Grow Your Own Magazine

Can they be used for anything other than wine? I don't fancy brewing at all but I don't know if they can be used for anything else and there are tons covering my apple tree...shame to let them go to waste

cordial, bit like brewing but without the alcohol.
bird food.
other than that i'm stumped

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Yo an' Bob
Walk lightly on the earth
take only what you need
give all you can
and your produce will be bountifull

Hi BB - how does this sound?
Elderberry Chutney, thus:
1lb elderberries, washed and stalks removed
1lb cooking apples
4oz dried fruit
8oz onions, finely chopped
1 teasp salt
1/2 teasp ground ginger
1/2 teasp ground mixed spice
pinch pepper
1/2pt malt vinegar
12oz soft brown sugar

Peel,core and chop the apples and put into a large pan with the elderberries, dried fruit and onions. Stir in the salt, spices, pepper and a little of the vinegar. Cook very gently for 1 hour until the fruit is soft, stirring from time to time to prevent it sticking and burning. Remove from the heat, stir in the sugar and remaining vinegar. When the sugar has completely dissolved, return to the heat and bring to the boil. Boil steadily for 30 mins until thick and all the vinegar has been absorbed. Spoon into warm, sterilised jars and seal straight away.

dexterdog

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Appreciate the little things in life because one day you will realise they are the big things

Thanks for the replies you two - the chutney does sound nice Dexter. I went mooching around the net last night looking for ideas & found a few American sites suggesting elderberry jelly & jam - sounds interesting, anyone tried it?

sorry bibliobeck,no idea, going to try the chutney myself tho.
thanks dexterdog

__________________
Yo an' Bob
Walk lightly on the earth
take only what you need
give all you can
and your produce will be bountifull

Hi Bibliobeck
Apple and Elderberry Jelly or jam;-
3 lbs tart cooking apples (windfalls are good)
2 quarts Elderberries picked from their stalks
peeled rind of an orange and 1/2 stick of cinnamon tied together with string
2 pints water
Sugar

Wash the apples and cut into peices (skin pips and all)
Put into a pan with the elderberries
Add the water
Simmer to a pulp
Put into a jelly bag and leave to drip (jelly)
or
Pass through a seive (jam) I prefer this one

For each pint of juice/pulp allow 1lb of sugar
Heat gently until the sugar is disolved and then add the orange rind and cinnamon
Boil rapidly until a set is achived about 20 mins
Pour into warm sterlised jars and cover at once

You can also substitute Blackberries for Elderberries

I have made loads of both this year Yumeeeeeeeeee

Roitelet! I've only just noticed your reply - thank you so much sounds fab! I'm going to make some tomorrow Just one question....errr how much is a quart

at my house we are overrun by elder berry bushes can yuo suggest a easy methord of takind advantage of them

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I was given this recipe at a hedgerow food tasting thingy last year. If I remember it was very tasty.

Elderberry catsup

2 quarts Elderberries
Vinegar to cover
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp allspice
1 tbsp cloves
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper (or paprika)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Cook elderberries in vinegar until berries burst. Put berries through a food press or sieve, add sugar, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and pepper. Simmer until thickens. Pour into sterilized jars and seal.

Haven't tried making it myself yet as I haven't managed to get my hands on any elderberries this year.

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Bright Blessings
Earthbabe
If at first you don't succeed, open a bottle of wine.

Roitelet I've translated 2 quarts of elderberries as 4lbs and it's been very successful. After a very short while of hanging from the apple tree managed to pick that many and spent the next hour happily staining everything from myself & the dog to the entire kitchen Anyway made the jelly today and you're right - yumeeee! Tried a bit on bread then tried it with the roast chicken for tea as we'd run out of cranberry - even my mother-in-law praised it

Hi Soobeth
A must try with elder berries is crumble. I dont have a recipe but put 50/50 berries to apple - cook in a saucpan for about 15 mins. put into a oven proof dish and top with crumble - sprinkle with sugar, then oven bake for 20 mins until brown. I make my crumble with 3 wheatabix, crushed and held together with a little melted butter.
My mouth is watering just thinking of the smell from oven and the taste Yummmmy.
have to make one later. Enjoy

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Denise xox

Learn from the mistakes of others because you'll never live long enough to make them all yourself.
-- Alfred E. Neumann
http://irchesterplot.blogspot.com

Hi
My friend and I went mad at the weekend and picked loads of sloes elderberries and rosehips and once we'd finished the sloe gin (priority) we trawled the internet for recipes for the others. We ended up making a elderberry syrup which is recommended as good to be added to things like apple pie or ice creams. It freezes well and was so simple - just boil them with sugar and then simmer for 15 mins. Did make a bit of a mess of her new saucepans though ...

Had a quick google for quart and it's official definition is "2 pints" so the recipe should read 2 pints of elderberries.

The problem now is whether they are US dry, US liquid or UK quarts; all are 8 pints to a gallon, but the size of a gallon is different in every case !

Hi Ian, yep I googled too - I converted 2 quarts to 4 cups where 1 cup = 8oz...phew! Have no idea if this was right what with liquid & dry, American and metric, but as usual I couldn't wait . Anyway it all turned out OK. I've never used elderberries before and was a bit worried by the pungent smell when I cooked the pulp, but I really like the taste of the jelly.

Yet more jars added to the ever expanding cupboard. I'm storing everything in a cupboard where the original front door of the house was - we think it was blocked up when window tax was introduced...a bit strange but it makes a great dark, cool place for the storing of goodies

Last night I began the process of changing 4 pints of elderberries into what will hopefully be a gallon of classic vintage "Château IanP 2006" wine. I can but hope!

There was a recipe for Elderberry Rob in one of today's tabloids, taken from a book by Anne McIntyre:-

1lb fresh elderberries and 1lb brown sugar.

Strip berried from stems, wash and crush. Bring them slowly to the boil with the sugar and simmer until a syrupy consistency is reached. Pass through a sieve (probably fine as a mouli is suggested) and bottle in clean, airtight bottles. Serve diluted with hot water.

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Bright Blessings
Earthbabe
If at first you don't succeed, open a bottle of wine.

Sounds nice - I really like the sound of the catsup too. Only got the elderberries left at the very top of the tree now after doing my death-defying leaps from the back of my hubby's trailer at the weekend so it looks like it'll have to be next year now!

I made a ton of elderberry jam last year and it was fabulous, I have been keeping it a secret as I don't want lots of people cleaning out my elderberry supply.

I see you're down South but up here in the North, we still have new elderflower blossom! Can we really be so out of sync? I'm interested though because there is a huge amount of blossom so could be bumper year for the berries. I might have a bash at wine this year - never tried it before.

We've also got a bumper crop of flower, so I'm about to make my second batch of elderflower cordial and I'm just waiting to see now the champaign turned out (both much easier to make than wine ).

I'm hoping to make the champagne and cordial too - love elderflowers! Did you use citric acid or just lemon juice?

Unfortunately as I'm at work at the mo I can't post my recipe for Elderberry Cheesecake. It is fabulous . I'll fish it out sometime. I haven't made it for ages as I can't seem to find curd cheese anywhere and I've found that other soft cheeses don't work as well.

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Would the 'home made by mischance' curd cheese work? Mum occasionally had leftover milk which went sour. She let it go a bit MORE sour, until it curdled, and then drained it in a muslin. The resulting soft cheese was pretty good.