very refreshing. There's a recipe here - http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jun/01/how-to-make-elderflower-champagne

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  8. I make elderflower champagne it is really nice on a summers day.

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  9. Hi Thomas...I made some elderberry cough syrup a while back out of dried berries from the health food. It was effective but stunk to high heaven! lol But this is to tell you that elderberries have medicinal uses, as well. Here is a link that seems quite informative. (I didn't read it ALL...but skimmed it instead.) Hope it's helpful!

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  10. Forgot to leave the link! lol

    http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-elderberry.html

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  11. I made elderberry jelly last year. SO delicious! Tip for stripping the berries from the stems...freeze them first. They'll fall off much more easily.

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