Elderberry Syrup - Sept 3 09

What's Happening Today -
September 3, 09

I've been thinking a lot about a patch of elderberries I spotted up in Western Maryland just off of, and I kid you not, Pottersville Road (note the obscure reference to It's a Wonderful Life). I'm trying to decide if it's worth the gas and the 35 minutes it's going to take to get back up there. I was impressed that these berries were sweeter than others I have gathered this year, and I reckon it's because they have been growing in the shade and in a cooler climate. I didn't collect them at the time because I didn't have anything to put them in. Also the air was so thick with gnats, that I just got mad and left. However, on reflection I could put on my sun glasses to keep the gnats out of my eyes. And as far as a container, I could have just made some sort of basket out of an old onion bag I had in the back of the truck, by lining it with leaves to keep the berries from falling through the large openings in the mesh bag. Oh well, lesson learned.

In case you are new to the world of Liz Mind - and can't imagine why I would put so much brain power into my lost elderberry opportunity, let me explain. Elderberries are an excellent source of free wild food (a native plant to Maryland), that are high in Vitamin C, and are traditionally used to fight flu, infection and viruses. I make a syrup using them (see recipe below), sweetened with agave syrup instead of white sugar. However I would imaging using honey is also fine. You can use the syrup to sweeten teas, make salad dressing, add to desserts, or just take straight. I bought an expensive bottle of elderberry anti-virus medicine at the Vitamin Shoppe - now I don't have to rely on that as my only source. I'm a big fan of making my own syrup to use as an immune support, and I'm happy to report that as of yet no one in our house has come down with rickets or black death - I credit the elderberries :) (well maybe also a few advances in science)

I pick the berries when I find them - it helps to have eyes like an eagle or "berry eyes". When I get home, I rinse them off and remove the stems. Actually, I usually throw them into a large plastic colander I bought at the Dollar Store. When I say large, I mean LARGE - and I sit them on my counter to work with later after I have put my daughter to bed. Once you start trying to get all those little stems off, you will understand why you need uninterrupted time. If you come into my kitchen and food or herbs are out for processing, I'll usually shove a container in front of you to help out (probably why I don't get a lot of visitors :). If I can't get to making the syrup right away, I will freeze the berries in a ziplock bag, which happens most of time in this house. Some folks believe that the life force of a plant (which is part of the health benefits of any plant food) will be lost if the plant is not processed and/or used right away. And maybe there is something to that, but I've yet to master a faster processing time. So use my motto - just do the best you can.

Some people prefer to dry them instead of freezing. I'm a big fan of drying food reserves, in theory, because you aren't dependent on your freezer to work (in case of power outages), and you don't have to use a tons of energy canning. I have not had much success with this method, however, I have not applied myself either. No doubt a topic for a future blog post.

Recipe of Elderberry Syrup - Increase Proportional Quantities as Necessary

1 cup berries
2 cup water

- Bring the mix to a nice gentle boil, whilst squishing the berries with whatever works for you. I actually use a wooden pestle that I bought at a thrift store for a buck.
- To keep it sanitary, I only use the pestle for berries (no animal-based products ever). I also clean it with grapefruit seed extract from time to time. I love this thing - it looks hand carved - the leather and electrical tape strapping are not my touches, but they make it really quite usable.

Before adding sweetener, use a fine sieve to remove the seeds, and press out the juice into a clean bowl. Wash boiling pan so that it can be used for the next step of making the syrup. Those seeds are tricky little guys that are very small and get all over. I once used my pal Donna's Squeezo and it was awesome! - The berry attachment makes all the difference. I remember making some vinegar and wine with the berry pulp left over.

Back to the syrup: Heat up the syrup again and sweeten to taste. Add a
teaspoon of lemon juice if you got it, after the mixture thicken up a bit.

I pour into jelly jars, cap, and boil them for about ten minutes to make the seal.

To Recap the Process:

1. 1 cup berries to 3 cups clean filtered water -- avoid chlorinated water, but not if you have Cholera in your area - it's ok to use chlorinated water (meaning use common sense - but avoid tap water if possible as city water does take away from some of the health benefits of the syrup.)
2. bring to gentle boil - simmer 30/45 minutes
3. mash berries
4. strain with sieve, jelly bag or my favorite a cheap pillow case that I bought just for this purpose.s
5. reheat if necessary
6. add sweetener - around 1/2 cup Agave or 1 cup Honey
7. boil the jars with the same canning process as making a jelly or syrup

(I will cover the boiling and canning process in a later blog post)

Golden Rule of all wild food foraging - don't be a greedy little so and so and take it all! No matter how tempted I am, I always do my best to leave some for the birds or for the plants to go to seed and populate the area with its goodness. It's NOT all for just ONE creature. It very tempting if you are picking something super tasty like wild raspberries, but no matter what plant you are collecting, remember it's not all for you. You are at someone else's dinner table and God created birds, bunnies, and deer, and they have to eat too.