Elder berries - what are some nice things that can be made from them? Recipes?!


Question:

Elder berries - what are some nice things that can be made from them? Recipes?


Answers:

Annie Watson's Elderberry Pie

3 1/2 cups fresh elderberries
1 to 1 1/2 cups raw, unheated, unfiltered honey
4 Tablespoons whole grain flour
2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Whole wheat or whole spelt pie crust

Line a 9" pie plate with bottom crust.

Mix elderberries, honey, flour, and lemon juice. Pour into crust.
Put top crust on. Seal, flute, and cut slits in the top crust.

Bake at 375 degrees until crust is browned and the berry juice is bubbling through the top.

Serve warm with whipped cream. Make the slices small because this pie is very rich.

-----------------elderberry muffins

2/3 cup honey )
2 ? tablespoons shortening ) cream together
3 cups flour )
2 tsp. baking powder ) sift together and set aside
pinch of salt )
1 egg - add to creamed mixture
1 cup milk - add to creamed mixture alternately with dry ingredients
1 cup elderberries - add to batter

Pour into greased muffin tins (yield 12 muffins), and bake in 350 degree oven approximately 20 minutes.

--------------elderberry pie

1 cup sour cream )
2/3 cup honey ) mix together
2 tablespoons flour )
2 cups elderberries, all stems remove. Add to mixture. Place filling in 9" piecrust, add top crust, and bake at 400 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes.

the flower

The flowers of the elder may be used for such diversities as champagne, pickles, wine, jam, vinegar, strewn in salads, and dried for teas. To date, we've sampled them only in "blow" and fritters, and found both delicious.

Elderberry blow

Place a couple of blossom clusters in a gallon of cold water in a glass jar. Add one lemon, cut into 4 pieces, 2 tbsp. vinegar, and 2/3 lb. of honey. Set the concoction in hot sun for a day, joggling it occasionally as you walk by. Strain, bottle, and use in about 3 weeks, chilled, over ice.

Elderberry fritters

Make a batter: ? cup flour, ? cup milk, 1 egg, ? tsp. honey, ? tsp. salt. Holding the stem, dip the flower into the batter and fry in deep, hot fat until light brown. Sprinkle with cinnamon and honey. A favorite delicacy for tea in some parts of Germany.

------------- elderberry recipes from Lewis and Nancy Hill, Greensboro, Vermont

how to eat and drink

Elderberries are especially high in Vitamin C, calcium, potassium and iron content, and have a tart, rich flavor. Usually they are cooked into jelly, pie, vinegar or made into wine although some people like to eat them right off the bush when they're completely ripe. They're rather seedy, but the seed is edible.

They can be used much in the same way as blueberries. We freeze them, dry packed, in plastic bags, and add a handful to pancake or muffin batter. We also freeze a juice concentrate and throughout the winter drink it "straight" on the rocks, or dilute it with a bit of water, club soda, or orange juice.

elderberry juice

Prepare the berries as for jelly, by removing large stems from ripe elderberries. Crush them in a saucepan and place over low heat until the juice begins to flow. Simmer gently for about 15 minutes. (Add a small amount of water if you want a less concentrated juice.) Strain it through a jelly bag. If you wish, add honey to taste, and perhaps a bit of lemon juice. Chill, and either use right away or squirrel into the freezer.

elderberry muffins

2/3 cup honey )
2 ? tablespoons shortening ) cream together
3 cups flour )
2 tsp. baking powder ) sift together and set aside
pinch of salt )
1 egg - add to creamed mixture
1 cup milk - add to creamed mixture alternately with dry ingredients
1 cup elderberries - add to batter

Pour into greased muffin tins (yield 12 muffins), and bake in 350 degree oven approximately 20 minutes.

elderberry pie

1 cup sour cream )
2/3 cup honey ) mix together
2 tablespoons flour )
2 cups elderberries, all stems remove. Add to mixture. Place filling in 9" piecrust, add top crust, and bake at 400 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes.

the flower

The flowers of the elder may be used for such diversities as champagne, pickles, wine, jam, vinegar, strewn in salads, and dried for teas. To date, we've sampled them only in "blow" and fritters, and found both delicious.

Elderberry blow

Place a couple of blossom clusters in a gallon of cold water in a glass jar. Add one lemon, cut into 4 pieces, 2 tbsp. vinegar, and 2/3 lb. of honey. Set the concoction in hot sun for a day, joggling it occasionally as you walk by. Strain, bottle, and use in about 3 weeks, chilled, over ice.

Elderberry fritters

Make a batter: ? cup flour, ? cup milk, 1 egg, ? tsp. honey, ? tsp. salt. Holding the stem, dip the flower into the batter and fry in deep, hot fat until light brown. Sprinkle with cinnamon and honey. A favorite delicacy for tea in some parts of Germany.


from Graham Dodds, Chef de Cuisine, Shelburne Farms, Shelburne, Vermont

iced tea and elderberry sorbet

2 cups iced tea

2 cups elderberry juice

? cup raw honey

1 lemon, juiced

Combine and turn in ice cream machine until frozen.


orange blossom honey spiced hazelnuts

1 Tablespoon garam masala spice blend

1 cup hazenuts, toasted and shelled

? cup honey

1 teaspoon cayenne powder

salt to taste

In sauté pan, toast spices over low heat for 30 seconds. Add honey and caramelize until brown. Add nuts, cayenne powder, garam masala, and salt. Mix well, stirring often while cooling.

Basil-elderberry vinaigrette

? cup elderberry juice

? cup sherry vinegar

? cup olive oil

? cup basil leaves

1 shallot

salt and pepper to taste

Puree shallot with sherry vinegar and elderberry juice in blender. Drizzle in oil slowly. Add basil leaves and salt and pepper to taste.

peach, ginger, and elderberry chutney

1 cinnamon stick

1 small Vidalia onion, minced

1-1/2” piece of ginger root, minced

6 peaches, diced

? cup elderberry juice

? cup raw honey

2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar

olive oil as needed

Heat olive oil in small saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté slightly. Add cinnamon stick, ginger, peaches, and elderberry juice. Add vinegar and cook for 5 minutes. Take off heat and let cool slightly before adding raw honey.

--------------Elderberry Ice cream
By John Kennett
Elderberries (destalked)
Sugar
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Double cream
2 Egg whites

First pick your elderberries. The easiest way is to snip off whole bunches, and then strip the individual berries off using the prongs of a fork at your leisure. I picked about half a carrier bag of bunches, which came out to a big saucepan of berries.

Put the berries into a saucepan with a little water, a sprinkling of sugar and the juice of half a lemon. Go steady on the sugar, you can always add more later if you need to.

With a lid on the saucepan, gently simmer for about 45 minutes, or until the berries have gone very soft. Leave to cool, and then push the berries through a sieve, discarding the pips that remain. This will leave a rich elderberry syrup. Taste it, and add more sugar if required. As a guide I had about a pint of syrup at the end.

Whip half a pint of double cream until it stands in peaks, and in a separate bowl whisk two eggwhites until they are stiff enough to tip the bowl upside down. This can be quite a feat with a hand whisk!

Fold the cream, eggwhites and elderberry syrup together gently, until the whole mixture is a uniform lurid purple. Pour into a suitable freezer container - I used a pyrex glass bowl. Then stick it into your freezer.




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