...sometimes even a single feather is enough to fly. (Robert Maclean)

9.30.2012

elderberry syrup

elderberries
are so good.

good tasting.
and good for you.

oh yeah.

super duper high
in antioxidants, bioflavonoids, anthocyanins.
plus vitamins A, B, and lots of C.

(in one study, people with the flu
who took elderberry juice
recovered 4 days faster
than those who didn't have
the precious
purple berry.)

so we went and got ourselves
more than we could possibly use...

for our first experiment,
we decided to make syrup
and used this recipe as a general guide:

we took about 8 lbs of elderberries
(ours were frozen, stems already removed)
and defrosted them in a big pot.
(fyi: stems contain toxic compounds so you need to remove them!)

then we added water to make any extra stems or unwanted stuff
float to the top.  removed any floaters, and drained.   

then took the immersion blender
and blended them up every so briefly
(so as not to chop up too many of the seeds,
which would make for a bitter syrup... bleck!)
then brought the berries to a boil,
stirring often.

then came the food mill:

processing through the mill to remove seeds and skins.

look at the beautiful purple juice coming out:


and there's this beautiful dry mash of seeds and skins
which we saved for our chickens
they looooooooove seeds:


we sent the juice through the mill 2 more times
to get every last seed out.

then it was time to re-boil,
and add sweetener, until it froths:

we chose to add honey
which is also good for sore throats, flus, etc.
due to it's anti-bacterial properties.
simply sweeten to taste.

then comes the bottling:


you can bottle straight up and store in the fridge
or you can process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

you can use it as a health tonic
throughout the winter
to prevent colds / flus
sipping it by the spoonful
or adding to tea...

or you can
drizzle it for the
earthy deep berry flavor
on goodies like
crepes, pancakes, waffles.

or as a sauce for any dessert
over ice cream
panna cotta

or a nice spritzer
by adding a dash to some seltzer.

might also be great as a glaze
on pork or poultry or wild game...
(check out this recipe for "pontack")
could even be a nice addition to
a vinaigrette...

so many things
you could do!

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