I haven't made elderberry jam in years, so it was a real thrill to see two bushes sprout dozens of flowered sprays this Spring. Every few days throughout July, I would wander past the barns and down the tractor path to check on the bushes. The climbing evening nightshade was growing faster than I could pull it out, but somehow I managed to keep it away from the elderberries.
While waiting for the elderberries to ripen, I kept finding patches of black raspberries hidden among the burdocks, teasels and Queen Anne's lace. The raspberry bushes bore fruit for weeks, which meant that I had thorn scratches on my arms and legs in various stages of healing. But it has all been worth it! After lightly rinsing each morning's gathering of the berries, they were placed single-layer on a cookie sheet and put in the freezer. As soon as they were nicely frozen, I packed them in a freezer ziploc bag.
I used the same method with the elderberries, freezing them while still on the stem, on cookie sheets in the freezer. It was so much easier to remove the berries from those pesky stems and disposable plastic gloves kept my hands nice and clean. Once again, I decided to freeze the gathered berries in small ziploc bags until I had enough to juice them for jam.
As I did more and more research on elderberries, I discovered that this amazing little berry is good for more than just my favorite jam. It's a favorite among home wine makers. Elderberries are very high in Vit. C and I found a lozenge recipe that will be fun to try with the remaining juice. A tablespoon of elderberry syrup every day will be a terrific winter tonic, besides being a delicious syrup for french toast, pancakes, over ice cream or added to homemade frosting for a unique twist on cakes and cupcakes.
Since the elderberries yielded many pints of jam and apple season is still ahead of me, I decided to take a different route with the black raspberries. First up, a raspberry liqueur. The jar is filled with the black raspberries and the vodka is poured in. This will remain in a cool, dark place for 2 months. Then there will be several strainings of the mixture through cheesecloth and a simple syrup of water, sugar and lemon zest is made and added. The mixture will then be matured for another month. Voila! Just in time for the holidays!
I made two raspberry vinegars, one with white vinegar, lemon peel, thyme and peppercorns; the other with an equal mixture of balsamic vinegar and Italian red wine vinegar. Both will age in a cool, dark place for at least one month and then strained and bottled.
It's going to be a berry wonderful winter, made better if I can get back to making goat milk cheeses.
