It's elderberry time!

[quack1]

Picked a bunch of ripe elderberrys this morning. Got them de-stemmed and washed, next stop for them is in a pie crust. I even got enough to make a batch or two of jelly. Can't wait! Warm elderberry pie with a dab of whipped cream.
http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll300/1quack1/IMG_0035.jpg

[357 Voodoo]

Quack how do you make your jelly last time i tried it ended up as more of a sauce?
Here they are just starting to ripen. last year picked 2 5gal pails full in an afternoon. After making some pies and freezing some I made a big batch of wine. Elederberrys really make a good wine.

[swheeler]

Elderberries are still green here, quite a few flowers too. I usually pick after we get our first freeze. It makes some of the finest jelly, pies andf wine that can be made.

[quack1]

357 voodoo- The recipe is simple-my wife got it years ago, it came from the sure-jell pectin she uses.
ELDERBERRY JELLY
Makes about 6 (1-cup) jars
3 cups prepared juice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 box SURE.JELL Fruit Pectin
1/2 tsp. butter or margarine
4-1/2 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl
Squeeze the berrys in a cloth bag and catch the juice in a large pan. (It is amazing how dry the skins and seeds left in the bag are when you do this.)
Then bring the elderberry juice, lemon juice and butter to a rolling boil, add the sugar and bring to a rolling boil again. Then add the sure-jell pectin and boil for one more minute.
Then remove from heat and pour into jars, screw on the lids and rings and let cool.
She has been making jelly for years and never had a batch that wouldn't set up. Sometimes it takes a few days, but it always thickens.
Hope this helps.
Forgot to add- she found that freezing the berrys pre-ruptures the skin, making it easier to squeeze them.

[DIRT Farmer]

I was lusting after the patch beside the field where I was baling today. There are a few green ones yet in the heads. There is also a wild grape that was in a wild cheery that blew over and it is loaded this year.
Mom had problems with having elderberry sause or elderberry candy in her jars. When she started adding a small amount of lemon juice (Idon't know how much but you could barly taste it) the results were better. Dad and just let our share ferment for a healthy beverage to cure the chills in the shop in the Winter.

[roysha]

On our place we have mostly the blue elderberry (s. cerulae) instead if the s. nigra or s. canadensis which are more common in the midwest and east. We have some s. nigras but the birds and wind get the berries before we do. They don't seem to bother the blues very much.

No big deal. I usually get 125-150 lbs of blues (2 years ago I got over 300 lbs and yes I was sick of elderberrys that year) each year which gives us 6-7 gallons of cold pressed juice for wine and then I make a batch, usually 12-14 gallons from the pressed pulp.

Right now I have about 30 lbs in the freezer and another 25 lbs picked and ready to strip from the stems.

With the blue elderberrys it takes a while longer to age the wine but so far it has been worth it.

[firefly1957]

They are just getting ripe here they I found a good patch in the middle of a black berry thicket I am not sure they are worth wading back in after as even with heavy clothes I am still tore up from berry picking.

[Jailer]

They're coming in good here but I can't beat the birds to them.

[firefly1957]

Jailer I noticed we do not have as many birds this year? They sprayed for Tent Caterpillars but that is not supposed to hurt other populations at all.

[Jailer]

Boy I sure do. Birds, woodchucks and TONS of rabbits this year. I'm suprised though that the mosquitoes haven't carried them all away.

Just went out and checked them again. They are all gone. Birds got em all already. What's a good way to keep the birds away from them?

[firefly1957]

Jailer I know no way to keep the birds away that are practical for a small patch. My mosquitoes were realy bad but not to bad now yellow jackets are bad right now.

[Moonie]

"Your mother was a hamster and your farther smelt of elderberries!!"

[Jailer]

"Your mother was a hamster and your farther smelt of elderberries!!"

LOL!

Almost had some beer through the nose on that one. :mrgreen:

[gwpercle]

Lets have some of some of those elderberry pie recipes. you gonna talk about how good they are, show a photo and all then not give us recipe? No fair! I've made jelly and wine ( once ) but never pie. Here's a tip for making jelly with Shure Jell boxed fruit pectin . If the prepared juice is mostly pure elderberry juice it will not set. I made several batches of elderberry SYRUP before I found the secerete. For the Sure Jell method you need 3 cups of juice , use 2 cups of pure juice and 1 cup of water. For some reason the 3 cups of pure juice will not jell. I discovered this when after preparing the juice I only had about 2 and 1/2 cups juice so I added water to get 3 cups and low and behold I got a soft set. Not syrup but not firm jelly either. Next time I tried 1 cup water and 2cups juice and got the firm jelly set. Since elderberries grow everywhere here in louisiana they are free and plentyful and I enjoy using what Mother Nature provides. I'm gonna keep an eye out for the pie recipe. Thanks GW